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x
THE
APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
THE GREEK TEXT
WITH
INTRODUCTION NOTES AND INDICES
BY
HENRY BARCLAY SWETE, D.D., F.B.A.,
HON. LITT.D. OXFORD AND DUBLIN HON. D.D. GLASGOW
REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY
AND FELLOW OF GONVILLE AND CAIUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
HON. CANON OF, ELY
THIRD EDITION
WOODSTOCK COLLEGE
as | O24 Lee
yb com agex
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
IQTI
i . as i MON ALE «
, fi ” fi ae hes 2 NS rast
lll al i eT ra yt On it
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i shel
Y =e
3 ‘ ce i
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: First Edition, September 1906.
‘Second Edition, April 1907. —
Third Edition, 1909. Reprinted 19
, . 7
; ‘
VIRO - ADMODVM - REVERENDO -
FREDERICO - HENRICO - CHASE - S-T-P:
@ EPISCOPO - ELIENSI -
_ APVD-CANTABRIGIENSES - NVPER-: PROFESSORI : NORRISIANO-
OBSERVANTIAE - ERGO - AMICITIAEQVE -
STVDIA - HAEC.- APOCALYPTICA - QVALIACVMQVE -
DEDICO
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
THE publication in the present year of Dr Hort’s lecture-notes
upon the Apocalypse has rendered necessary a few additions both
to the introduction and to the notes of this volume,
Until my first edition had been published I was not aware that
Dr Hort had lectured upon the subject, and the announcement
that his notes were being prepared for the press came as a further
_ and welcome surprise. Their value has been justly estimated by
Dr Sanday in his preface to the work, and I need only add the
hope that all readers of the present book may be able to consult
Dr Hort’s fresh and suggestive pages. In regard to the unity of
the Apocalypse I am rejoiced to find that I have the support of
his great authority. On the other hand he inclines decidedly
to the earlier date, and upon some important points of exegesis
his conclusions differ from those to which I had come. To the
latter it has been impossible to do more than refer; upon the date
of the book I have added a postscript to the chapter of my intro-
duction which deals with that question, briefly stating the grounds
upon which I am unable to abandon the traditional view.
Besides these additions a few corrections, supplied by reviews
or received from private friends, have been made in this edition,
and the pagination has undergone some necessary changes.
Be Bas
CAMBRIDGE,
3 September 1908.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
AN unexpected call for a reissue of this book within a few
months after its publication compels me to pass it through the
press again before it has been reviewed by some of the chief
organs of English theological opinion. I have, however, received
much help in the way of corrections and suggestions of various
kinds both from the notices and reviews which have appeared
and from the letters of friends); Among correspondents to whom
I am indebted I would mention the Bishop of Ely, the Dean of
St Patrick’s, Professor Gwynn and Professor Lawlor of Dublin,
Dr Nestle, the Rev. C. Plummer, Professor W. Emery Barnes and
Professor Burkitt, and especially Professor J. E. B. Mayor, whose
stores of learning have supplied not a few fresh references and
illustrations.
In preparing for this reprint I have read both the Introduction
and Notes again, and have revised them freely wherever it
seemed possible to remove an ambiguity by a verbal change;
from the judgements passed and the principles advocated in the
first edition I have seen no cause to depart. The apparatus
criticus remains unaltered, except that the readings of the Coptic
and Armenian versions have been corrected to some extent with
the help of the new editions of those versions lately published
by Mr Horner and Mr Conybeare. The references in the Index
to the Introduction and Notes have been brought into agreement
with the slightly altered paging, which, as the book has been
electrotyped, will now, I trust, be permanent.
CAMBRIDGE,
23 March 1907.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
EIGHT years ago I was permitted to finish a commentary on
the earliest of the four Gospels. As a sequel to it, I now offer a
commentary on the Revelation of St John.
The Apocalypse discloses the heavenly life of our Lord, as the
Gospels paint His life in Galilee and Jerusalem. In the Gospels,
He is seen teaching and working in His mortal flesh; in the
Apocalypse, He belongs to another and a higher order. But the
ascended life is a continuation of the life in the flesh; the Person
is the same yesterday and to-day, in Palestine and in Heaven.
Thus the Apocalypse carries forward the revelation of the
Gospels. It carries it, however, into a region where the methods
of the biographer and historian avail nothing. We are in the
hands of a prophet, who sees and hears things that elude
the eyes and ears of other men; the simple narrative of the
Evangelist has given place to a symbolism which represents the
struggle of the Apocalyptist to express ideas that lie in great
part beyond the range of human thought. Yet the life which
St John reveals is not less real than that which is depicted by
St Mark, nor are its activities less amazing. No miracles meet
us here, but we are in the presence of spiritual processes which
are more wonderful than the healing of the sick or the raising
of the dead: a supervision of all the Churches, which surpasses
the powers of any earthly pastor; an ordering of nature and life,
which bears witness to the investment of the risen Lord with all
authority in heaven and on earth; a perfect knowledge of men, and
a prescience which reads the issues of history. The revelation of
the Lord’s heavenly life becomes, as we proceed, a revelation of
the things which are and the things which shall come to pass
- PREFACE.
hereafter ; we see the glorified life in its bearing upon the course
of events, until the end has been attained and the whole creation
has felt its renovating power.
‘To comment on this great prophecy is a harder task than to
comment on a Gospel, and he who undertakes it exposes himself
to the charge of presumption. I have been led to venture upon
what I know to be dangerous ground by the conviction that
the English student needs an edition of this book which shall
endeavour to take account of the large accessions to knowledge
made in recent years, and shall be drawn upon a scale commensurate
with that of the larger commentaries on other books of the New
Testament. More especially I have had in view the wants of the
English clergy, who, scholars at heart by early education or by the
instincts of a great tradition, are too often precluded from reaping
the fruits of research through inability to procure or want of
leisure to read a multitude of books, It is my belief, and the
belief has grown in strength as my task has proceeded, that the
Apocalypse offers to the pastors of the Church an unrivalled store
of materials for Christian teaching, if only the book is approached
with an assurance of its prophetic character, chastened by a frank
acceptance of the light which the growth of knowledge has cast
and will continue to cast upon it.
The Apocalypse is well-worked ground. It would not be
difficult to construct a commentary which should be simply a
catena of patristic and mediaeval expositions, or an attempt to
compare and group the views of later writers. Such an under-
taking would not be without interest or value, but it lies outside
the scope of the present work. In this commentary, as in the
commentary on St Mark, it has been my endeavour, in the first
instance, to make an independent study of the text, turning to
the commentaries afterwards for the purpose of correcting or
supplementing my own conclusions. As a rule, the interpretations
which are offered here are those which seemed to arise out of the
writer's own words, viewed in connexion with the circumstances
under which he wrote, and the general purpose of his work,
without reference to the various schools of Apocalyptic exegesis.
There are those to whom the results will appear bizarre, and a
medley of heterogeneous elements; but the syncretism, if it be such,
PREFACE, xs
has been reached, not by the blending of divergent views, but
through the guidance of definite principles, which are stated in
the introduction. Here it may be briefly explained that I have
sought to place each passage in the light of the conditions under
which the book was composed, and to interpret accordingly ; not
forgetting, however, the power inherent in all true prophecy of
fulfilling itself in circumstances remote from those which called it
forth.
But, with this reservation, I have gladly used the labours of
predecessors in the field, especially the pregnant remarks of the
patristic writers. Of modern commentators, Bousset has helped
me most, and though I differ profoundly from his general attitude
towards the book, and from not a few of his interpretations,
I gladly acknowledge that I have greatly benefited by the stores of
knowledge with which his book abounds. The Jewish Apocalypses
edited by Professor Charles, and other apocalyptic writings, Jewish
and Christian, have been always at my side. For geographical
and archaeological details I am deeply indebted to the works of
Professor W. M. Ramsay, the article on Asia Minor by Dr Johannes
Weiss in Hauck’s recast of Herzog’s Realencyklopédie, and the
admirable monograph on Proconsular Asia contributed by Monsieur
Victor Chapot to the Bibliotheque de l Ecole des Hautes Etudes.
During my preparations for the press, I have been unable
to make a personal use of the University Library ; and though
my difficulty has been partly overcome in the past year through
the kindness of the Syndics of the Library, the loss has been
serious, and I fear that it will be felt by readers who look for
fulness of detail and the use of the latest editions. From gross
imaccuracies my work has been saved, as I trust, by the ready help
of many friends. My warm thanks are due to the Rev. J. H.
Srawley, of Gonville and Caius and Selwyn Colleges, and to the
Rev. H. C. O. Lanchester, Fellow of Pembroke College, who have
read the proofs of the introduction, text, and notes. Mr Srawley
has verified nearly all the references in the notes; the indices
and the Biblical references in the introduction have been
corrected by the care of a relative. My colleagues, Professor
Reid and Professor Ridgeway, have allowed me to submit
to them the proofs of portions of my book in which I had
xil PREFACE.
occasion to enter upon ground which they have severally made
their own. To the Rev. A. S. Walpole, editor of a volume of
Latin Hymns which is shortly to appear in Cambridge Patristic
Texts, 1 owe my knowledge of the splendid stanzas which precede
the introduction.
Other debts of various kinds call for acknowledgement here.
Messrs T. and T. Clark, of Edinburgh, with the ready consent
of Professor Ramsay, have permitted me to adapt to my own use
the map of Asia Minor which accompanies the article on Roads
and Travel (in the New Testament) in the supplementary volume
of Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible. The Rev. T. C. Fitzpatrick,
President of Queens’ College, supplied the negative from which
the engraving of Patmos has been produced; and the specimen
of MS. 186 came from a photograph of the entire MS. kindly
taken for me by Professor Lake, of Oxford and Leyden. For
the page of coins illustrating the life and worship of pagan Asia
in the age of the Apocalypse I have to thank Dr M. R. James,
Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, who helped me to select
them from Colonel Leake’s famous collection, and his assistant,
Mr H. A. Chapman, to whose skill the casts were due. Lastly, it
is a pleasure once again to say how much I owe to the unfailing
attention of the workmen and readers and the ready assistance of
the officials of the University Press.
I part with the work which has occupied the leisure of some
years under a keen sense of the shortcomings that are apparent
even when it is judged by the standard of my own expectations,
yet not without an assured hope that it may help some of my
fellow-students to value and understand a book which is in some
respects the crown of the New Testament canon. In letting it
go from me, I can only repeat Augustine’s prayer, which stood
at the end of the preface to St Mark, and is even more necessary
here. Domine Deus...quaecumque dixi in hoc libro de tuo, agnoscant
et tui; si qua de meo, et Tu rgnosce et tur.
H. Boe
CAMBRIDGE,
F. of the Transfiguration, 1906.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ;
I. Prophecy in the Apostolic Church ‘ : ; F xvii
Il. Apocalypses, Jewish and Christian —. ; XXii
mE, Contents and plan of the Apocalypse of John. . Xxxiii
a'f Unity of the Apocalypse —. : ; ; xlvi
A Destination. ' . : : : lv
ire Christianity in the Province of Asia. : ; Ixvi
VII. = Antichrist in the Province of Asia ; : . [xxviii
VIII. Purpose of the Apocalypse . ; : : : : xciv
TX. Date ‘ : : : , : y xcix
X. Circulation and reception —. : , . . : evil
XI. Vocabulary, Grammar, and Style ; : P CXXx
XII. Symbolism : . ; : .) og
XIII. Use of the Old Testament and of other literature. ex]
XIV. Doctrine . : - . : : ‘ : : : clix
XV. Authorship. ' : F . ¢lxxiv
"XVI. Text < ; : : ; : ‘ : . ¢elxxxvi
XVII. Commentaries : : ; ; ; : : . exevii
XVIII. History and methods of Interpretation : , é cevii
Text anD Notes. - : ; : ed I
INDEX OF GREEK WorDSs USED IN THE APOCALYPSE. er 315
J Inpex TO THE INTRODUCTION AND NoTEs : ; ; : - 328
~ a
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Coins oF THE APOCALYPTIC CITIES . 3 °
Bust or NERO .- . : x ‘ ‘ 4
Srarog-or DOMITIAN —- 4), .5° 3 s))
Pa?TMOS 2 : é 4 ; ‘ ; ;
Cop. Apoc. 186 (Athos, Pantocrator 44) .
Marv or Asta MINOR IN THE TIME OF DomITIAN
IOHANNES APOCALYPTISTA
Caelum transit, veri rotam
solis uidit, ibi totam
mentis figens aciem :
speculator spiritalis
quasi seraphim sub alis
Dei uidit faciem.
audiit in gyro sedis
quid psallant cum citharoedis
quater seni proceres :
de sigillo Trinitatis
nostrae nummo ciuitatis
impressit characteres,
uolat auis sine meta
quo nec uates nec propheta
euolauit altius :
tam implenda quam impleta
numquam uidit tot secreta
purus homo purius.
ECCLESIAM TUAM, QUAESUMUS, DOMINE, BENIGNUS ILLUSTRA,
UT BEATI IOHANNIS...ILLUMINATA DOCTRINIS AD DONA PERUENIAT
SEMPITERNA. PER DOMINUM.
CONCEDE, QUAESUMUS, OMNIPOTENS DEUS, UT QUI...UNIGENITUM
TUUM REDEMPTOREM NOSTRUM AD CAELOS ASCENDISSE CREDIMUS,
IPST QUOQUE MENTE IN CAELESTIBUS HARBITEMUS. PER EUNDEM.
EXCITA, QUAESUMUS, DOMINE, POTENTIAM TUAM ET UENI, ET
MAGNA NOBIS UIRTUTE SUCCURRE, UT AUXILIUM GRATIAE TUAE
QUOD NOSTRA PECCATA PRAEPEDIUNT INDULGENTIA TUAE PROPITI-
ATIONIS ACCELERET. QUI UIUIS.
INTRODUCTION.
i
PROPHECY IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH.
1. The Christian era opened with a revival of Prophecy. In
the Maccabean age and the times that followed it the prophetic
order was believed to be dead, or in a state of suspended vitality ;
in matters pertaining to God men acted provisionally, “till there
should arise a faithful prophet?” to interpret the Divine Will.
Whether this impression was correct or not’, it is certain that the
Advent was marked by an outburst of prophetic utterance to
which the two centuries before Christ can offer no parallel.
Prophetic gifts were exercised by the priest Zacharias, by Simeon
of Jerusalem, by Hannah of the tribe of Asher*. As for John,
the son of Zacharias, he was not only universally accounted a
prophet, but pronounced by Christ to be “much more,” since the
prophet who was the Lord’s immediate forerunner had greater
honour than those who from a distance foresaw His coming‘.
2. Christian prophecy begins with the Ministry of Christ.
The crowds which hung upon His lips both in Galilee and at
Jerusalem, and even the Samaritan woman who at first resented
His teaching, recognized in Him a Prophet,—perhaps a propheta
redivivus, a Jeremiah restored to life’. Nor did the Lord hesitate
to accept this view of His mission‘; if it was inadequate, yet it
correctly described one side of His work. A Prophet Himself, He
came to inaugurate a new line of prophets; He undertook to
endow His new Israel with the prophetic Spirit which had been
1 x Macc. iv. 46, ix. 27, xiv. 41; see 4 Mt. xi. 9 ff., Mc. xi. 32, Le. vii. 26 ff.
also Ps. Ixxiv. 9. 5 Mt. xvi. 14, Me. vi. 15, Jo. iv. 19,
2 See Harnack, Mission u. Ausbreitung, Vi. 14, Vii. 40, ix. 17.
i. p. 240f. (HE. tr. i. p. 414 f.). 6 Me. vi. 4, Jo. iv. 44; cf. Acts iii. 22,
Sriae. 1. 67, li. 25, 36. Vil. 37;
iS R. b
XVill PROPHECY IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
the glory of the ancient people of Godt. The Church was to
possess not only “scribes,” whose task it would be to interpret
the Christian tradition, but inspired teachers, able through the
Spirit to guide believers into new fields of thought and action’.
3. The earliest history of the Church shews the fulfilment of
these hopes and promises. On the Day of Pentecost, in a speech
attributed to St Peter, the words of Joel are applied to the future
Israel: your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...yea and on
my servants and on my handmaidens in those days will I pour
forth of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy*. How soon a recog-
nized order of prophets arose in the Church of Jerusalem there is
no evidence to shew, but about the year 43—4* Christian prophets
from Jerusalem, Agabus and others, made their way to Antioch,
and shortly afterwards resident prophets ministered there in the
congregation®, After the conference at Jerusalem (A.D. 49) the
hands of the Antiochian prophets were strengthened by the
coming of two other prophets from the mother Church, Judas
Barsabbas and Silas’. Seven years later, the daughters of Philip
the Evangelist are found exercising prophetic gifts at Caesarea ;
and on the same occasion St Paul’s arrest at Jerusalem is foretold
by a prophet from Judaea, one Agabus’, probably the person
who had predicted the Claudian famine. His prophecy came as
no surprise to the Apostle, who had received similar warnings
from Christian prophets in the cities through which he had
passed on his way to Palestine®. Prophets were to be found
everywhere in the Churches planted by St Paul.
4. From what has been said it appears that the new prophecy
began at Jerusalem, and spread from Jerusalem to Antioch, and
from Antioch to Asia Minor and Greece. The Epistles of St Paul
bear witness to its presence at Thessalonica, at Corinth, at Ephesus,
Ties X10, SOs XVIor2 ite (Hastings, D.B.i. p. 415 ff.).
2 Mt. xiii. 52, xxili. 34, Lic. xi. 49. 5 Acts xi. 27, xiii. 1 f.
3 Acts li. 17 f. (Joel 11. 28 f.). On the 6 Acts xv. 22; cf. 2b. 32 kal) auzor
probability that the Petrine speeches smpogjrat dyres.
in the Acts substantially represent 7 Acts xxi. ro ff.
St Peter’s words see Bp Chase, Credi- 8 Acts xx. 23 70 mve0ua TO aylov KaTa
bility of the Acts, p. 117 ff. modw Svamaptupeirar, Cf, XX1. 4.
41 follow Mr Turner’s chronology
PROPHECY IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH X1x
and at Rome'; and probably also in the Churches of South
Galatia, at Lystra and Iconium*. To Rome as to Antioch the
prophets may have come from Jerusalem; in the other Churches
named above, prophecy was one of the fruits of St Paul’s preaching.
We are able to note the impression which the gift produced upon
the Gentile converts. At Thessalonica there was a disposition to
think light of it, and even at Corinth it was valued less highly
than the gift of tongues. St Paul, while admitting the need
of discrimination between the prophet and the pretender, or
between worthy utterances and unworthy’, insists that the true
prophet was, after the apostle, the greatest of the gifts bestowed
upon the Church by the ascended Christ*. The prophet’s mission
was to build up the Church which the apostle had founded; to
edify, exhort, console believers’; to convict unbelievers, laying
bare the secrets of their hearts and assuring them of the Divine
Presence in the Christian brotherhood’. The ideal prophet knew
all mysteries and all knowledge’. Yet prophecy was liable to abuse,
and its exercise needed to be carefully regulated. At Corinth,
where, when St Paul wrote his first Epistle (probably in 55),
a strong tide of prophetic power had set in, it was necessary to
enact that not more than two or three prophets should speak at
the same meeting of the Church, and only one prophet at a time,
and to remind the prophets themselves that they were responsible
for the proper control of their gift; they were not automata in
the hands of the Spirit, for the spirits of the prophets are subject to
the prophets®.
5. While the most remarkable display of prophetic powers
of which we have any detailed account occurred at Corinth, it
was perhaps chiefly at Ephesus and in the other cities of Asia
that the prophets took root as a recognized order. The Epistle
to the Ephesians, probably an encyclical addressed to all the
Asian Churches, not merely assigns to the prophetic order the same
1; Thess. v. 20, 1 Cor. xii. 28, xiii. 2, 4 1 Cor. xii. 28, Eph. iv. rr.
xiv. 3 ff., Eph. iii. 1 ff., iv. 7 ff., Rom. Say Coraxive 3 4.
xii. 6. 6 Ib. 23 ff.
2; Tim. iv. 14, 2 Tim. i. 6. 7 x Cor. xiii. 2.
Stach, vy. 21, © Cor, xiv. a9. Con- 8 1 Cor. xiv. 32.
trast Didache 11.
bo
2.0. PROPHECY IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH
place of honour which they receive in 1 Corinthians, but lays
repeated stress on the greatness of their work; the local Church
had been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets;
the prophets, as well as the pastors and teachers, had been given
Sor the complete equipment of the saints for the work of service}.
It is from the prophetic circles in this group of Churches that
the one great literary product of early Christian prophecy emanates.
In St Paul’s time the utterances of the prophets seem to have been
exclusively oral; it is in the Apocalypse of John that prophecy
under the New Covenant first takes a written form?. Both in
the prologue and in the epilogue, the work of John lays claim
to a prophetic character*; and in the heart of the book the writer
represents himself as hearing a voice which warns him, Thou must
prophesy again‘. Moreover, it is clear that he is not a solitary
prophet, but a member of an order which occupies a recognized
and important position in the Christian societies of Asia. His
‘brother-prophets’ are mentioned®, and they appear to form the'
most conspicuous circle in the local Churches. The Church, as
viewed in the Apocalypse, consists of the Spirit and the Bride, the
charismatic ministry and the great body of believers. No special
place is assigned to local Church officers, whether bishops or
presbyters or deacons®; unless they are also prophets, which may
often have been the case, they take rank with ordinary members
of the Church. We read of God’s “servants the prophets,” of
“prophets and saints,” of “saints, apostles, and prophets’”; but
nowhere of “the saints with the bishops and deacons’,” or even of
“pastors and teachers” as distinct from prophets®. The Apoca-
lyptist’s standpoint in reference to the Christian ministry is
not quite that of St Paul; indeed, he assigns to the apostles
1 Eph. iv. 12 (see Dean Armitage there are few predictions, in the Apoca-
Robinson’s note ad loc.).
2 Except in the case of prophecies
which form part of an apostolic letter,
or have been incorporated in the Gospels
(e.g. 2 Thess, ii., Me. xiii.).
3 Cf. Apoc. 1.3, xxl. ¥, 10, 18t. Itias
scarcely necessary to say that this claim
does not require us to expect direct pre-
dictions of future events. As Dr A. B.
Davidson has well said (O. 7. Prophecy,
p- 119), “‘ there is much prophecy, but
lypse.”
& Apoe: x. 11:
> Apoc, xxii. 9.
® For the probable meaning of the
Angels of the Churches see the com-
mentary on Apoc. i. 20.
7 Apoc. x. 7, xvi. 6, XVill. 20, 24.
8 Phil. i. ¢ rots dylos...cdv émiokdmots
kat dvakdévo.s.
9 Eph. iv. rr.
PROPHECY IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH XXl
and prophets a position even more prominent than that which they
hold in the Didache’. In the age of the Apocalypse, as in the
lifetime of St Paul, the Asian Churches doubtless had their
presbyters and deacons, but in the eyes of St John they were
eclipsed by the greater lustre of the charismatic orders. Such a
view of the ministry is not unnatural in a prophetic book, written
by a prominent member of the prophetic order; but that it should
have been presented frankly and without reserve to Churches so
important and well organized as those of Ephesus, Smyrna, and
Pergamum, is sufficient evidence of the high honour in which the
Christian prophet was held in Asia at that time. The prophets of
the Church have contributed but one distinctly prophetic book to
the canon of the New Testament; but it is a monument of the great
position which they had attained before the end of the first century.
After the date of the Apocalypse the decline of the order in Asia
must have been rapid and general*. Of pre-Montanistic prophets
not named in the New Testament only two names have reached us
—those of Ammia of Philadelphia and Quadratus (Eus. H. 2. yv. 17;
ef. iii. 37°). It is significant also that in the letters of Ignatius,
who magnifies the office of the bishop, ‘the prophets” are in-
variably those of the Old Testament canon (Magn, 8. 2, Philad. 5. 2,
9. 1, 2); and though Polycarp was remembered in his own Church
as an “apostolic and prophetic teacher” (mart. Polyc. 16), in his
letter to the Philippians he associates the Apostles with the old
prophets, and not, as St Paul had done, with those of the New
Testament (Phil. 6. 3 ot evayyehioapevor as arocrodot Kat ot
mpopyrar of mpoxnpvéavtes xtX.). The Montanistic movement
testifies to a reaction in favour of the prophets, which was at its
strongest in Asia, but extended as far west as Gaul; cf. Iren. ii.
32, v. 6. 3. But the “new prophecy” produced no important
literary work, for the ‘catholic’ Epistle of Themison (Eus. H. £. v.
18) does not appear to have had a prophetic character,
1 The Didache shews some recovery
gence of the monarchical episcopate; a
in the position of the local officers; ef.
decay of spiritual power in the prophetic
§ 15 vuty yap Netroupyotow Kat av’rol rh
Neroupylav T&v mpopynray kal didackddwv.
Yet the uy ody breplinre atrovs which
immediately follows proves that there
were still those who held the prophet in
the highest esteem, to the disparage-
ment of the Church-officer. And the
Didache itself (§ 13) says of the prophets:
avrol yap elow ol dpxcepets buay.
2° It may have been due to the con-
currence of several causes, such as
persecution, which would fall on the
prophets with special severity ; the emer-
order itself, and the seemingly not un-
common occurrenceof YevdorpopFrac. Yet
the Catholic Church was slow to abandon
her hold on the gift; cf. Apollinarius
ap. Eus. H. E. v. 17 deiv yap elvac 7d
mpopyrikoy xdpiona év wacyn TH éxxAnola
péxpt THs Terelas wapovcias 6 dwrébaroXos
dfiot, and see Harnack, 7. u. U. ii. 3,
p. 123.
3 On these see Zahn, Forschungen
vi. 1; Harnack, Chronologiei., p. 320 ff.
Harnack places both under Hadrian.
I.
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN.
1. If the book which John addresses to the Churches of Asia
is a ‘prophecy, a Divine message communicated by a member of
the prophetic order, it is also an ‘apocalypse, a revelation of Divine
mysteries. The title "Avoxcaduwus, or Atroxaduwis lwavvou, may
have found a place at the end of an early copy of the book, or
on a label attached to the roll’; in any case it seems to have
been familiar before the end of the second century®. The point is
not material, since the author in the first words of his book
describes it as an atroxadvyuis “Incod Xpiorod, a revelation made
by God to Jesus Christ, and by Christ through the ministry of
an angel to John for transmission to the Churches. The word
‘apocalypse’ does not appear again in the book, but its position
in the forefront of the prologue doubtless suggested the ancient
title, and justifies our use of it.
2. The history of the verb avoxadvrrew and its derivative
arvoxahuwes is sufficiently discussed in the commentary*. ‘Revela-
tion’ is the converse of concealment‘, the process of casting aside
the veil that hides a mystery. St Paul uses the noun in reference
both to the gift of spiritual vision and to its results; the gift isa
Tvedwa aTroKadv ews’, and its exercise is an awoxadvwis*®, The
1 See ,Gardthausen, Griech. Palaeo- xddupw pvornpiov xpdvos aiwvlos ceae-
graphie, p. 53; Thompson, Greek and ynuévov. Eph. iii. 3 xara dmoxd\upw
Latin Palaeography, p. 57 £.; Kenyon, éyvwpicOn por To pvorhpiov.
Pal. of Greek papyri, p. 22. Se hphe aan
2 See cc. ix, x. 3 See p. 1. 6 1 Cor. xiv. 6, 26, 2 Cor. xii. 1 (where
4 See e.g. Mt. xi. 25 xpupas radra dzoxadvWers are coupled with drracia.),
amo copay Kal cuver@v, kal dmekdduwas 73; the verb is similarly used in 1 Cor.
avra vynmios. Rom, xvi. 25 Kara dmo- Xiv. 30.
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN XX11l
gift of revelation took its place as an instrument of edification by
the side of the gift of prophecy; it was in fact a particular
manifestation of the prophetic Spirit, in which the spirit of the
prophet seemed to be carried up into a higher sphere, endowed
for the time with new powers of vision, and enabled to hear words
which could not be reproduced in the terms of human thought,
or could be reproduced only through the medium of symbolical
imagery’. While the prophets normally dealt with human life
in its relation to God, reading and interpreting the thoughts of
men, and thus convicting, exhorting, or consoling them according
to their several needs, he who ‘had an apocalypse’ strove to
express his personal realization of the unseen or of the distant
future.
3. The ‘apocalypses’ which in St Paul’s day might be
heard at times in the Christian assemblies were unpremedi-
tated utterances, flashes of light which suddenly illumined the
consciousness of the men who spoke, and as suddenly vanished’.
Of these revelations no trace remains, nor were they ever, so far
as we know, committed to writing. The Revelation of John is the
only written apocalypse, as it is the only prophetic book of the
Apostolic age. Yet it was not by any means the earliest literary
product of the apocalyptic movement. A written apocalypse was
no novelty in Jewish pre-Christian literature; there are examples
of this class of writing within the canon of the Old Testament,
and besides these, eight or nine extant apocalyptic works may
be enumerated which are wholly or in part of Jewish provenance.
which were heard in Montanist assem-
blies at Carthage in his own day; de
anima g “nam quia spiritalia charismata
1 2 Cor, xii. 4 jpwdyn els Tov Twapd-
decov Kal Hxovcev dppnra pjuata. This
was however no ordinary occasion ; ef.
v. 7 TH VTEpBorT T&v droxahiWewr. The
anti-Montanist writer in Eus. H. EF.
vy. 17 contends pi) deity rpogirny ev éx-
ordcet Aare, which agrees with St Paul’s
doctrine: mvetuara mpopnray mpogpiyrats
brordocerat. Such an apocalypse, how-
ever, as that of John implies a state of
‘ecstasy’ at the time when it occurred
(cf. e.g. i. 10 ff., iv. 1, and passim),
although the message may well have been
written afterwards.
2 Tertullian describes the revelations
agnoscimus, post Joannem quoque pro-
phetiam meruimus consequi. est hodie
soror apud nos revelationum charismata
sortita, quas in ecclesia inter dominica
solemnia per ecstasin in spiritu patitur;
conversaturcumangelis, aliquandoetiam
cum Domino, et videt etauditsacramenta
et quorundam corda dinoscit,” ete. The
picture may be taken, mutatis mutandis,
as descriptive of the droxa\twWers which
broke the order of more primitive con-
gregations at Corinth in St Paul’s time.
XX1V
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
Of these the greater number were earlier than the Apocalypse of
John ; a few were nearly contemporary with it.
Within the canon of the Old Testament apocalyptic passages
occur even in the Pentateuch (Gen. xv., xlix., Num. xxiii., xxiv.)
and historical books (1 Kings xxil.); in the Prophets they form
a considerable element, especially in Isaiah (Isa. xiii. ff., xxiv. ff,
ixv. f.), Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah ; Ezekiel’s prophecy in par-
ticular is almost wholly of an apocalyptic character’, But it is
in the Book of Daniel that the later conception of the literary
apocalypse is first realized. Though reckoned among the Kethu-
bim of the Hebrew Bible, a class in which it usually stands
eighth, ninth, or tenth of eleven writings’, in the Greek Old Testa-
ment Daniel secured a place among the Prophets*, doubtless because
the second half of the book (cc. vii.—xii.) is of the nature of an
apocalyptic prophecy‘. Judging by its place in the Hebrew canon,
and by historical and other considerations, this book seems to belong
to the interval B.c. 168—i65, the years during which the hand of
Antiochus Epiphanes lay heavy on the Jewish people. The writer’s
purpose is to strengthen the religious section of the nation under
this supreme test of their faith and loyalty. He is carried back
in the Spirit to the days of the Exile, and identifies himself with
Daniel, a Jewish captive at Babylon, who is represented as fore-
seeing in a series of great visions the course of events that
culminated in the troubles of the Maccabean age. From the
standpoint of the writer all events later than the age of Daniel
are ex hypothesi future; but the book is not’ without actual predic-
tions: the author, who writes while the persecution is still going
on, foresees the issue with a confidence which comes from the sense
of a Divine gift.
Next in importance to Daniel among Jewish apocalypses® is
the Book of Enoch*, a composite work of which the several
portions are variously dated by scholars. It must suffice here to
quote an eminent German and an eminent English authority.
Schiirer’ regards cc, i.—xxxvi. and cc. lxxii.—cv. as belonging to the
time of John Hyrcanus, and places the ‘‘Similitudes” (ce, xxxvii.—
1 A. B. Davidson, Ezekiel, Introd.
p. xxv.: ‘‘there are three things in
particular which are characteristic of
the Book: symbolical figures, sym-
bolical actions, and visions.”
* Introduction to the O. T. in Greek,
Pp. 200.
3 Ib. p. 201 ff.; cf. Mt. xxiv. 25 7d
pndév dia Aavihd Tod mpodprjrov.
4 Cf. Driver, Daniel, Introd. p. lxxvii.:
“ both the symbolism and the veiled pre-
dictions are characteristic of a species
of literature which was now beginning
to spring up, and which is known com-
monly by modern writers as Apocalyptic
literature.”
> The following sketch of the non-
canonical apocalypses is added for the
sake of readers to whom this literature,
much of which until recent years has
been difficult of access, may be almost
unknown. Further particulars may be
found in Schiirer, Geschichte des jiid.
Votkes® iii. p. 181 ff. [Eee
p- 54 ff.]; Kautzsch, Die Apokryphen u.
Pseudepigraphen des A. T.; Encyclo-
paedia Biblica, art. ‘‘ Apocalyptic Litera-
ture.”
6 Ed. Charles (Clarendon Press, 1893).
7 Geschichte? iii., p. 196 fi.
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN XXV
lxxi.) at the earliest in the reign of Herod the Great. According
to Charles, cc. 1xxxiil,—xec. are Maccabean (B.c. 166—161), and
ec, 1.—xxxvi. pre-Maccabean, “at latest before 170 B.c.},” while
cc. XxxVil.—1xxi. belong to B.c. 94—79, or to B.c. 7o—64. <As the
uncertainty which attends the dating of the sections indicates,
allusions to events or persons are rare in Enoch ; the book in all its
parts is visionary and eschatological, dealing with angels and spirits,
with the secrets of Nature and the mysteries of the unseen world
and its rewards and punishments; and less often and in a vague and
general way with the course of human history and its great issues.
The apocalyptic imagery of Enoch anticipates that of the Apocalypse
of John in not a few particulars ; both books, e.g., know of the Tree
of life and the Book of life; both represent heavenly beings as
clothed in white; in both stars fall from heaven, horses wade
through rivers of blood; the winds and the waters have their
presiding spirits; a fiery abyss awaits notorious sinners’.
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch*, another survival of the
pre-Christian Enoch literature, has been recently given to the world
in an English translation by Dr Charles. According to its editor
it belongs to- the half century a.p. 1—so, but contains earlier
fragments which have had a Hebrew original. In this attractive
little book Enoch relates his travels into the unseen world ; in the
seventh heaven he sees the vision of God; he receives instructions
from God, and is then sent back to the world for 30 days to teach
his children, after which he is carried back by angels into the
Divine Presence. As in the Book of Enoch, there are anticipations
of the Johannine imagery. A great sea is above the clouds; in
the third heaven there is a paradise stocked with fruit-trees bearing
all manner of ripe fruits, and in the midst of it the Tree of Life.
Faces are seen shining like the sun, and eyes as lamps of fire ; there
are angels set “over seasons and years...over rivers and the sea...
over all the souls of men”; ‘‘six-winged creatures overshadow all
the Throne...singing, Holy, Holy, Holy”; the world-week is of
seven thousand years ; Hades is a fortress whose keys are committed
to safe keeping.
The Apocalypse of Baruch‘ is probably later than the fall of
Jerusalem’. Like the Book of Daniel its aim is to console and
build up the Jewish people at a time of great depression. For this
purpose the writer identifies himself with Baruch, the contemporary
of Jeremiah, who is represented as foreseeing the coming troubles,
and looking beyond them to their issue. He finds comfort in the
prospect of the Messianic reign, and speaks of its glories in terms
1 Book of Enoch, p. 25 ff. Cf. Dr
Charles’ article in Hastings’ Dictionary
of the Bible and Encycl. Biblica (** Apoca-
lyptic Literature”).
* These coincidences are noted in the
commentary as they occur. On the
question of John’s indebtedness to
Enoch see c. xiii. in this introduction.
° Ed. Charles (Clarendon Press, 1896).
4 Ed. Charles (A. & C. Black, 1896).
5 So Schiirer, Geschichte iii., p. 227;
Charles (dpoc. Baruch, p. vii.) prefers
to say that it is ‘‘a composite work
written in the latter half of the first
century.”
XXV1 APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
(¢. xxix.) which stirred the enthusiasm of Christian millenarians,
and were even attributed to our Lord!. He foresees also the fall
of Rome (c. xxxix.), and the rise of a new Jerusalem (c. iv.). Thus
the Apocalypse of Baruch approximates to the nearly contemporary
Christian Apocalypse not merely in verbal coincidences and the use
of similar imagery, but in some important lines of thought.
The Fourth Book of Esdras’ contains (cc. iiii—xiv.) a Jewish
apocalypse which is now generally recognized as a work of the
time of Domitian*, to whose reign the Apocalypse of St John,
according to Irenaeus, also belongs. The Jewish portion of
4 Esdras is marked by a pessimism which contrasts strongly with
the hopefulness of the older Jewish apocalypses, and of the con-
temporary Christian apocalypse. The writer, who personates Ezra,
arranges his matter in seven visions; the first two (iii. r—v. 20,
v. 21—vi. 34) deal with the general problem of evil; the third
vision (vi. 35—ix. 25) depicts the Messianic reign, the judgement,
and the intermediate state; the fourth (ix. 26—x. 60) represents
the mourning of Zion for the fallen city, and the building of a new
Jerusalem, whose glories, however, are not revealed; in the fifth
(xi. I—xil. 39) Rome, represented by an eagle, receives its sentence
from the Messiah, who appears under the form of a lion ; the sixth
(xill. 1—58) shews the Messiah rising from the sea to destroy His
enemies and gather the scattered tribes of Israel; the seventh
(xiv. 1—47) has to do with Ezra’s personal history. Even this
bare summary is enough to reveal the strong contrasts which,
amidst much that is similar, distinguish the Jewish from the
Christian apocalypse.
Other Jewish books, which either in literary form or in their
general purpose are further removed from the Apocalypse of John,
can only be mentioned here. Such are the Book of Jubilees*, an
haggadic commentary on Genesis ; the Assumption of Moses®, which
together with the oldest Enoch was used by the Christian writer of
the Epistle of Jude; the Martyrdom of Isaiah, incorporated in the
Ascension of Isaiah (ce. ii., iii., v.°); the Psalms of Solomon’, written
in the interests of the Pharisees between B.c. 7o and 4o; the
Apocalypses of Adam, Elijah, and Zephaniah; the Testament of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the more important Testaments of
the Twelve Patriarchs’, all of which have been more or less worked
over by Christian hands. More serviceable than any of the above
for illustrating St John’s Apocalypse are the Sibylline Oracles®.
Of the Jewish Sibyllines Bk iii. 97829 is assigned to the time of
Ptolemy Physcon (B.c. 145—117), while Bks iv. and y. are said to
Peete Irene ys 33-. 35 6 Ed. Charles (1900).
* Ed. Bensly and James in Texts and 7 Kd. Ryle and James (Camb. Univer-
Studies ili, 2 (Camb. University Press, sity Press, 1891).
1895). 8 An account of these works with
* For the grounds of this conclusion — bibliographical materials is given in
see Schiirer, Geschichte® iii., p. 241 ff., Enc. Biblica, s.vv. Apocalyptic litera-
and cf, Mr Thackeray’s art. Second ture, Apocrypha.
Book of Esdras in Hastings’ D. B. ® Ed. A. Rzach (Vienna, 1891);
* Ed. Charles (A. & C. Black, 1902). Geffeken (Leipzig, 1902).
> Ed. Charles (1897).
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN XXVil
belong severally to the reigns of Domitian and Hadrian. The
points of contact between this strange conglomerate of Jewish and
Christian oracles and the Apocalypse have been noted in the
commentary as they occur.
4. The whole of this Jewish apocalyptic literature, it will be
seen, belongs to times when prophecy in the stricter sense was
believed to be in suspense. In no single instance do the non-
canonical apocalyptists write in their own names; their message
is delivered under the assumed personality of some one of the
saintly or inspired teachers of the past. Moreover, their attitude
differs from that of the Hebrew Prophets. The older prophecy
had been concerned primarily with the moral and religious needs
of the nation; it was a call to repentance and to faith in God.
The prophet of the canon had been the authorized interpreter of
the Divine Mind to a theocratic people; if he had foretold the
future, it was “the prediction of dissatisfaction, the prediction of
hope, of anticipation, of awakened thoughts, of human possibility
and Divine nearness!,’ rather than a formal announcement of
coming events. To this réle the apocalyptists did not wholly
succeed. With the Greek conquests a new order began which
was unfavourable to prophecy of the older type. Relief from the
pressure of heathen domination or from the distasteful presence of
heathen surroundings was henceforth sought in efforts to pierce
the veil of the future, and to discover behind it the coming
triumphs of the righteous. The Pharisaic movement offered
salvation to the Jewish race partly in the way of an exact
observance of the Law, partly by opening wider hopes to those
who obeyed, and painting in darker colours the doom of the
transgressor; and the earlier non-canonical apocalypses gave
literary expression to these new hopes and fears. Another cause
contributed to the growth of apocalyptic literature. With the
coming of the Romans and the subsequent rise of the Herodian
dynasty, the political outlook changed, and a fresh impulse was
given to the expectation of a Messianic reign. In the first
century the habits of thought which produced apocalyptic writing
1 Davidson, O. T. Prophecy, p. go.
XXVUl APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
were so firmly rooted in the Jewish mind that even the destruc-
tion of the City and Temple did not at once eradicate them;
unable any longer to connect a glorious future with the Herodian
buildings, the writers of the apocalypses of Baruch and Ezra
looked for a Messiah who should crush the enemies of Israel,
restore the nation, and realize the vision of an ideal Jerusalem.
Despondent as the writer of the Ezra-apocalypse manifestly is,
he does not formally relinquish the national hope, though in
his case it is indefinitely deferred.
5. The first Christian apocalypse came on the crest of this
long wave of apocalyptic effort. Compositions more or less similar
both in form and in substance to the work of St John had been
in circulation among Palestinian and Alexandrian Jews for two
centuries and a half before he took up his pen to write the
“Revelation of Jesus Christ.” It may be claimed for St Paul that
he created the Epistle, as we find it in the New Testament?!; and
the “memoirs of the Apostles,” which from Justin’s time have been
known as “Gospels,” have no exact literary parallel in pre-Christian
literature. This cannot be said of the writer of the New Testament
Apocalypse; he had models to follow, and to some extent he
followed them. The apocalyptic portions of Ezekiel, Zechariah,
and Daniel are continually present to his mind; and though it is
less certain that he made use of Enoch or any other post-canonical
apocalypse’, he could scarcely have been ignorant of their existence
and general character. But while it cannot be claimed that the
author of the Apocalypse originated a type of literature, he is far
from being a mere imitator of previous apocalyptic writing. The
Apocalypse of John is in many ways a new departure. (1) The
Jewish apocalypses are without exception pseudepigraphic; the
Christian apocalypse bears the author's name*. This abandon-
ment of a long-established tradition is significant; by it John
claims for himself the position of a prophet who, conscious that he
draws his inspiration from Christ or His angel and not at second
hand, has no need to seek shelter under the name of a Biblical
1 See Ramsay, Letters to the Seven 2 See c. xiii.
Churches, p. 24f. 3) Seelc. Xv.
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN XX1X
saint. (2) How hard it is to determine the date and provenance
of Jewish apocalypses is clear from the wide differences which
divide the best scholars on these points. The fictitious names
under which they pose suggest dates which are no less fictitious,
and any evidence which these books can be made to yield as to
the conditions under which they were written is wrung from
them, as it were, against the will of their authors. The Apoca-
lypse of John, on the contrary, makes no secret of its origin and
destination ; it is the work of a Christian undergoing exile in one
of the islands of the Aegean ; and it is addressed to the Christian
congregations in seven of the chief cities of the adjacent conti-
nent, under circumstances which practically determine its date.
(3) But it is not only in regard to his abandonment of pseudo-
nymity and in matters of literary form that our Apocalyptist differs
from his Jewish predecessors; the cleavage goes deeper. What-
ever view may be taken of his indebtedness to Jewish sources,
there can be no doubt that he has produced a book which, taken
as a whole, is profoundly Christian, and widely removed from the
field in which Jewish apocalyptic occupied itself. The narrow
sphere of Jewish national hopes has been exchanged for the life
and aims of a society whose field is the world and whose goal is
the conquest of the human race. The Jewish Messiah, an un-
certain and unrealized idea, has given place to the historical,
personal Christ, and the Christ of the Christian apocalypse is
already victorious, ascended, and glorified. The faith and the
hope of the Church had diverted apocalyptic thought into mew
channels and provided it with ends worthy of its pursuit. The
tone of St John’s book presents a contrast to the Jewish apocalypses
which is not less marked. It breathes a religious spirit which is
not that of its predecessors; it is marked with the sign of the
Cross, the note of patient suffering, unabashed faith, tender love
of the brethren, hatred of evil, invincible hope; and, notwith-
standing the strange forms which from time to time are seen to
move across the stage, the book as a whole is pervaded by a sense
of stern reality and a solemn purpose which forbid the approach
of levity. The Apocalypse of John is differentiated from the
POO APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
Apocalypse of Baruch or of Ezra just as the Book of Daniel is
differentiated from the Book of Enoch. However the fact may
be explained, the two canonical apocalypses possess the notes of
insight and foresight which suggest inspiration; the attentive
reader becomes conscious of something in them both which is
better than the unchastened imaginings of the mere mystic who
conceives himself to possess a key to the secrets of life. In the
Apocalypse of John the presence of the Spirit of revelation is un-
mistakably felt, and the Christian student may be pardoned if he
recognizes in this book a fulfilment of the promise of a Paraclete
who shall declare...the things that are to come.
6. If it were asked with what subjects a Christian apoca-
lyptist, writing towards the close of the Apostolic age, might be
expected to occupy himself, it is not difficult to conjecture the
answer. As the first century advanced, two topics filled the field
of Christian thought when it turned its gaze on the unseen and
the future. Behind the veil of phenomena the human life of
Jesus Christ was believed to be enshrined in the glory of God.
To reveal this hidden life, to represent to the imagination the
splendour of the Divine Presence in which it exists, to translate
into human words or symbols the worship of Heaven, to exhibit
the ascended Christ in His relation to these unknown surround-
ings: this would be the first business of the Christian seer. But a
second great theme is inseparable from it. With the life of the
glorified Lord the life of His Body, the Church, was identified in
primitive Christian belief. In the last years of the first century
the Church, which had begun her course with the promise of a
rapid success, was reeling under the blows dealt her by the
world. The two empires, the Kingdom of God and the World-
power, were already at open war’. Men were asking what the
end would be; which of the two forces would prevail. A Christian
in those days who was conscious of possessing the spirit of revela-
tion could not but endeavour to read the signs of the times and,
so far as it was given him, to disclose the course and outcome of
1 On this subject see Bp Westcott’s essay on the Church and the World
(Epistles of St John).
APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN XXX1
the struggle which had begun between the Empire and the
Church.
On some such lines we might have sought to reconstruct the
Apocalypse of John, had only fragments of it survived, guided
by what we knew of the beliefs and hopes of the Apostolic age
and of the history of the last thirty years of the first century. As
a matter of fact, these are the lines on which the book has been
written. It is an apocalypse of the glory of the exalted Christ ;
it is also an apocalypse of the sufferings and the ultimate triumph
of the militant Church.
Christian apocalypses later than the Apocalypse of John were
for the most part either recensions of Jewish books, or original
works issued under Old Testament names. In a few cases they
claim to be the work of Apostles or other N.T. saints. Gnosticism
produced an Anabaticon Pauli’, and the Revelations of Stephen
and Thomas, denounced as ‘apocryphal’ in the so-called Decree
of Gelasius, were also probably of Gnostic origin. One apocalyptic
pseudepigraphon of the second century, the "AroxaAvyis Ieérpov,
seemed for a time about to find a place within the canon by the
side of the Apocalypse of John; it is coupled with the latter in the
Muratorian Fragment (1. 71 sqq. “‘apocalypse[s] etiam Iohanis et
Petri tantum recipimus*, quam quidam ex nostris legi in e(c]clesia
nolunt”); it was quoted, apparently as a genuine work of St Peter,
by Clement of Alexandria*; it is included in the early Claromontane
list*. But as time went on, the book found its own level. Eusebius
reckons it among the spurious, or at least the doubtful books (H. £.
ili. 25, cf. 2b. ili. 2); and though it retained its popularity and was
even read in some Eastern churches in the time of Sozomen (H. £. vii.
19), in the later lists of scriptural books it is placed among the antile-
gomena or the apocrypha®. From the large fragment® of the Petrine
Apocalypse recovered in 1892 it is easy to account for the difference
of opinion which seems to have existed about the book from the
first; on the one hand it appealed strongly to the uneducated
imagination by its attempt to portray the joys of Paradise and the
torments of Gehenna, while upon the other its tone and purpose
were on a different level from those of the canonical Apocalypse.
1 Epiph. haer. xxxviii. 2.
2 Zahn (Gesch. d. NTlichen Kanons,
5 So the list of Sixty Books and the
Stichometry of Nicephorus (Zahn, ib.,
ii, p. ros ff.) would read “et Petri
unam tantum recipimus epistulam ;
fertur enim altera quam” ete. But
neither the emendation nor the reason
which he gives for it can be regarded as
convincing,
3 Bus. H. E. vi. 14. 1; cf. ecl. proph.
41, 48 f.
* Zahn, Gesch. ii. p. 159.
Pp. 292, 299 ff.).
6 Cf. Dr M. R. James, Revelation of
Peter, p. 51 f.: ‘a fragment of sufficient
length to give us a fair idea of the con-
tents of the whole Apocalypse. As a
fact, it does contain something like 140
out of the original 300 lines of which
the book consisted.”
XXxl APOCALYPSES, JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
The fourth century has given us an Apocalypse of Paul, an
attempt to report the appyta pywata which St Paul heard when he
was caught up into Paradise (2 Cor. xii. 2 ff.), well characterized by
Augustine asa work the folly of which is no less conspicuous than its
presumption*®. Later still, but of more importance to the student
of the N.T. Apocalypse, is a spurious Greek Apocalypse of John’,
first mentioned in a scholion of cent. iv. The author supposes
St John to be, after the Ascension, alone on Mt Tabor, whence
he is carried up in a bright cloud to the door of Heaven.
Several of the features of the story are obviously borrowed from
the canonical book; e.g. the opened heaven (§ 2), the book with
seven seals (§ 3), the sending of Enoch and Elijah to expose Anti-
christ and be slain by him (§ 8); the Lamb with seven eyes and
seven horns who breaks the seven seals (§ 18). But the spurious
Apocalypse is chiefly occupied with eschatological speculations,
grotesque descriptions of Antichrist (§ 7), and answers to curious
questions connected with the resurrection of the body, the inter-
mediate state, the last things, and the final judgement (§ 9g ff.).
An interesting apocalypse* forms the prologue of the ‘Church
Order’ known as Zestamentum Domini, printed by Lagarde in his
Reliquiae...syriace, and edited by Rahmani in 1899 and in an
English translation by Cooper and Maclean in 1902; a Latin
fragment which is “ the literal equivalent of certain sections” of
this apocalypse is given by Dr James in Texts and Studies, i. 3,
p- 151 ff. The same volume of TZ'exts and Studies contains an
Apocalypse of Sedrach, and a late Apocalypse of the Virgin.
A study of post-canonical Christian apocalypses serves only to
accentuate the unique importance of the canonical book. Among
apocalypses of Christian origin the N.T. Apocalypse alone stands
in a real relation to the life of the age in which it was written, or
attempts to reveal the meaning and issues of the events which the
writer had witnessed or was able to foresee. The N.T. Apocalypse
alone deserves the name, or is in any true sense a ‘ prophecy.’
1 Edited by Tischendorf in Apoca-
lypses Apocryphae (1866), pp. 34—693
an early Latin version (Visio Pauli) is
printed by Dr James in Texts and
Studies, ii. 3, pp. 11—42.
2 Aug. tr. in Joann. 98 ‘‘qua occa-
sione yvani quidam Apocalypsim Pauli,
quam sana non recipit ecclesia, nescio
quibus fabulis plenam stultissima prae-
sumptione finxerunt.”
3 Edited by Tischendorf in Apocalyp-
ses Apocryphae (1866), pp. 70—94-
4 On this see Harnack, Chron. ii,
DP: 54 i.
Ie
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN.
1. In his treatise [epi ésrayyedi@y Dionysius of Alexandria
(+ 265) writes as if the Apocalypse were already divided into
xceparaca, But if he refers to a formal capitulation, no other
trace of it remains. When preparing to comment upon the book
in the sixth century, Andreas, Archbishop of Cappadocian Caesarea,
devised a system for his own use, which he would scarcely have
done if there had been one in existence dating from the third
century. Andreas’s method is conventional and arbitrary, after
the fashion of his age; he breaks up the Apocalypse into 24
longer sections (Adyov), corresponding with the number of the
Elders in c. iv., and subdivides each of these sections into three
chapters (cepadXava), an arrangement suggested, as he says, by the
threefold nature of man*. His 72 cepadara, however, represent
fairly well the natural subdivisions of the book, and are printed
below as exhibiting the earliest known analysis.
Keparaia rijs “lwavvov tod Beoroyou aroxadvw ews.
a’, mpootpov Tis droxadvyews, Kat Ore Ov dyyédou aitd dédorac
(i. 1—8). 5 omracia, ev 7) Tov ‘Inootv eedcato ev péow AvxXvidv
erta (i. Q—20). y. Ta Yeyeap peeve. mpos TOV bye "Edeoiwv exxAnoias
ayyeAov (ii. 1—7). 8. ra dyrudevra 7d ev TH Survpvaiwv exxAnoia
ayyedw (ii. 8—rr). ¢. Ta onpavbevra, TO 7s Mlepyapnvav exxAnoias
dyyedy (ii. 12—17). =’. Ta yeypappéva TO THs Ovareipwv exxAynolas
ayyehw (ii. 18—29). f. 7a arectadpéva 7 dyyéAw Tis ev Sdpdeow
1 Eus. H. E. vii. 25. 1 (Dionys. Al. p. 141.
ed. Feltoe, p. 114), rwes wer ody r&v mpd 2 prolegg. in comm., diedvres TH
Nuadv HOérncav xal dvecxevacay mdvtn rd =rapodcay mpayuarelay els Néyous xd’ Kal
BiBrlov cat kas’? Exagrov Kedddarov of Kepddaia, dia THv Tp.wepH TOv Ks’ brs-
OtevBivovres krX. Cf. Gregory, prolegg., cracw oduaros xal puxis Kal rvetuaros.
Ss. R. c
Xxxlv CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
exkAnoias (iii. 1—6). n. Ta ypaévta. mpos TOV THS Drradehpewy
éxkAnolas ayyehov (ill. 7—13). 7a oprwbevra mpos TOV TNS
Aaobdixéwv éxxyotas ayyedov (iii, 14—22). v TEpt THS dpabetons
aita Ovpas év TO otpave Kat TOV Opovov Kal TOV KO. mpeo Butépwv Kal
TOV “éfs derxbévrwr (iv. I—I 1). a. mreph 77S BiBrov THs éexppeyio-
pevns odpayiow € ETTA THS EV TH XELPL TOD Ged, ia ovdets dvoitar dvvatat
7s KTLOTIS prrews (v. I—5). «8. wept tov dpviou TOU TA ETTE Kepara
EXOVTOS, orws tHv BiBdov avéwsev (v. 6—14). ry. Avous THS Tpurns
oppayisos, THV arooToNLKyY Sidaynv onpaivovea (vi. I, 2). 10. Advous
THs OEevTEpas odpayisos, dnAotoa TOV TOV aTloTwY KATA TOV Tuo T@v
TONE HOV (vi. 3, 4 4). ue. Avous 778. tpitns odpayidsos, dnAovoa Ta pay
mary iws TETLTTEVKOTWOV XPLOTO THY EKTTWOL (vi. ON Avous THS
TeTapTyS oppayidos, eppaivovoa TAS erayopevas TALOEUTIKAS PATTLYAS
trois 6 avuTopovnaias dpvnrapevors tov kvpiov (vi. 7, 8). c. Avors
TS mEeuTTNS THpayioos, Tv TOV ayiwv WuyYov oj paivovra pos Krpuoy
Kara,Bonow WOTE yeveo bar ovvtéXevav (V1. g—11). uy. Avous THS
ExTNS oppayioos, Tas eV 7H ovvTedeta erayopevas mhayyas onpaivouc a.
(vi. 12—17). OH. wept tov colopévov eK 7Ayyas TOV Tecodpwv
dyyédwv xiruddwv pud (vii. 1—8). Kk. Tept Tod dvarpeOpaprov oxAov
tov e& €vav Xpitd cvpBacirevoavtwv (vii. g—17). Ka. Avous THS
éBdopns oppayisos, dyhovoa ayyedicas Svvdpers poo dye Geo [as]
TOV aylwv _Tpooevxas ws Ovpidpata (villi. I—6). KB. rept TOV ETT.
dyyeAwv, wv TOU Tpwrou oahricaytos xéAaa Kai ip Kal aipa ert THS
ys péeperar (vili. 7). Ky. Tept TOV devtépou ayyéAou, ov cahricavTos
TOV €V [7a] Garacon enix dwdeva yiverat (viil. 8,9). Kd. 6 TpéTos
ayyehos 7a. TOV TOTapOV TUKpaivet vara (VitiseO, ie 1). ke. 6 TéTApTOS
ayyeXos 70 Tpitov TOU qAcaxod Kal oehyviaKov durds oKorticer (vii. t2,
13). Ko. epl TOU TEMTTOV dryyéov Kal TOV €K THS aBiooov avepXo-
pevov vonTav dxpidwv KaL TOU moukthov THs poppys aitav (ix. I—12).
KC. mept Tov extov ayyéAov Kal TOV éxt TO Hidparyn Avopévwv dyyehov
éridvors (ix. 13-21). Kn. Tept ayyddov mrepu3eBAnmevov veperny
Kal ipw Kal 70 Kowvov Téos TpopnvbovTos (x. I1—9). «0. odmws 70
Bi BXapid.ov eK XEtpos TOU dyyéhou 6 ebayyehoris ciAnpey (x. 1oO—
12) aN. GREpe ‘Evax kat HAia Sue ey ew pedovrov TOV dytixpurtov
(xi. 3—I0). ha’, Srrws dvaipeOevtes IO Tod avTixpioTov a dvarryoovrat,
Kal TOUS rarnwevous exrAnEovow (xi. I I—I4). Ap’. wept THs €Bddopns
oadmriyyos Kal TOV bpvotyTwy TO Oew a Gyiwy ert TH peddovon Kpioes (xi.
I 5—18). Ay’. TEpl TOV Suoypv THS exxAyoias TOV Tporepov Kal TOV
éml TOU dvtixpiorou (xi. 19—Xii. 6). Ad. wept rod yevopevou Tohepov
uetadd TOV ayiwv dyyéhwv Kal TOY TOVNpPOV dvvdpewv Kal THS Karanro-
Tews TOV Spdxovros (xii, 7—12). A. Srws 5 dpaxwv dwwKwv TH
exknotav ov Taverat (xii, 13—17). As’. Tept TOD Oypiov Tod ExovTOS
Kepata déxa Kal kepadas € érra, ov play ws eopaypeny epn (xiii. I—I0).
Ne. Tepl Erépov Onpiov dvo Képata EXOVTOS Kal TO TPUTH Tovs avOpurous
TpoodyovTos (xiii. t1—17). Ay. mepl TOU dvoparos TOU Onpiov (xiii.
18). AO’. epi tov pps XAtddwv TOV OV [79] dpviw éotuitwv ev dpet
Susy (xiv. I—5). pe. mept dyyeAov Tpowyop evovTos THY éyyvTnTA THs
Kpicews THS peAAovons (xiv. 6, 7). pa’. epi devtépov ayyédou THY
ataow BaBvdAdvos Kypvocovtos (xiv. 8). pB'. wept tpirov ayyeou
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xxxv
aohadilopevov Tov TOU Kupiov adv py defarbar TOV avTixpLoTov (xiv.
9—13). py. ore 6 ev TH veheAn KaOypevos TO Speravy ourreAct Ta €K
Tis yas BAacravovra (xiv. I4—16). pO. mept Erepou dyyéhov Tpv-
yovros Ti THs mxpias dmrehov (xiv. 17—20). pe. mepl TOV émTa
dyyéhuv TOV érayovTwv TOUS dvOpurrots Tas miyyas Tpo THS TuvTeXELas,
Kal mepl THS badivys Garaoons ev 7) Tovs ayiovs eacaro (xv. 1—8).
Bs. Orws THS TpwTnS Piddns exxvOelons EAKos KaTa TAY arocTaTav
yivera (SV Ty2); pe’. any Sevrépa KATO TOV év Gariooy TUT LLw=
pevov (xvi. 3). py’. Srws dia Tis Tpirys ot Torapot eis alya peTaKip-
vavrat (Xvi. 4—7). pO’. Orws dia THs TeTapTns Kavparilovrat ot
avOpwra (xvi. 8,9). v’. orws dia THs TéeuTTys 7 Bacireia Tod Onpiov
oxorticerat (XVi. 10, II). va. Omws Oud THS Extys 4 450s bid Tod
Eig¢parov tots aro avatodjs nAlov Baci\edow dvotyerar (Xvi. 12—16).
vB. oTws dua THs EBdopns xtrala Kat cea pos Kata Tov avOpurrwv
yiverar (xvi. 17—21). vy. Tept ToD Evos TOV Exra dyyéhov deuxvivtos
TO evayyedior 7 THY THS Topvns To\Eews kabaiperw, | Kal mepl TOV éTTa
kepadov Kal Tov d€xa Kepdtwy (XVil. I—6). vd. O7ws 6 ayyedos TO
dpabey aitd pvotypiov npynvevoev (xvii. 7—18). ve. wept érépov
ayyéAov THY Traow BaBvdAdvos dynAotvtos, kai otpaviov PavAs Thy &k
THS ToAEws puynv evtehAoperys, Kal THS dmoBoXijs Tov TEPTVGV WV TO
mplv exexTy(v)TO (XvVill. I—24). Vs. mpl Tis TOV ayiwv tpvwodias Kal
Tov TpuTAov adAAyAovies omep ewad)ov emi 77 kabarpérer BaBvAavos
(xix. 1—6). vf. epi Tod pvotixod ydpov Kat Tod deixvov Tod dpviov
(xix. 7—10). vy. mds Tov xpiorov 6 ebayyedioTys Epirmov pera
duvdpewy deyyehuxov eedoaro oiv poBw (xix. I I—19). vO’, wept tov
dvrixpiorov kal TOV atv aita BadQopévov eis yeevvav (xix. 20, 21).
£. ows 6 caravas ed€On ad 77s Xpictov Tapovoias HEXpL Tis ouv-
TeXelas, kal Tept_ TOV xLAiwv erov (xx. I—3). a. rept ray nroimac-
péviov Opovew Tots purdtace THY Xpictov opodoyiav (xx. 4). EB. te
eorly 7 mpurn dvaoTacts, Kal Tis 6 devrepos Odvaros (xx. 5, 6). fy. epi
Tov dDwy Kal Mayuy (xx. 7—10). ES. wept rod kabnpevou eri rod b Apovov,
Kal TAS Kos dvarTao ews Kal Kplrews (xx. I I—I5). éé : Tept Kalv av
ovpavod Te Kal yns Kal THS avw TepovoaAnp (xxi. I—4). Es”. rept dv
elrev 6 é€v TS Opovw Kabypevos Kal dpabeis (xxi. 5—8). EC. wept rod
dyyeXou dexvivros ait@ tiv TOV ayiwy 7odwW Kal 70 TavTNs TELXOS OU
Tos TuA@L Staperpodvros (xxi. g—27). &'. zept tod Kabapod rora-
Lod Tov drtavOevtos Ex TOD Gpovov Topever Gar (xxil. I—5). co. Tept
Tod adgorictov tav TeHeapevwy TH avooToAw (Xxii. 6). 0’. Gre Geds
TOV mpopytov 6 xpurrds kal deororns Tov dmdvrwy (xxlil. 7—9).
oa’, O7ws éxeAevon pay oppayicat a\Aa Knpvcat TH GroKa uy (xxi.
to—17). 0B’. orws 7) éexxAnola Kal 76 €v avry mvevpa mpoorkaXovvTat
Ti TOD XpioTov Evdoov éripaveray, Kal Tept THs apas 7) broPddXovrat
ot tHv BiBXov tapayapdrrovtes ws akupov (xxii. 18—2r).
The longer sections or Adyou begin at i. 1, ii. 8, iii. 1, iv. 1, vi. 1,
Seve. T, Vill. 7, Vill. 12, X. I, XL 411, Xi 7, Xill. 11, xiv. 6,
epee V1. 2. eevi, 8, XV. 17; XvVili. 95, xix. 11, XX. 4, EX. XI,
i. g, xxii. 8. They shew less discrimination than the division
into xefadaa, and it may be surmised that the latter was made
c2
XXXV1 CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
first, and that the subsequent grouping into Aoyo. was purely
mechanical, based on the principle of trichotomy announced by its
author.
2. The Latin authorities pursue an independent course in
The recapitulatio which follows the
commentary of Primasius! divides the commentary into twenty
the matter of capitulation.
heads, corresponding with Apoc. 1, I—ill. 22, lv. I—II, v. I—
Vi. 2, Vi. 3—II, V1. 12—I7, Vil. I—VIil. I, vill. 2—1x. 12, 1x. 13—21,
X. I—xi. 2, Xl. 3—I4, Xl. 15—xXlL 17, xiii. I—1I8, xiv. I-13,
Xiv. I4—xXVl. 21, xvll. I—18, xvill. I—xix. 10, xix. II—xx, 10,
XX. II—XxXil. I2, xxil. 13—15, xxl. 16—21—a, distribution which
shews a genuine desire to understand the plan of the book”
Moreover, each of the books of the commentary is preceded by
a list of shorter capitula, 96 in all, which Haussleiter with much
probability regards as due to a later hand*; as he points out, the
number suggests a reference to the Elders and the €¢a (96=24 x 4),
which is of a piece with Andreas’s fancy of connecting his cepadXara
with the Elders and the human trichotomy (72 = 24 x 3). Hauss-
leiter adds‘ a division into 48 capitula from cod. Vat. 4221,
cod. Monac. 17088 (a MS. of Haimo’s commentary), and cod.
Monac. 6230 (a Vulgate MS.); the chapters begin at 1. 4, il. I,
8, 12, 18, il. I, 7,14, 1Vv. I, v. 1, 6, °F, Vi. 3, 0; 12a ee
Vill. I, 7, 12, 1X. 13, &. I, Xl. 1, 12, xl. 7,) D2j@ yee
xiv. 1, 6, 13, XV. I, XV. I, 12, XVU: 1, 7, XVI Lj 2 eee
It will be observed that seventeen
Other
systems of capitulation are found; cod. Amiatinus and cod.
FX eI eMX IO.) KK TO:
of these sections start where the modern chapters do*.
Fuldensis divide the Apocalypse into 25 chapters, while there are
MSS. which give 22, 23, 24, 41, and 43°
1 Haussleiter, Die lateinische Apoka-
3 Haussleiter, pp. 184—193; see his
lypse der alten africanischen Kirche,
remarks on pp. 193—4.
p. 179 ff.
2 Primasius himself thus explains the
purpose of his compendium: ‘ut totius
libri auctoritate decursa sic omnis series
brevi recapitulatione itecum evolvatur
insinuata per partes, ut omnium quisque
librorum textus uno summatim loco
clareat definitus, cum et partitionem
recipit singulorum et plenitudinem vide-
tur obtinere per totum.”
4 Ibid., p. 197 ff.
5 The modern chapters are practically
those of Stephen Langton ({1228); see
von Soden, Die Schriften d. N.T.,
p. 482. But in nearly every instance
they were anticipated in the ce@adata of
Andreas.
6 See Gregory, prolegg. i., p. 1613
Textkritik, ii., p. 879f.
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xxxvil
3. In the present edition the Greek text is divided into 42
minor sections (i. I—3, 4—8, 9—20, ll. I—7, 8—II, 12—17,
18—20, ili. I—6, 7—13, 14—22, iv. I—II, v. I—14, VL I—I7,
Vil. I—8, 9—17, Vill. I—13, ix. I—12, 13—21, x. I—II, xL I—
14, I5—I9, xii. I1—18, xiii. I—10, I1—18, xiv. I—5, 6—13,
14—20, xv. I—8, xvi. I—2I, xvii. I—6, 7—18, xvill. I—24,
xix, I—10, I1I—16, 17—21, xx. I—6, 7—10, II—1I5, xxl. I1—8,
Q—xxii. 5, xxil. 6—20, xxii. 21). The following table will shew
the contents of the Book as thus arranged:
1. Prologue.
2. The writer’s greeting to the Churches of Asia.
3. Vision of the risen and ascended Christ.
4—I10. Messages to the Angels of the Seven Churches.
11. Vision of the Throne in Heaven,
12. The Sealed Book and the Lamb.
13. Opening of the first six Seals,
14. Sealing of the 144,000 from the Tribes of Israel.
15. Triumph of the Innumerable Multitude.
16. Opening of the seventh Seal; the half hour’s silence
in Heaven; the first four Trumpet-blasts.
17. The fifth Trumpet-blast, or first Woe.
18. The sixth Trumpet-blast, or second Woe.
19. Preparations for the seventh Trumpet-blast: the vision
of the Angel with the open booklet.
20. Further preparations: measuring the Temple; the
testimony of the Two Witnesses.
21. The seventh Trumpet-blast, or third Woe.
22. The Woman with child, and the Great blood-red
Dragon.
23. The Wild Beast from the Sea.
24. The Wild Beast from the Earth,
25. Vision of the 144,000 on Mount Zion.
26. Three angelic proclamations, and a Voice from Heaven.
27. Vision of the Harvest and the Vintage of the Earth,
28. Preparation for the last Seven Plagues.
29. Pouring out of the Seven Bowls.
XXXV1lll CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
30. Vision of Babylon seated on the Beast.
31. Interpretation of the Vision of Babylon and the Beast.
32. Doom of Babylon.
33. Triumph in Heaven; two Hallelujah Psalms; an angelic
message.
34. Vision of the Crowned Warrior.
35. Overthrow and end of the Beast and the False Prophet.
36. The Thousand Years of Satan’s captivity and the
Martyrs’ Reign.
37. After the Thousand Years: release of Satan; war of
Gog and Magog.
38. Vision of the General Resurrection and the Last Judge-
ment.
39. Vision of a New Heaven and a New Earth.
4o. Vision of the New Jerusalem.
41. Epilogue: Last words cf the Angel, the Seer, and the
Lord.
42. Final Benediction,
4. The whole book lies before us in this table of contents.
It is found to consist of a succession of scenes and visions which
are so easily distinguished that at this stage no serious difference
of opinion can arise. Our difficulties begin when we attempt to
group these sections into larger masses of apocalyptic matter, and
by a process of synthesis to arrive at the plan upon which the
author has constructed his work. The former of these operations
is relatively simple. The first two sections and the last two form
respectively the introduction and the conclusion of the Book;
sections 3—I0, II—13, 16—18 (21), 22—24, 28—29, 30—33,
34—35, 36—38, 39—40 also form coherent groups, while 14—15,
I9—20, 25—-27 are episodes which can be seen to be in more
or less definite relation with their surroundings. Thus our
42 sections are reduced to 14, which may be described as follows:
1. Prologue and greeting (i. I—8).
2. Vision of Christ among the Churches, followed by mes-
sages to their Angels (i, g—iii. 22).
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xxxix
3. Vision of Christ in Heaven, followed by the opening of
the seven Seals of the sealed Book (iv. 1—vi. 17, viii. 1).
4. Episode, after the sixth Seal, of the 144,000 from the
Tribes of Israel, and the countless multitude (vii.
I—I7).
5. The seven Trumpet-blasts (viii, 2—ix. 21, xl. 15—1Q).
6. Episode, after the sixth Trumpet-blast, of the Angel
with the open booklet, the measuring of the Temple,
and the Two Witnesses (x. I—xi. 14).
The Woman with child, the Dragon and the Two Wild
Beasts (xii. I—xul. 18).
8. Episode of the 144,000 on Mt Zion, the angelic and
celestial Voices, and the Harvest and Vintage of the
world (xiv. I—20).
9g. Outpouring of the seven Bowls, containing the seven
NS
last plagues (xv. I—xvi. 21).
Io. Vision of Babylon the Great; her fall; the triumph of
the Angels and the Church (xvu. I—xix. 10).
11. Vision of the Royal Warrior, and overthrow of the Two
Beasts (xix. II—21).
12, The 1000 years, followed by the overthrow of the
Dragon and the End (xx. 1—1s).
13. The New World, and the New City (xxi. I—xxil. 5).
14. Epilogue and benediction (xxii. 6—21).
5. As we look steadily at this scheme and study its con-
nexion, we become conscious of a great cleavage, which practically
divides the Book into two nearly equal parts (i. g—xi. 14, xii. I—
xxii. 5). In the first half the Ascended Christ appears in two
capacities, as the Head of the Church, and the Controller of the
Destinies-of the World. The antagonism between the two
bodies comes into view; the Churches of Asia are already suffer-
ing persecution and have more to suffer; the World is ripe for
judgements, which loom large in the visions of the Seal-openings
and the Trumpet-blasts; the end is drawing on; the victory of
righteousness and the final revelation of truth are foreseen. The
first half—it might almost be called the first book—of the
xl CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
Apocalypse is complete in itself, and had all our MSS. broken off
at xi. 19, and no vestige of the last eleven chapters survived, it is
conceivable that the loss might never have been suspected. In
xl. t the author makes a fresh beginning, for which the reader
had been prepared in x. 11. The theme of the second prophecy is
the same on the whole as that of the first, but the subject is
pursued into new regions of thought, and the leading characters
and symbolical figures are almost wholly new. The Churches of
Asia vanish}, and their place is taken by the Church considered
as a unity, which is represented by the Woman who is the
Mother of Christ and the Saints. It is with her world-long
struggle with the cxocpoxpatopes Tov aKoToUs TovToU, the spiritual
forces which lie behind the antagonism of the World, that the
second part of the Book chiefly deals. These forces are revealed
under monstrous forms, the Great Red Dragon, the Beast from
the Sea, the Beast from the Land, and they continue to operate
until their final overthrow. But we lose sight of them, except in
an occasional reference, from c. xii. to ¢. xvii. While they are
working behind the scene, the apocalyptic history is occupied
with mundane events—the judgements of the latter days which
are now symbolized by seven bowls full of the last plagues;
the greatness and the fall of the New Babylon, the Beast’s
mistress and representative. Beyond the fall of the World-empire
the Seer can see in dim outline long days of comparative rest
and triumph for the Church, and after them a temporary relapse,
followed by the final destruction of the surviving powers of evil.
This makes room for the manifestation of the Church as the .
Bride of Christ and City of God, and with a magnificent picture
of the New Jcrusalem, the antithesis of Babylon, the Ape
reaches its end.
Thus in its briefest form our scheme of the book will stand as
follows :
Prologue and greeting (i. I—8).
Part i. Vision of Christ in the midst of the Churches
(i. 9Q—i11. 22),
1 Until we reach c, xxii. 16, where the writer reverts to the ideas of c. i. 1, 4 ff.
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xli
Vision of Christ in Heaven (iv. I—v. 14).
Preparations for the End (vi. 1—xi. 19).
Vision of the Mother of Christ and her enemies
(xii, I—xili. 18),
Preparations for the End (xiv. 1—xx. 15).
Vision of the Bride of Christ, arrayed for her
husband (xxi. I—xxii. 5).
Epilogue and benediction (xxii. 6—21).
Part i.
6. Archbishop Benson relates that “in answer once to the
question, ‘ What is the form the book presents to you?’ the reply
If the
above scheme is accepted, chaos will give place to something like
But the order and progress of apoca-
41”
of an intelligent and devout reader was, ‘ It is Chaos’,
cosmic order and progress.
lyptic writings must not be judged by the standards of ordinary
literature. An apocalypse is neither a history nor a homily,
though it may partake of the character of each; its methods
are its own, and they must be learnt by a sympathetic study
of the text.
The Apocalypse of John, in its literary setting, is an encyclical
letter addressed to the Seven Churches of Asia*. If we detach
the short preface (i. I—3), it begins in the epistolary style
familiar to readers of the letters of St Paul, and it ends, like the
Pauline letters, with a benediction®. But this form is not main-
tained in the body of the work; it is exchanged in ¢. i. 9 for
the apocalyptic manner, which continues almost to the end. The
so-called ‘ Letters to the Churches’ in ce. il. iil. are no exception ;
they are in fact messages, and not true letters, and they form a
sequel to the vision of c. 1.4
The Apocalypse proper has been represented as a qguasi-drama,
divisible into acts and scenes, and interspersed with ‘interludes’
1 Apocalypse, p. 1.
2 The Pauline Epistle Ipds’Egecious is
probably an earlier example of a circular
letter which starting with Ephesus made
the tour of the Asian Churches: see
WH., Notes on Select Readings, p. 123f.,
and Hort, Prolegqomena to Romans and
Ephesians, p. 86 ff.
® See notes ad loc.
4 The formula re dyyé\y...ypavor
Tdde Aéyec is not epistolary but pro-
phetic ; for ypdayor ef. i, 11, 19, XiV. 13,
xix. os Xxi. 5. Tade \éyer announces a
prophetic message, as frequently in the
Lxx.
xlii CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
and ‘chorice songs’. A similar view is advocated by an American
writer’, who, however, regards “the proper action of the Apoca-
?
lyptic drama” as beginning with c. iv. But while there are
points of resemblance between the Greek drama and the Jewish-
Christian Apocalypse, the latter refuses to be bound by the laws
of the Western stage. The order of the Apocalypse is rather that
of a series of visions arranging themselves under two great
actions, of which the Work of the Ascended Christ and the
Destinies of the Christian Church are the respective subjects.
As to the progress of the Book, the two actions, from the nature
of the case, are more or less synchronous, both belonging to the
interval between the writer’s own time and the end; but, while
covering the same ground, they approach it from different points
of view. Within each of the actions there is orderly movement,
but this again is not tied to chronological succession; it is the
movement of great spiritual forces rather than of historical persons
and events.
7. It may be worth while to examine somewhat more at length
the progress of the Apocalyptic visions in each part of the Book.
(a) The opening vision, with its messages to the Asian Churches,
whatever may be the teaching which it holds for other times and
Churches, belongs, as to its primary purpose, exclusively to the
Seer’s own age. In the second vision a wider outlook begins ; if
the breaking of the first four Seals discloses only the conditions
of contemporary society, the fifth anticipates the coming age of
persecution, and the sixth carries us to the verge of the end. The
opening of the seventh Seal is followed after a brief pause by a
vision of trumpet-bearing Angels, which works out into detail the
revelations of the fifth and sixth Seals, and brings us again to the
end, now seen in the light of a final triumph for the Kingdom of
God. Two large episodes which follow seem to break the move-
ment of the prophecy, but in fact assist in its development; of
1 Benson, Apocalypse, pp. 5,37. The tive of Scenesand Acts which had passed
Archbishop says indeed in his preface _ before the eye of the Seer.”
(p. 67): ‘‘The Book is no Drama. The 2 F, Palmer, The Drama of the Apoca-
Action is carried on per Facta, non lypse (N. Y., The Macmillan Co., 1903),
Verba.’ But he adds: ‘‘ Yet the Book p. 35 ff.
is like the relating of a Drama, a narra-
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xhil
these the first (c. vii.) assures the Churches of safe-keeping in
the coming troubles and anticipates the rest which will follow
them; while the second (c. x. I—xi. 14) prepares for the seventh
Trumpet-blast, as the first (c. vii.) had prepared for the opening of
the seventh Seal.
(b) The second action of the book begins, like the first, with
contemporary history (cc. xii., xiii.), The Church is seen struggling
with Satan and his agents, the World-power and its spiritual ally,
afterwards described as the False Prophet. Another large
episode follows (c. xiv.), consisting of a series of secondary
visions!, the purpose of which is to exhibit the safety and purity
of the ideal Church, the judgements impending over her per-
secutors, and the impending end of all things—a set-off against
the apparent triumph of evil, and a preparation for the great
vision which is to follow. Then come the Seven Last Plagues,
a series corresponding in this half of the book with the seven
Seals and seven Trumpets of the first half. But the end is not
yet; the world has its counter-manifestation to make, and the
magnificence of its great City is described, though only to enhance
the terrors of its downfall. The fall of the existing World-power
does not, however, exhaust the resources of the Enemy; long
after it the prophet foresees a recrudescence of evil, and a final
conflict between Christ and the forces of Satan, which ends
in the annihilation of Satan’s power. So the last obstacle to
the mystic marriage of the Lamb is removed, and with the
glories of His Bride, seen in the light of the consummation, the
Apocalypse ends.
There is order here, and there is progress. Each part of the
Book fulfils its own purpose, and is complete within its own
sphere; taken together, the two parts present a revelation of
the whole ordering of the world from the Ascension to the
Return. If more than once, when the end is nearly reached, the
writer turns back to the beginning, he does this in order to
gather up new views of life which could not be embraced by a
single vision. If here and there the course of the prophecy is
1 xiv. x elSov xal ldo’, 6 xal eldov, 14 Kal eldov Kal ldo¥.
xliv CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN
broken by a by-play which seems to be irrelevant, it is because
the episode prepares for an issue which is at hand. The issue
is postponed for a time that when it comes its real significance
may be more clearly seen.
It may be convenient to add an outline of the systems of division
adopted by some of the chief modern writers on the Apocalypse,
(1) in England and (2) on the continent.
(1) ALFORD: i. I—3, 1. 4—1ll. 22; IV. I—II, V. I—14, Vl. I—
vill. 5, Vili. 6—xi. 19, xii. I—xlil. 18, xiv. I—20, XV. I—XVIL. 21,
XVii, I—XvVill. 24, xix. I—xxil. 5, xxii. 6—21. LEE: i. I—iil. 22;
iv. I—V. 14, Vi. I—vViii. 1, vill, 2—xi. 19, xii. 1—xiil. 18, xiv. I—
20, XV. I—XVL. 21, XVil. I—xxii. 5; xxll.6—21. SIMcox: i. 1—3;
i. 4— ili. 22; iv. I—V. 14, vi. I—Vill. 1, Viii. 2—xi. 19, Xll. I—XIV. 13,
xXiV. I4——20, XV. I—XVi. 21, XVil. I—xviil. 24, X1x. I—2I, xx. 1—6,
XX. 7—I0, XX. II—I5, XXl, I—XxXil. 9; Xxil, 10—21. ANDERSON
Scorr: i. 1—8, 9—20, ii, I—iil. 22, iv. I—v. 14, vi. I—Vill. 1,
vill. 2—xi. 19, xii, I—xXiV. 20, XV. I—XVl. 21, XVI, i—xisaeaos
abe XXl, I—XXli. 5, xxll. 6—17, 18—21. Morratr:
i. 1—8; i. g—ili. 22; iv. 1—vl. 17 (vil. 1—18, Viil. 1) a 2—ix.
21 (x. I—xl. 13, 14—19, xli, I—17, xiii. 1—18, xiv. 1—5, 6—20);
XV, I—XvVl, 21, XVIl. I—XX. 10; XX. II—XXIl. 5, Xxll. 6—2I1.
(2) BENGEL: i. I—3, yon 7—8, 9—20, il. I—ili. 22; iv. r—
V. 14, V. I5—vVi. 17, Vil. I—17, Vill. 1—6, 7—12, Vill. 13—1x.°21,
X. I—xi. 19, Xli. I—12, 13-175 xiil, 118, xiv. [15], 6—13,
14—20, XV. I—XvVi. 21, xvil. 1—18, xviii, 1—xix. 18, xix. 19—21,
XX. I, 2, 3, 4-6, 7—10, II—1I5, Xxl. I—xxil, 53; xxii. 6—21I.
De WeTTE: i. 1—3, 4—8, 9—20, ii, I—ill. 22; iv. I—1II, V.
I—14, Vl. 1—8, 9—17, vii. 1—8, 9—17, viii. 1—6, 7—12 (13), ix.
I—II (12), 13—2I, xX. I—7, 8—1I, xi. I-13 (14), I5—I1Q; Xil.
1—6, 7—12, 13—17; 18—Xlil. 10, Xili, 11—18) Xiv: 155 6—13,
I4—20; XV. I—XVi. I, XVIl. 2—11, 12—16, 17—21, XVil. I—18,
XVill. I—24, xix. 1—8, 9, 10, i116, I17—2I, XX. I—3, 4—6,
ham BOige tae XX1, I—XxXil. 5, Xxil. = EWALD: i. 1—3, 4—8,
g—20; ll. I—ill, 21; iv. Ty) (2a Eby Ve tata vi. 1—8, 9—II,
12—17, vil. 1—8, 9—17 5 villi. 1, 2—6, 7—13, 1X. I—12, 13—21,
X. I—II, Xl I—I4; Xi. I5—19, Xll. I—17, 18—xIlll. Io, Xill.
11—18, xiv. I—5, 6—13, 14—-20; xv. I—4, 5—XVi. I, XVl. 2—9,
IO, II, I2—2I, xvii. 1—18, xviii. I—24; xix. 1—10, 11—16,
17—xx. 6, XX. 7-10, TI—I5, xxl. 1—8, 9—xxil. 5, XXll. 6—9Q,
10—17, 18—20, 21. HoxrzMann: i. 1—3, 48, 9—20, ll. 1—iil,
22, lv. I—v. 14, Vi. eit vii. Ie vlil. I—-5, 6—ix. 21, X. I—
Soa. Kd. 5a = 19, xil, I—Xlv. 5, Xiv. 6—20, XV. I—XVi ew
2—21, XVil. I—xix. Io, XIX. II—xXxXii. 5, xxii. 6—21. ZAHN: 1.
I—9g; IO—ilil. 22; iv. 1—viii, 1, viii, 2—xi, 18, xi. 19—xXIV. 20,
XV. I—XVi. 17, XVli. I—xXVili. 24, xix. 11—xxi. 8, xxl. g—xXIl. 5 ;
XXll. IO—21.
It is more interesting to observe the methods of grouping adopted
CONTENTS AND PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN xlv
by the several authorities. Most of the English commentators break
up the book, after the introduction and conclusion have been
removed, into two unequal parts (i. 4—ill. 22, iv. I—xxll. 5), a
modification of the scheme of Bengel, who divides the whole book
into (i) introitus (i. 1—iii, 22), (ii) ostensio (iv. 1—xxil. 5),
(iii) conclusio (xxii. 6—21). In his Historical N. 7. Mr Moffatt
has departed from this tradition, seeing in the Apocalypse four
heptads (seven letters, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials),
followed by two visions, a vision of doom and a vision of the end.
Of the Germans, De Wette makes the second part of the book begin
at xii. 1, while Volkmar places the break at the end of c. ix.; Ewald
adopts a sevenfold division (i, 1—20 + xxii. 1—21, li,—iil., iv.—vii.,
Viil.—xi. 4, xl. 15 xiv. 20, xv.—xvili., xix. I—xxii. 5); Holtzmann
has seventeen sections, placing in the right-hand column vii. 1—17,
X. I—xi. 14, Xiil. I—xiv. 5, xvil. 1—xix. 10, xxi. I—xxli. 5 which
largely coincide with the portions of the book which have been
thought to be of Jewish origin; while Zahn, who believes in the
unity of the Apocalypse, is attracted by the theory that the body
of the work falls into eight successive visions.
The division of the book at the end of c. xi. into two nearly
equal sections, which is suggested in this chapter, recommended
itself in the sixteenth century to the Spanish Jesuit Alcasar, but
in connexion with a widely different system of interpretation’; to
the present writer it has occurred independently, upon a study of
the facts.
1 See c. xviii.
Ve
UNITY OF THE APOCALY®SE:
In the attempt which has been made to establish the existence
of a definite plan in the Apocalypse it is assumed that the book
is a literary unity. This point, however, has been and still is
hotly disputed by scholars of the first rank, and it demands a
separate and somewhat prolonged examination.
1. The book creates a prima facie impression that it proceeds
from one author or editor. The first and last chapters claim to
be written by the same person (i. I, 4, 9, xxii. 8); and that the
first three chapters and the last two or three have come from the
same hand may be shewn by simply placing in parallel columns
the ideas and phraseology which they have in common.
cmplie
A an a
de(Eas Tots dovAoLs adiTodv a
lal / > ,
det yevéeoOar ev TayxeL.
ie Mey,
/ c > , \ (4
PakapLos O avaywwoKwy Kal ob
, nr
axovovres TOUS AOYOUS THS Tpo-
dytelas Kal THpovVTEsS KTA,
ey
¢ \ \ > ,
0 yap Kalpos éyyvs.
1b tee
ld >
eyw eit TO aXda Kal TO o.
iter a
> , . < - \ c my”
eyo eit O TPWTOS Kal O €o-
XaTOs.
a7
\ “ la
TO Tvevpa Evel.
XOX OE
a
detEat Tots dovrAots atdrod &@
det yevéeoOar ev TAaXEL
Xo ye
, c Lal QA /
Hakaplos 0 THPOV TOS AOYoUS
THS Tpopynteias Tov BuBdAtov
TOUTOV.
POON THCY
c .% ‘\ > 4 >
0 KaLpos yap eyyvs eoTw.
Xx, 6, Sxie gee
éyod TO adda Kat 7d @.
XX1L OL gs
ec an \ ¢
0 TPOTOS Kal O EvxaTos.
xxi 072
‘ lal Nue , ,
TO TVEVLG KaLy vYUdN NEyouTw,
UNITY OF THE
a
TO viKOvTe dwow KTA. (cf. ii. 11,
Diae0, 1. 5, 12, 21),
eee
> “~ ~ ,
od py adixnO ek tod Oavarov
TOU OevTéepouv.
ii, 28.
, > A > > / \
ducw aito Tov adotépa Tov
mpwivov,
at. II,
” ,
EPXOMaL TAXV.
Ws 12:
~ ~ > \ c
™ms Katvys lepovoaryp 7
/ a nw
kataBaivovea €k TOD ovpavod
st n~ nw
aro Tov Geod pov.
2.
APOCALYPSE xlvil
> 3 Ay
A , a
0 VLKWV kAnpovopnoet TOAUTa.
xO. 'O;
> x 4 < 4 ,
eri TovTwy 6 devTEpos Bavaros
> »” > 4, . .
ovK €xet eSovoiav (cf. v. 14, xxi. 8).
16.
Tay au) One) \ € pms
eyo ELILL...0 a0T1)pP...O TpPWLvos.
XXL.
XXil. 12.
>. \ mM ,
idov EpXopPat TAN,
De ole
\ / ‘ c , > 4
Tyv wOkW THV ayiav ‘lepovaarAyp
\ >
katvynv €oov kataBaivovcay
Ek TOV OVpavod aro TOD Geod.
Such coincidences leave no doubt that the same writer
has been at work in cc. i—iil., xx.—xxii. But though they are
most numerous in the beginning and end of the book, traces of
literary unity are not wanting elsewhere, as the following examples
will shew,
rh eae
delEw cor & det yeveor Gar.
iv. 2.
eyevounv ev mvevpmatu
ty. .6;
os Oaracoa taXivn.
‘cue
» pila Aavedd.
Vv, 10.
av
> , > ‘\ “~ “~
éeroinaas avtois TO Ged
Bacirelav cat tepets.
Bos Ts
A , A >
n KXeEls Tod ppeatos THs aBio-
cov,
x. I.
\ , 2 “a c c 4
TO TpoTwrov avTOV ws oO HALOS,
“~ c
Kal Of TOdES avTod ws arvAot
Tupos.
ae:
detSar...a det yeverOar.
ie t0;
eyevounv ev mvevparte
x Waee
eloov ws GaXacoav vadrivyny.
16.
n pila Kal To yevos Aavedo.
1-6:
> , c A / e
éeroinoev yuas Bacirelay, tep-
ets TO Ged.
XXi.
xx. I.
tHv KXelv THs aBVaoou.
MEAS
« , > a ¢
ot modes avrod Spoor yadrxoXr-
Bavw ws ev kapivw TeTUPwOpEeV NS
aN cw > Je eg
.--K@l 7 OWLS avTOV Ws O HALOS KTA,
xlvill
UNITY OF THE
ay fs
€860n por kdapos...A€yov' Byeipe
Kat .€TPNT OV TOV Vaov.
Malay 7
To Onpiov 16 avaBaivov ék THS
aBicoou.
Xll, 9.
5 Spaxuv 6 péyas 6 Odus O ap-
yalos, 6 Kadovpevos Std Boros
Kal 0 GaTavas.
XV. 13,
NEyet TO TVEDMA.
xa ve DAS
7 ex 3 4) ,
OPOLOV vLOV aVv Pw ov.
GG) 18)
/ ~ iN 0
Teprelwomevor wept Ta oTHON
Cuvas xpvoas,
XVI. 15.
7 € /
€pxowar ws KAETTHS.
KVL
éAXdAnoev pet e€pod A€ywr
Aedpo dew cot TO Kpiva TIS
TrOpvns.
aban hey
ot dd6aXrpoi
TUpOS.
3 A
avTov
prog
APOCALYPSE
soaks 5
> , , A 7
elyev petpov KANapLoV xpvoodY Wa
EeTPHOYH THY TOW...
xvi. 8.
pedrQan avaBaiverv éx THs aBvo-
TOV.
xX. 2.
6 dus 6 apxatos, os eorw did-
BoXdos Kat 6 catavas.
il. 7 ete.
XN A ,
TO Tvedpa A€ye
1k:
bd GN > ,
Gpovov viov avOpwrov.
1, D3.
meprelCwomevov Tpos Tos pac-
trols Covnv xpvoay.
Lil: 23.
new wos KrAETTYS.
XRG:
éeldAnoev pet epod €yor
Aedpo delEw cor tTHv vipdnv.
Teehee
ot éhOadpot atdrod ws pdoks
TUPOS.
3. It is clear from these instances, which might be multiplied,
that the hand of the man who wrote cc. i.—ill., xx.—xxii., has been
busy throughout the book. This in itself may not mean more than
that he has acted as editor of the whole. But there are other
indications of unity, running through large sections of the book,
which carry us some steps further. Certain symbolical figures
reappear at intervals in contexts which deal with widely different
subjects. Though, as we have seen, the eleventh and twelfth
chapters are separated by a marked cleavage, the Lamb and
the Beast appear on both sides of it; the Lamb occurs in ce. v., VL,
Vil, XiL, Xiv., XV., XVIl, XIX., XXL, xxii. Le. practically throughout
UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE xlix
the book from c. v. onwards, and the Beast in c. xi. as well as in
C¢. Xiil., Xiv., XV., XVi., XVll, xix., xx. The figure of Hades as
a companion of Death occurs in ce. 1., vi. xx. There are certain
unusual words and forms which are common to every part of
the Apocalypse, or are found throughout great sections or in
passages which are widely separated; e.g. a@Bvocos (cc. 1x., Xi,
XVii., xx.), adcxefy to hurt (ii, vi, vil, 1x., xi, xxli.), Bacavicpos
(ix., X1V., Xvili.), duddyua (X11, X1ll., xix.), Spax@y (Xi, Xlil., XVi., Xx.),
evayyerivey active (x., xiv.), Opovos (i. i1., lil., iv., V., Vi., VIL, Vill,
Seem ails, X1V., XVI, X1X.. XX., XXL, XXIL), xavya (VIL, XV1L),
KpUGTaNXos (iV., XXil.), weyloray (V1., XVIll.), wecoupavnua (Viil.,
X1V., X1x.), woAvvery (ill, Xiv.), occovuévy (ill., Xil., Xvi.), TavTo-
Kpatwp (i., iv., Xi., XV., XVL., XIX., Xxi.), TUVKOLV@VELD, -Vds (i., XViii.),
opatew (V., Vi., Xill., XVlll.), Pappakia, Pappaxov, happaxos (ix.,
XVill., XXi., XxXiL), dudAn (V., XV., XV, XVIL, XXL), yapayya (xiiL,
X1V., XVI, x1x., xx.). Still more striking as an indication of an
underlying unity is the resumption in c. xv. of the series of sevenfold
visitations which began in c. v1.; as there were seven seal-openings
and seven trumpet-blasts in the first half of the book, so the
second has its seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. The
cumulative force of this evidence is sufficient to create a strong
presumption that the writer who announces his name in the
prologue has been at work throughout the book. The impress
of his peculiar style is to be seen in every part of it.
4. These considerations have not deterred modern scholars
from regarding the Apocalypse as a composite work and attempting
in some cases to resolve it into its sources,
Suggestions in this direction were hazarded in the seventeenth
century by Grotius (1644)' and Hammond (1653)%, and early in the
nineteenth century by Vogel (1811—16)° and Bleek (1822)4
Weizsicker (1852)° reopened the question with a suggestion that
the author, although his hand may be seen throughout, made
free use of older material. In the same year his pupil Vdélter®
1 Annotationes ad N.T. view.
2 Paraphrases and Annotations upon ® In Th. Litteraturzeitung, 1882, p.78f.
the N.T. 8 In Die Entstehung der Apok. (1882-
3 Commentationes vii de Apoc. Ioannis. 5). Vélter has recently published a re-
4In the Berlin Th. Zeitschrift, ii. cast of his theory (Die Offenbarung
p. 240ff. Bleek afterwards revoked his Johannis neu untersucht u, erliiutert,
8. R. d
Nt UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE
started a more ambitious theory, according to which Apoc. i. 4—6,
iv. I—Vv. 10, vi. I—17, Vil. 1—8, Vill. I—13, 1x. I—21, Xi. 1419,
Xiv. I, 3, 6, 7, I4——-20, XVlll. I—24, xix. 1—10, make up the
original Apocalypse, which Volter would assign to A.D. 62; cc. x.
I—xi. 13, xiv. 8, xvil. 1—18 were added in a.p. 68—70, and the
rest of the book was contributed by successive editors in the time
of Trajan and Hadrian ; three such later redactions are distinguished,
viz. (1) cc. Xll. I—17, XiX. 1I—xxi. 8; (2) V. 1I—14, Vil Og,
xii. 11, Xiii., xiv. 1, 5, 9—12, XV.-—XVi., XVil. Ia, X1x, 20f., xx. I, 20,
Xxi, g—xxii. 5, 6—19; (3) 1. I—3, 7, 8, 9—ill. 22, v. 6b, xiv. 13,
Xvi. 15, xix. 10b, 13 b, xxii. 7a, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20—21., inereen
a new vein was struck by a pupil of Harnack, Eberhard Vischer'’,
who set to work on the hypothesis that the Apocalypse of John is
a Christian adaptation of a Jewish original ; the specifically Christian
portions of the book are 1.—u1iL, v. a, vll. g—17, xill. of., xiv.
I—5, 12, 13, XV. 3, XVI. 15, xvii. 14, xix. 9 ff., 13, Xx. 4—6, Xxi.
5 b—8, xxii. 6—21, together with a few words interpolated in ix.
Iva SRISeO, Ny mexV ny See, 6, XX. 4, XXl. 14, 23) The vearmroae
produced the theory of W eyland?, which assumed two Jewish
sources, one (§) written under Nero, and a as” (3) under Titus.
Torx Weyland attributes i. 10, 12—17, 19, lv. , Vil. 1g, vil.
—ix., xi. 14—18, Xiv. 1420, XV. 5, XVi. oe XV1l.—XVIilL.,
xix. I—6, xxl. 9—27, xxll. 1—11, 14f.; to 3 x. I—x1. 13, elie cial
10, 12—18, Xill., xiv. 6—11, xv. 2—4, sire 13, 14, 16, XIX. II—21,
xXx., xxl. 1—8; to the Christian redactor he leaves 1.—1ii1., v. 6—14,
xi. 19, xll. II, 17¢, X1V. I—5, 12—13, Xv. I, 6—8, xvi. I—17 4,
21, Xix. 7—10, 13 b, xxii, 12, 13, 16—21. Other theories based
on the assumption of a Jewish source or sources are those of
Holtzmann’*, who assumes a Jewish Grundschrift of the age of Nero,
in which was incorporated an older Jewish apocalypse written
under Caligula ; and Sabatier*, who regards the Apocalypse as a
Christian book embodying Jewish fragments (xi. I—13, Xli., Xiil.,
xiv. I—20, xvii. I—xix. 2, xlx. II—-xx. I0, XXi. 9—XxXil. 5).
Spitta’ distinguishes three sources answering to the three series of
sevenfold judgements—a Seal source, which is Christian (c. A.D. 60),
a Trumpet and a Vial source, which are Jewish ; the present form
of the book being ascribed to a Christian redactor. Erbes*, on the
other hand, believing the book to be entirely of Christian origin,
finds in it three Christian sources belonging respectively to the
reigns of Caligula, Nero, and Domitian.
5. Tothe present writer it appears that most of the hypotheses
which exercised the ingenuity of Germany during the ten years
1904), in which he distinguishes (1) an 2 Th. Tijdschrift, 1886, p. 454 ff.
Apocalypse of John a.p. 65, (2) an 3 Gesch. d. Volkes Israel ii. 2, p. 658 ff.
Apocalypse of Cerinthus, A.D. 70, and 4 Les origines littéraires et la compo-
(3) the work of a redactor of the time of _ sition de l’Apoc. (Paris, 1887).
Trajan. 5 Die Offenbarung Johannis (1884),
1 Texte u. Untersuchungen, I. 3 6 Die Off. Joh. (1891).
(1886).
UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE hi
that followed Weizsiicker’s first pronouncement ignored the funda-
mental conditions of the problem. No theory with regard to the
sources of the Apocalypse can be satisfactory which overlooks the
internal evidence of its essential unity (§§ 1—3). The book has
clearly passed through the hands of an individual who has left his
mark on every part of it; if he has used old materials freely,
they have been worked up into a form which is permeated by his
own personality. This has been so far recognized by more recent
criticism that less drastic methods are now being used to account
for the literary phenomena of the work.
In 1886, after the completion of Vélter’s theory, Weizsicker
suggested that the apparent lack of cohesion in certain passages is
due to the interpolation of fragments which are not from the
author’s pen, specifying cc. vii. 1—8, xii. I—10, xiii., xvii., which
he assigned to the reigns of Nero, Vespasian, and Domitian. An
entirely new view was propounded by Gunkel in his epoch-making
Schéipfung und Chaos (1894). Breaking loose at once from the
prevalent view of the Apocalypse as a mere interpretation of local
contemporary history, and from the tendency to frame elaborate
schemes for its division into ‘sources,’ he saw in the book the out-
come of a long course of apocalyptic traditions which in some cases
went back to the Creation-myths of Babylonia. Gunkel’s Chaos
was followed in the next year by Bousset’s Antichrist!, a book
succeeded in 1896 by its author’s important commentary on the
Apocalypse*. Bousset, while recognizing the essential unity of the
Apocalypse, believes with Weizsicker that certain contexts in it are
fragments of older works, and with Gunkel finds traces of apoca-
lyptic traditions in the writer’s own work. Still more recently a
contribution has been made to the subject by Professor Johannes
Weiss of Marburg®. According to his view, the original Apoca-
lypse of John was written before 70, and included i. 4—6, g—109,
Heyy iv., V., Vi., Vil., ix., xii. 7—12, xiii, 11—18, xiv. 1—5,
I4—20, XX. I—IO, II——I5, XXl. I—4, Xxil. 3—5; in its present
form the book was issued at the end of the reign of Domitian by
an editor who was not the original Apocalyptist.
6. It is impossible to contemplate the flood of literature on
the composition of the Apocalypse which the last quarter of a
century has called forth without asking the question whether
there is any solid ground for the assumption which underlies it
1 Der Antichrist in der Ueberlieferung _ beitet (1896).
des Judenthums, des N.T. u. der alten > Die Offenbarung des Johannis: ein
Kirche (1895). Beitrag zur Literatur- u. Religions-
2 Die Offenbarung Johannis neu bear- —_ geschichte (1904).
d2
lu UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE
all. It is taken for granted by some recent authorities! that the
Apocalypse is a composite work. But does this conviction rest on
more than the reiterated assertion of writers who have found in
the analysis of the book a fascinating field for intellectual exercise ?
When the enquirer investigates the grounds on which the hypo-
thesis of compilation rests, they are seen to be such as the fol-
lowing: (a) the presence of well defined breaks in the thread of the
movement, as e.g. after ill. 22, Vil. 17, 1X. 21, Xl. IQ, xill. 18, xiv. 20,
Xvi. 21; (b) the treatment of the same idea more than once under
different points of view; thus the 144,000 of vu. 4 ff reappear
under another aspect in xiv. I ff, and the Beast of xi. I in
c. xvul.; the New Jerusalem of xxi. 9g does not altogether corre-
spond with the New Jerusalem of xxi. 2; (c) the representation
of the Last Judgement at two widely separated stages in the
development of the book, i.e. in xiv. 14 ff., and xx. 11 ff; (d) the
different aspects of Christian thought revealed by the descriptions
of Christ in 1. 13 ff, v. 6, xiv. 14, and of the Church in xu. I ff,
XVll. 7, xxl. 2; (e) the different dates which seem to be postulated
by cc. xi. 1. f, xun 18, xvu. 10 ff. Such a, list (of iscenmam
inconsistencies is formidable until it is taken to pieces and
examined in detail. But when this has been done, it will be
found that the weight of the objections is greatly diminished.
The phenomena which suggest diversity of authorship admit for
the most part of another explanation; they may well be due to
the method of the author or the necessities of his plan. Indeed
the last head is the only one which demands serious consideration
from those who advocate the unity of the book. If c. xi. 1 implies
that the Temple at Jerusalem was still standing, and xvi. 10 that
Vespasian’s reign had not yet ended, while the general tenor of
the book points to the reign of Domitian, it is clear that as far as
these passages are concerned the Apocalypse must be admitted to
contain fragments of an older work; but a reference to the com-
mentary will shew, it is hoped, that even in these contexts the
inference is far from being certain.
1 H.g. by Bousset in Encycl. Biblica p. xili.): ‘‘As far as I am acquainted
1. 205: ‘‘it seems to be settled that the with them [the theories of a composite
Apocalypse can no longer be regarded origin], they have done nothing what-
as a literary unity.” Dr Hort, on the | ever to shake the traditional unity of
other hand, writes (Apocalypse i—iii., authorship.”
UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE hi
7. That the author of the Apocalypse made free use of any
materials to which he had access and which were available for his
purpose, is highly probable. But did he transfer large masses of
earlier apocalyptic writing to his own work, in such a manner as
to make his book a compilation or to detract from its unity ?
Was this his method of dealing with the works of older
apocalyptists? It so happens that we are in a position to give
a definite answer to the second of these questions. The writer of
the N.T. apocalypse has made large use of the apocalyptic portions
of the Old Testament. He refers to the Book of Daniel in some
forty-five places (Apoc. i. I, 7, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, li. 10, 18, iv. I,
Seer wil, 14, 1x, 20, x. 4 ff., xi. 2, 7, 13, 15, 18, xi. 3, 7 £, 14,
Sees. 7. 6, 15, XIV. 14, XV1. 11, 18 f, xvii. 3, 5, 8, 12, XVIU. 2,
20, x1x. 6, 12, xx. 4, II f., 15, xxi. 27, xxii. 5 f., 10), and the Books of
Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah are used with almost equal frequency,
while the other Prophets, the Psalter, and the Pentateuch are often
in view. No book in the New Testament is so thoroughly steeped
in the thought and imagery of the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet the
writer has not once quoted the Old Testament, and rarely uses
its upsissima verba. Seldom does he borrow from it a scene
or the suggestion of a vision without modifying the details,
departing from his original with the utmost freedom, or combining
features which have been brought together from different contexts.
This method of using Old Testament materials runs through
the whole of the Apocalypse, and is characteristic of the book.
Whether the writer is indebted to non-canonical apocalypses is
less certain, but if he is, he has followed the same principle.
There is no evidence that any one of them has served him as
a ‘source’; coincidences between the work of John and the extant
Jewish books are nearly limited to minor points connected with
the imagery and diction*» Under the circumstances it is more
than precarious to postulate sources of which nothing is known’.
For these reasons it has been assumed in this edition that the
Apocalypse of John is a literary unity. It may be added that, as
l See c. xiii. 2 See ce. ii., xiii. 3 See c. xiii.
liv UNITY OF THE APOCALYPSE
the work has progressed, this assumption has grown into a convic-
tion. Everywhere the presence of the same creative mind has
made itself felt, and features which at first sight appeared to be
foreign to the writer’s purpose were found on nearer view to be
necessary to the development of his plan. It is impossible to
justify in this place an impression which depends upon an
examination of the text, but in the commentary the reader will
find the details on which it rests, and he is asked to reserve his
judgement until he has completed his study of the book’,
1 It is not the intention of these re- unity of the book. On the other hand
marks to deny that the Apocalypse,as the theory proposed by Prof. J. Weiss
we have received it, may be areissue by (supra, p.xlvii) presents difficulties which
the writer of the original work in an to the present writer seem to be greater
enlarged or amended form; such aview than those which it seeks to remove.
does not militate against the essential
V.
DESTINATION.
1. The Apocalypse of John professes to be an encyclical
addressed to the Christian societies in seven of the cities of Asia
(Apoe. i. 4 “lwdvyns tals érra éxxdAnoias tats ev TH’ Acia; tb. 11
0 BrErrets yparpor eis BiBdiov Kai Téuov Tats éwta éxxAnoiass,
els "Edeoor kai eis Suvpvay cai eis Lépyauov Kat eis Ovaterpav
kal eis Lapders cal eis PiraderAdpiay Kai eis Aaodixiav).
2. At the end of the first century the peninsula known as
Asia Minor seems to have embraced six provinces, Asia, Bithynia
(including Pontus), Galatia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Lycia (including
Pamphylia)?. The Province of Asia had been created as far back
as the year B.C. 129 out of the domains bequeathed to the Senate
by Attalus III, the last king of Pergamum. Ultimately it
included Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, and the three Phrygian diveceses
of Cibyra, Apamea, and Synnada, besides certain islands in the
Aegean Sea off the western coast‘, Thus constituted, the
province was bounded on the north by Bithynia, on the east
by Galatia, and on the south by Lycia; on the west it was
washed by the Aegean; inland, it reached a distance from the
coast of about 300 English miles, while its greatest length was
about 260°. In the region which falls under our consideration
four rivers, the Caicus, the Hermus, the Cayster, and the Maeander,
1 On the history of this term see Hort, i. p. 177
«377
First Epistle of St Peter, p. 165, * On these see V. Chapot, La province
2 For the last three see Hort, op. cit., | romaine proconsulaire d’Asie, p. 82 ff.
p. 158 f. 5 The frontier is carefully defined by
8 Marquardt, Rim. Staats-Verwaltung, Chapot, p- 85.
lvi DESTINATION
descended to the sea from the highlands of the interior, and three
considerable ranges of hills, Sipylus, Tmolus, and Messogis, mounted
up to the highlands from the coast.
3. In the Greek Old Testament Asia is mentioned only by
the writers of the Books of the Maccabees, who use it to represent
the dominions of the Seleucid dynasty (1 Mace. vii. 6, xi. 13,
KIL 30, xii. 32; 2 Mace. ili. 3, x. 24; 3 Macc. 10. 145 4) Magen
20). But in the New Testament, under the Empire, the case is
different. Asia is named by St Luke, St Paul, St Peter, and
St John (Acts ii. 0, vi. 9, xvi. 6, xix. 10, 22, 26 f.; xx) 4) 16 grouse
27, xxiv. 18, xxvii. 2; Rom: xvi. 5; 1 Cor: xvi. 19;)2)@orenee
2 Tim. i, 15; 1 Pet. i. 1; Apoc. i, 4), and by all imothevsems-
familiar at the time. “Asia in the New Testament,” wrote
Dr Lightfoot in 1865, “is always Proconsular Asia”!; and his
dictum has not been seriously shaken by the researches of the last
forty years. In Acts ii. 9 f, indeed, Phrygia is distinguished from
Asia and linked to Pamphylia; but by Phrygia in that place is
probably meant the non-Asian region of Phrygia, as in Acts xvi.
6, xviii. 23%. But whatever may be the practice of St Luke or
St Paul in reference to the use of the name ‘ Asia,’ it is certain
that the province of Asia is contemplated by St Peter in 1 Pet.
i. I (waperdnpors Siactropas Iovrov, Tadatias, Karrasdoxias,
*Acilas, cat Bidvvias), where, as Dr Hort says, “the five names
coincide precisely with the five names that make up the titles of
the four provinces of the Roman Empire into which Asia Minor,
the southern littoral eventually excepted, was divided in and after
the reign of Tiberius; and it would need strong positive evidence
to refute the consequent presumption that the territory denoted...
was the territory of these four Roman provinces’.” In Apoc. 1. 4
the inclusion of Western Phrygia in ‘Asia’ is implied by the
enumeration among Asian cities of Laodicea on the Lycus, which
belonged to the dioecesis Cibyratica.
1 Galatians, p. 19, n.6. The province 2 Blass (comm. on Acts, pp. 52, 176)
was assigned to the Senate by Augustus, contends that in these passages Asia =
A.D. 27, and was from that date to the Western Asia Minors; but see Ramsay
time of Diocletian administered by a in Hastings, D.B. iii. 177.
Proconsul (av@v7aros). 3 First Epistle of St Peter, p. 157+
DESTINATION lvl
4. If the Apocalypse was directed to the Churches of Roman
Asia, it was natural that it should be sent in the first instance to
Asia was remarkable for the
Pliny (H. NV. v. 29) mentions
nine which were distinguished by being the centres of a conventus:
viz. Adramyttium, Alabanda, Apamea, Ephesus, Laodicea on the
Lycus, Pergamum, Sardis, Smyrna, Synnada; and to these Cyzicus,
Philomelium, and Tralles should be added?.
be made of less important but yet considerable towns, such as
the greater cities of the province.
number and wealth of its cities.
A long list might
Colossae, Dorylaeum, Eumenia, Hierapolis, Magnesia on the
Maeander, Miletus, Philadelphia, Priene, Thyatira; the total
number of townships in the province is stated by contemporary
writers to have been 500, or even 1000%, “No province,” writes
Aristides of Smyrna in the second century, “has so many cities,
nor are even the greatest cities of other provinces comparable
to the cities of Asia®.” Between the larger towns there was a
keen though friendly rivalry, as the local coins and inscriptions
testify. If Ephesus proclaims herself 1) rpoétn Kai peyiotn unTtpo-
tmodus THs “Acias*, Smyrna, not to be outdone by her neighbour,
claims to be both a pntpomons, and mpwtn THs “Acias xadreu
Kat peyéOer, kal Nautrpotarn®; while Pergamum, the old capital,
is, like Ephesus and Smyrna, a 7potn pytporods. The title
untpotrods is also assumed by Cyzicus, Laodicea on the Lycus,
Sardis, Synnada, and Tralles*. Magnesia on the Maeander, though
it cannot rise to this dignity, is described on coins as the seventh
city of Asia’.
5. In the light of these facts.it is not at first sight easy to
explain the principle on which the Apocalyptic list of seven has
been formed. Why does it include two comparatively small
1 Marquardt, op. cit. p. 185.
tian Life, E. Tr., p. 382), both Ephesus
* Marquardt, p. 182, J. Weiss, art.
and Smyrna had in tie time of Augustus
Kleinasien in Herzog-Hauck, x. 543.
3 Aristides of Smyrna xlii. (=xxiu. ed.
Keil, p. 34) odre yap méXets Tooatras ov-
deula d\An Tov wacdv mapéxera, ot're 57)
Tas ye weyloras Txav’ras ; see also Diod.
xvii. 5, and Seneca, Ep. 102, 21. Cf.
Mommsen, Provinces,i.p.354. According
toBeloch (Zur Bevilkerungsgeschichte des
Alterthums), cited by Dobschiitz (Chris-
a population of 200,000, and Pergamum
in the middle of the second century con-
tained from 120,000 to 180,000 souls.
* CIG 2992.
5 CIG3179, 3205; Dittenberger, Orient.
Gr. inscriptiones select. il, p. 159 f.
5 Ruggiero, Dizionario epigrajico di
Antichita Romane, i. p. 731.
7 Mommsen, Provinces, p. 329.
lvil DESTINATION
towns, Thyatira and Philadelphia, while Tralles and Magnesia,
Hierapolis and Colossae, Alexandria Troas and Adramyttium,
Miletus and Halicarnassus, Dorylaeum and Synnada, are passed
by? Some at least of these cities had Christian communities
before the end of the first century; under Trajan, Ignatius of
Antioch addressed letters to Churches at Tralles and Magnesia;
under Nero, St Paul spent the first day of the week with brethren
at Troas!, and recognized a “Church of the Laodiceans” and the
presence of Christians at Hierapolis’.
It is true that the first three cities in St John’s list were by
common consent tpe@tat THs “Actas, and they stand in the order
which would naturally be followed, at least by a resident at
Ephesus. Moreover Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum were in
direct communication with one another by the great road which
the Romans had constructed shortly after their occupation of
Asia. So far then both the selection of the names and their order
are easy to understand. But why should not the Apocalyptic
messenger have been sent on from Pergamum to Cyzicus or to
Troas? why was his course at this point diverted to the inland
towns of Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia, and brought to an
end in the valley of the Lycus? The true answer is doubtless that
which is given by Professor Ramsay: “all the Seven Cities stand
on the great circular road that bound together the most populous,
wealthy, and influential part of the Province, the west-central
region’.” “They were the best points on the circuit to serve as
centres of communication with seven districts: Pergamum for the
north... ; Thyatira for an inland district on the north-east and east ;
Sardis for the wide middle valley of the Hermus; Philadelphia
for Upper Lydia... ; Laodicea for the Lycus Valley and for Central
Phrygia...; Ephesus for the Cayster and lower Maeander Valleys
and coasts; Smyrna for the lower Hermus Valley and the North
Ionian coasts‘.” Planted at these seven centres, the Apocalypse
would spread through their neighbourhoods, and from thence to
the rest of the province. A Roman road led from Pergamum to
1 Acts xx. 7 ff. 3 Letters, p. 183.
2 Colsvii..1,,4V. 13, 16; SEO apalore
DESTINATION lix
Adramyttium and Troas, and another direct to Cyzicus; other
roads connected Philadelphia with Dorylaeum, and Laodicea with
Apamea and Synnada, and with Cibyra. From Ephesus a great
road passed through Magnesia, Tralles and Laodicea, and crossing
Galatia and Cappadocia ultimately reached the Euphrates?; a
branch road entered Syria through the ‘Cilician Gates.’ Thus
the route prescribed in the Apocalypse provided for the circulation
of the book throughout the Churches of the entire province and
beyond it.
6. Some account of the cities to which the book was origin-
ally sent is given in the notes to ce. ii. 11, and much more may
be gathered from so accessible a book as Professor Ramsay's
Letters to the Seven Churches*. Here it may suffice to place
before the student the general conditions of the life into which
Christianity entered when it established itself in the cities of Asia.
(i) At Ephesus by custom the Proconsul landed on his entry
into the Province*, and the city was regarded as the seat of the
provincial government. But it retained at least the forms of
municipal independence, and its civic life was full and many-
sided. During the Roman period the population was divided into
six tribes (¢vAa/), which were again divided into thousands
(xtAtaorves). Local affairs were in the hands of three assemblies,
a council (BovA7), which in a.p. 104 consisted of 450 members
probably elected in equal numbers from each of the tribes ; a senate
(yepovoia), which seems to have been charged with the finance of
public worship‘ or perhaps with municipal finance in general, and
the care of public monuments; and the popular assembly, which
bore the familiar name of ecclesia®. Each assembly had its ypayparers,
and the ypaypareds Tod dypov possessed an authority which as we
learn from the Acts (xix. 25) could make itself respected even by an
angry mob,
In the life of Ephesus commerce occupied no less important a
place than local politics. The silting up of the harbour had indeed
begun to threaten the city’s command of the seas, but Strabo was
able to report that in every other respect it was growing in
prosperity day by day, and that Asia within the Taurus had no
market that could vie with it’. Foreign trade brought it into
1 Ramsay, Hist. Geogr. of Asia Minor, 5 For the details see Hicks, op. cit.,
p. 164ff. SeealsoM.Chapot’s chapter on ili. p. 68 ff.; Chapot, pp. 194—230.
the public roads of Asia (pp. 358—368). 6 Strabo xiv. 24 7 dé wédkts TH mpds Ta
2 See pp. 210—430. G@\\a evxaipla radv rérwy avfterac Kad’
3 Bergmann, De Asia, p. 30. éxdorny tuépay, Eumdpiov ovoa péyiorov
4 Cf. Hicks, Ancient Greek Inscriptions, tav xara Thy’ Aclay thy év7ds Tod Tavpou.
iii. p. 76.
DESTINATION
communication with Greece, Egypt, and Spain, and on the other
hand with the Euphrates and the East. Among its local
specialities were marble, vermilion, oils and essences, and the
handicraft of workers in gold, silver and copper’. Its slaves
fetched fabulous prices in the Roman market*. Nor were the
intellectual interests of the place less keen or varied. In the first
century the city of Heracleitus abounded with persons who followed
the profession of the philosopher or the rhetor, and added to its
reputation as a seat of learning®. It will not be forgotten that
according to Eusebius? Ephesus is the scene of Justin’s dialogue
with Trypho, and probably also of his initiation into the Stoic,
Peripatetic, and Platonist philosophies’, Nor was art neglected in
Ephesus; the city was a famous school of sculpture and archi-
tecture; the great theatre remains to witness to the passion of its
citizens for the drama‘®. But religion was the paramount power at
Ephesus, as perhaps in all the Asian cities. The worship of the
Ephesian Artemis was an inheritance from pre-Hellenic times, and
possessed all the attractions which bind a people to a traditional or
localized cult. The Artemision did not indeed dominate the city as
the Parthenon dominated Athens; it lay in fact, as was demon-
strated by Mr Wood’s discovery on the last day of 1869, on the
plain outside the Magnesian gate of Ephesus. Nevertheless it was
the chief glory of the place, and life in Ephesus was at every point
brought into contact with the great presiding deity of the city—the
Ilpwrofpovia, as according to Pausanias (x. 38. 3) she was locally
called. It was by the priestly college at the Artemision, known as
the Essénes, that the lot was cast by which a new citizen was ~
admitted to his tribe and thousand. In the Ephesian calendar
the month of the spring equinox was named after Artemis (06
“Apreuiowwy), and during that month the city celebrated a yearly
festival in honour of the goddess (ra "Apreuioia)’. On great
festivals a sacred carriage (7 tepa aayvy) carried the image of
Artemis through the streets of the city. The great temple em-
ployed an army of officials ; it had its wardens (vewzotar), its guards
(fvAaxes), its hierophants and choirmen (GeoAdyou, Suvwdoé), its crowd
of tepddovAor, its priests and priestesses*, Private beneticence added
to the splendours of the goddess; a great inscription of the year
A.D. 104 records the munificent bequest of a citizen for the
maintenance of the worship of Artemis, “marking,” in the
judgement of Canon Hicks, “a reaction against Christianity,”
1 Cf. Acts xix. 24, 2 Tim. iv. 14.
2 See Zimmermann, Ephesos im ersten
christlichen Jahrhundert, p. 50 ff.
3 Apollonius of Tyana ap. Philostrat.
vit. Ap. vill. 7, 8 (cited by Zimmermann,
p- 65): Eq@ecos pecry ppovticudtuy pido-
cipwy Te kal pyropikav id wv H dds
icxve. codpiay éma.ovca.
4 H.E. iv. 28.
® Dial. 2 vewort émtdnuncarte TH NmMe-
Tépa moder cuver@ avdpl Kal mpotxovTe év
rots Ihatwrikols guy drerpiBov. Cicero De
nat. deorum 2 mentions a Peripatetic
school at Ephesus.
6 Zimmermann, p. 73.
7 Hicks, pp. 83, 117 if.
8 The inscriptions mention also epo-
KipuKes, LepooadmeyKxtal, orovdoroo : cf.
J. Menadier, Qua condicione Ephesit
wst sunt, p. 105.
COINS OF THE APOCALYPTIC CITIES.
1. Epenersus.
AOM[ITIAJNOC KAICAP
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R. APTEMIC EPECIA.
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Sih tetic, a Phi stonist bi 10 ohn , res was art nee
t pheliiAM ADKASE ry vas a fomevn dehdol |
proven ae ii | ererCEC ee alot ae
AT A) TABS U8 Go Po cke
Rphesian Artetais “YOM ARS | ma
ponmessed all the attraction bh bind « ‘pees it ;
kwtelimedt cult. The Artemision did not indeed donjuaeetuetiee
ha 5 athenon pre Athens; it lay in fact, as wae
retedohyg}is Wod's discovery on the last day of 1869) om
pees elt the Magnesian gate of Ephesus, aventpnlbss |
VON: paconpcnags AE DAA Gnd. life in ida ie eve
sroug ht. inte aytiero Wirsioe g great presiding * 9 Aa
i
Tipe Fabpavier'ee as according to Pokne (x. 38. 3) she aye
ealied, It was by the priestly college at the * ae know
the Essénes, that the lot- was east by whiel a new » cite
aimitted to his tribe and thousand. Ta the .
the month of the spritur etuinox ak pa
Aprepelayy peu’ L @uring nat comih tiie woke
feetival in honour of 3 an
1BITAD ofl, HADIABA, | ore Seer i
MOTOH Te becengets of th etty, She
joved an army of officials ; it had ita wardens (veumeUDYAL
ide Anees), its hierophants and choirmen (GeO F ATP OLAS
all tepé Boudou, its priests and priestesses®, Priva, ate, juere
6 the splendours the goddess ; a great inseripti ion
reoords pm unific ant hequest of a cite
ete ee worship of Artemis, “ marking,’ }
agesonsa PEARS OANA # reaction agains} Chis
ope b
e AST, AX MS. LAM dl iv. ANA “ répg moONEL ower dvdp
+ Se ow phy #0 rots TL\erwyicot Sod bl
rts weet Un? anen Pp. A PARD nat. deorum a0
* Kyloionina of Tyana, 1-8 DERN school at Eph
AY, OLid, y, Be i od by Zimmermann; 6 Zimmermann, Pp. '7
+ Dar Nebevos merry bporrurudrwy pido .” Hicks, pp. 83, £19
Gipoy Momal Pyroptxw “ve dv h wdds § The inscriptions: ‘a
STOO. eae dravoitca. AMOTCO Aes vesh poradev irae
Pe ET tg . Maenadier, Qua a
S Sil & angst emdnunoavre TAPAS | AN wea!
YOMOTOON YOLAT
AO DSIAQOAA
‘The Apocalypse” face page lvi.
ii -
4
a
u
Bie
Mus
DESTINATION Ixi
which from the first had been felt to be a serious rival of the
Ephesian cult. It is worthy of remark that the worship of the
Emperors! did not present itself to the people of Ephesus in this
light, and was even regarded as an ally of the local religion; a
statue of Augustus was set up in the precinct of the Artemision’,
and Ephesus was proud to be the vewxopos of the Emperor as well
as of her own goddess Artemis*. Indeed, there is abundance of
evidence that in the cities of Asia generally the Caesar-worship was
a welcome adjunct to the worship of the local deities*.
Ex una disce omnes; the surroundings of the Church in
Ephesus were more or less repeated in the other Asian cities.
But each city had its special features, and something must be
added in reference to these.
(ii) Smyrna, the new city of the Diadochi, claimed, as we have
seen, a primacy of beauty’. Approached by a long gulf which
opened into a noble harbour, and crowned by an acropolis*, its
natural advantages were in some respects superior to those of
Ephesus. The city was worthy of its surroundings; its streets
were straight and well paved; public buildings were numerous,
including a library, an odeum, a stadium, a theatre, a temple of
Homer (76 “Opypeov) with a portico attached to it, and other large
two-storied porticoes’. The relations of Smyrna with Rome were
excellent, and its loyalty received due recognition ; it was an urbs
libera and the centre of a conventus, and from A.D. 26 the proud
possessor of an Augusteum erected in honour of Tiberius’®, a privilege
which Ephesus at the time coveted in vain®. If Smyrna did not
claim, like Ephesus, a special cult, it could boast a number of
temples, conspicuous among which were those of the Sipylene
Cybele and the local Zeus. The public games of Smyrna” were
noted for their magnificence, and it was one of the cities where
periodical festivals were held under the authority of the Commune
Asiae in honour of the Augusti", On such occasions Christian
1 On this see c. vii. (=xvii. ed. Keil).
2 Hicks, p. 37; Ramsay, Letters, 7 Strabo, xiv. 37 (646).
8 The Augusteum in Smyrna was not,
p. ae:
% Thus vewxdpwy dls (or tpls) kal ris
*Apréudos is found on Ephesian coins ;
see B. V. Head, Greek Coins of Lydia,
p- evii.
+ See Chapot, p. 424 ff.
5 See p. lvii.; and Aristides of Smyrna,
xli. (=xix. ed. Keil): Duvpya 70 rijs
*Aclas dyaNua, Ths dé buerépas éyxadu-
migua Hyenovlas. Cf. the Life of Polycarp
by Pionius, where the citizens are
addressed as dvdpes ol rijode ris weptxad-
Aods réXews Karorxor (Lightfoot, Ignatius,
iii. p. 462).
6 See the description in Aristides, xv.
however, as Prof. Reid has pointed out
to me, dedicated to Tiberius alone ; the
mother of the Emperor and the Senate
were included (Tac. ann. iv. 15).
® A second neocorate was adjudged
to Smyrna under Hadrian and a third
under Sept. Severus (Head, Greek Coins
of Ionia, p. 263). Cf. CIG 3266 rois év
Luvpry veois Tay DeBacrav, CIG 3205 7/
vewkdpos KaTad Ta ObyuaTa THs lepwrarys
cuvxd\jrov, CIG 3386 dmorlce unrpl Gedy
LurvAnry Snvapia duryi ca wevraxdora.
10 Cf. Pausan. Vi. 14. 1.
il Lightfoot, Ignatius, iii. p. 405.
_
seein enn
lx
DESTINATION
citizens were doubtless placed in a position of peculiar peril, but at
no season would they be regarded with favourable eyes by a
population immersed in business and pleasure, devoted to the local
cults, and proud of its loyalty to Rome and the Emperor’.
(iii) Pergamum, the old capital of the Attalids, still claimed an
hegemony, in right of its ancient glories*, The place possessed
natural advantages which fitted it to sustain the character of
leadership. ‘Beyond all other sites in Asia Minor it gives the
traveller the impression of a royal city, the home of authority; the
rocky hill on which it stands is so huge, and dominates the broad
plain of the Caicus so proudly and boldly*.” The plain was one
of the richest in Mysia*, and supplied the markets of the city ; the
local trade in skins (duf6épar) prepared for the use of writers was so
brisk that the material received its name from Pergamum®. But
the fame of Pergamum rested chiefly on its religious pre-eminence.
A tetrad of local deities, Zeus Soter, Athena Nikephoros, Dionysos
Kathegemon, Asklepios Soter®, presided over the city ; the temple
of Athena almost crowned the acropolis, and beneath it, on the
slope of the hill and visible from the agora, stood a great al fresco
altar of the Pergamene Zeus. Still more celebrated was the Per-
gamene cult of Asklepios, to whose temple there was<attached a
school of medicine which attracted sufferers from all quarters. But
in Roman times the city prided itself above all upon its devotion
to the worship of the Emperors. From the time of Augustus
Pergamene coins bear the inscriptions OEON CYT KAHTON, OEAN
POMHN, OEON CEBACTON’. Inscriptions proclaim the dignity
of the city as the first in Asia to erect a temple to Augustus*; and
as it was the first, so it continued to be the chief Asian seat of the
Emperor-cult. In the time of Hadrian it was already dis vewkopos,
and an inscription of the reign of Trajan mentions the vuvedot Geod
Y<Bacrod Kat Oeds “Pwuyns; the local priest of Zeus was proud to
style himself also priest of the divine Augustus. In St John’s eyes
this new cult was the crowning sin of Pergamum ; the city which
had introduced the worship of the Augusti into Asia was the
dwelling place, the very throne of Satan, who reigned from its
acropolis; and the Church which resided in it must expect to find
itself in the forefront of the battle about to be fought between
Christ and Antichrist.
1 The coins shew that this loyalty
suffered no decrease under Domitian;
see Head, p. 273.
* Strabo xill. 4 (623) eye dé twa
NyeMoviay mpds Tovs Tbmous TovTOUS TO
Ilépyauov, émipavyns modus Kat modvv
guvevTUXnTaca xpdvoy Tots °ATTauKois
Baciretior.
3 Ramsay, Letters, p. 281.
4 Strabo l.c. o@ddpa evdainova viv...
ox edov 56 Te Thy aplorny THs Mucias.
° Membrana Pergamena, ‘parchment’;
see Gardthausen, Gr. Palaeographie,
p. 39 f., or Maunde Thompson, Hand-
book of Greek and Latin Palaeography,
p. 35.
® "The legends AOHNAC NIKH-
POPOY, ACKAHITIOY COTH-
POC are frequent on coins of Pergamum-
see Wroth, Greek Coins of Mysia,
p. 128 ff.
7 Wroth, op. cit. p. 134 ff. E.g. CIG
3548 % Boviy kal 6 SRuos Tay TpwTwv
vewxopwv Ilepyaunrvav.
8 Herzog-Hauck, x.p.551. CIG 3569
6 lepels Tod VeBacrod Oeot Kalcapos, 6 dé
avros...lepevs Tov Acds.
DESTINATION lx
(iv) Thyatira “lies in an open, smiling vale, bordered by gently
sloping hills,” and ‘possesses no proper acropolis’, ” The contrast
to Pergamum thus suggested is maintained when the two cities are
compared in other particulars, Thyatira had no history reaching
back beyond the Seleucids, who raised the obscure township into
a Macedonian colony. It was distinguished by no famous cult;
the Thyatiran coins and inscriptions mention only the local hero
Tyrimnus, or his deified counterpart the Tyrimnaean Apollo, and
an Artemis who bears the surname ‘Boritene’.’ There is no
evidence that Thyatira was as yet a vewxopos of the Augusti.
Outside the city a Sibyl of Eastern origin known as Sambethe or
Sambatha had her cell (76 SapBaGetov)® ; and it has been suggested *,
though with little probability, that this person is to be identified with
the prophetess Jezebel of Apoc. ii. 20. But the most outstanding
feature in Thyatiran life was probably the institution of trade-
guilds®, In certain of the Asian cities these guilds may have
filled the place of the ‘thousands’ into which the ‘tribes’ were
divided®, and Thyatira is one of these. At Thyatira there were
guilds of bakers, potters, workers in brass, tanners, leather-
cutters, workers in wool and flax, clothiers, dyers’ ; the workers
in wool and the dyers were probably the most numerous, for the
manufacture and dyeing of woollen goods was a Lydian speciality,
in which Thyatira excelled*. To these guilds many of the
Thyatirene Christians would have belonged, and their connexion
with them would raise questions of much difficulty’. One of the
inscriptions records an honour voted by the guild of dyers to the
priest of the ancestral hero Tyrimnus”; in such circumstances
what course ought the Christian members of the guild to follow?
Such a problem might seldom arise, and when it arose, the
Church might agree upon the answer; but there was another of
frequent occurrence upon which Christians differed among them-
selves. From time to time the members of a guild partook together
of a common meal which had a sacrificial character and moreover
too often ended in revelry and licentiousness. At Thyatira, through
1 Ramsay, Letters, p. 318. Ovareipwr. Cf. CIG 26, 3924.
2 B. V. Head, Greek Coins of Lydia, ® On this point Prof. Reid writes:
p. 294 [T]YP[IM]NOC, 7. p. 295
BOPEITHNH.
3 CIG 3509.
# Schiirer’, iii. p. 428.
5 At Thyatira they were known as
épyaciac; other names were cuuSiwdeoecs,
cwepyagiat, ovoriuara: see Chapot,
p07.
6 E deeay, Cities and Bishoprics of
peas, p. 105.
7M. Clere, de rebus Thyatirenorum,
p. 92 (quoted by Ramsay l.c.). Chapot
(p. 168 ff.) gives a complete list of the
trades of Asia so far as they are men-
tioned in the inscriptions.
8 Acts xvi. 14 moppupdmwros méb\ews
‘«The difficulty which Christians felt in
membership of the guilds was by no
means confined to the question of the
feasts. There was probably no guild
which was not devoted to some form of
heathen worship. Membership was there-
fore ipso facto bowing down in the house
of Rimmon. Direct participation in
ceremonies was only incumbent on
officials of the guild; but any one pos-
sessed of money enough to pay the
summa honoraria would find it hard to
decline office.”
10 CIG 349 Tov lepéa rod xpomdropos
Geod Tupluvou ol Badgeis.
Ixiv DESTINATION
circumstances which will appear further on, the question whether
Christians might or might not take part in such guild-feasts became
acute, and the Apocalyptic message to Thyatira turns upon it.
(v) -Sardis, the capital of the old Lydian kingdom, and in
Persian times the seat of a satrap, retained under the Romans the
shadow of its ancient greatness'; commanding the great Valley of
the Hermus, and standing at a point to which roads converged from
Thyatira, Smyrna and Laodicea and the Lycus, it could not sink
into neglect. The town was shattered by the great earthquake of
A.D. 17, but with the liberal help of Tiberius it rose from its ruins.
Its gratitude was shewn in a special devotion to the Emperor ;
in A.D. 26 it contended with Pergamum, Smyrna, and Ephesus for
the privilege of erecting an Augusteum, and though it failed on
that occasion, eventually it could claim a second and even a third
neocorate. The chief local cult was that of Koré, but the name of
the Lydian Zeus appears also on the coins* ; Dionysus, too, Athena,
Aphrodite, and the local heroes Tmolus and Hermus, were honoured
at Sardis. The Church perhaps encountered in Sardis no special
danger to her peace; but the atmosphere of an old pagan city,
heavy with the immoral traditions of eight centuries, was unfayour-
able to the growth of her spiritual life.
(vi) Philadelphia has received a characteristic treatment from
Bishop Lightfoot*, to which little need be added here. ‘ A city
full of earthquakes” is Strabo’s significant comment upon it; he
adds that in his time the town had been largely forsaken by its
inhabitants, who lived on the rich lands which surrounded it*.
With Sardis, at the time of the earthquake, Philadelphia partook
of the bounty of the Emperor, and was duly grateful; though it
did not acquire the neocorate until the beginning of the third
century, its special loyalty is shewn by the titles assumed on its
coins ; under Caligula and Claudius it styled itself Neocaesarea,
and under the Flavian Emperors Flavia®. It is more important for
our purpose to notice the situation of Philadelphia in reference to
Central Asia Minor. The city lay on the direct route from Smyrna
to the highlands and plateau of Central Asia Minor. Thus the
Church in Philadelphia had unusual opportunities of spreading the
Gospel in the interior, and she seems to have availed herself of this
open door®,
(vii) Laodicea has been exhaustively described by Professor
Ramsay in Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia’. The student of the
Apocalypse will take special note of the specialities in wool and in
eyesalve produced in the neighbourhood of this city, to which
reference seems to be made in the message to Laodicea ; and of
the prosperity of the Laodicenes as a banking and trading com-
_
3
modus é€oTi peyddn...vmépkertat dé ToY a
Dapdewy 6 TuOdos...vrdxerrac 66 TH WOdec 5 Head, pp. lxxxv., 195 ff.
76 Te Dapdtav@y rediov...kal To 700" Eppov. @
7
9
Strabo xili. 4 (625) ai 6€ Sdpdas St Ignatius, ii. pp. 237—241.
Strabo xiii. ro (628).
Ramsay, Letters, ¢. XXviii.
Head, p. 246 ff.; cf. p. evii. i, pp. 32—82.
DESTINATION Ixv
munity, and the singular spirit of independence indicated by their
rejection of imperial help after the earthquake of a.p, 60'. It is
evident that the Christians of Laodicea shared the self-sufficiency
of their fellow-townsmen, and carried it into the sphere of their
relations with God and Christ. The commercial pre-occupations of
the place saved them from persecution, but at the cost, as at Sardis,
of the life of the Spirit. Of this decline of the Christian life in
the Churches of the Lycus valley (for the message to Laodicea
was doubtless intended also for Hierapolis and Colossae), the
neighbourhood yielded a forcible illustration, which the Apoca-
lyptist was not slow to use. The hot springs of Hierapolis, in
their course over the platform on which the city was built, lose
their heat, and the traveller who drinks of the water finds it
intolerable to the palate. So, St John teaches, the Christ will
reject the lukewarm profession of faith from which the fire of love
has departed’.
1 Cf. Lightfoot, Colossians, p. 44: ‘‘in
all other cases of earthquake which
Tacitus records as happening in these
Asiatic cities...he mentions the fact of
their obtaining relief from the Senate
or the Emperor.”
* Further illustrations of the life of
the Asian cities may be found in CIG
3266, 3285, 3415, 3416, 3428, 3460, 3497;
3498, 3508, 3517-
WAR
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
DURING THE FIRST CENTURY.
1. The permanent interest of apocalyptic literature consists
largely in its intimate connexion with the needs and sufferings,
the hopes and fears, of the age and communities which produced it.
From Daniel onwards the Jewish apocalypses reflect, with more or
less distinctness, the conditions under which they were written,
and the expectations which consoled or invigorated the Jews
under Syrian, Hasmonaean, Herodian, or Roman rule, throwing
side-lights, lurid but instructive, on contemporary life and history.
The great Christian apocalypse is no exception to this rule. But
whereas it is left to the critical student to elicit as he can the
age and circumstances of the Jewish apocalyptists, the Christian
writer, as we have already seen!, makes no secret of the conditions
under which he worked. The Apocalypse of John is clearly a
product of Asian Christianity, and the purpose of the book cannot
be understood without an effort to realize the position of Christi-
anity in the cities of Asia during the first century of our era.
2. Long before the Christian era the Jews had formed a
considerable factor in the population of the Asian cities» There
was a synagogue at Ephesus (Acts xvill. 19) and, it may be
assumed, in almost every one of the great towns. But the Jew
was the unconscious or, if ever he attained to a consciousness of
the fact, the reluctant avant-coureur of Christianity. Christianity
Oba: Tatas Tov év... Acig...éxvéuovra, On
2 Cf. Philo, leg. ad Cai. 33 Iovéato. the Jews in the Asian Cities see Ramsay,
Kad’ éexdotny mod elol maumdnbeas Acias, Letters to the Seven Churches, c. Xii.,
In Flace. 7 tas wieloras kal evdatpovec- and infra, c. Vil.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixvil
was doubtless discussed by Jewish circles in the cities of Asia as
soon as the Asian Jews who had visited Jerusalem at the Passover
or Pentecost of A.D. 29 returned to their homes in the Province.
Even if the narrative of Acts ii. be not regarded as historical, it
is clear that the story of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection
could not fail to have been repeated everywhere. The same
story came a little later across the sea from Rome and Alexandria’,
or by the great trade-roads from Syrian Antioch; or it might
have been brought down to the sea coast by men who had heard
St Paul tell it in the synagogues of the province of Galatia,
at Pisidian Antioch or at Iconium, or of the Lycaonian towns,
Lystra and Derbe.
ment in Asia before the arrival of St Paul at Ephesus’, and to
Yet there is no sign of any Christian move-
Ephesus his personal ministry seems to have been nearly limited.
3. Few things are more perplexing in connexion with the
development of St Paul’s evangelistic work than the long delay of
its extension to proconsular Asia. At Antioch in Pisidia in the
summer of 48 the Apostle stood literally at the parting of the ways;
if he had turned to the west, he would have reached the Lycus
valley and Ephesus; instead of this he turned his face eastwards,
and his destination was the Lycaonian towns. On the next occasion
a westward mission was in his mind, probably from the first, cer-
tainly when at Derbe or Lystra he took Timothy for his partner in
a new work’, and with his two colleagues ‘went through’ the
‘Phrygo-Galatic region’”*, i.e. the Phrygian part of Galatia, which lay
on the border of Asia. If he did not cross the border, he would
have done so, had not a hand which was upon his spirit held him
back. This mysterious check was repeated when he had got to
the confines of Mysia, and wished to enter the great province of
Bithynia and Pontus’.
headquarters of Christian influence’, but their time was not yet;
Both Asia and Bithynia were to become
1 Cf. Acts xviii. 18, 24 ff.
2 Acts xix. s. The brief previous
visit (xviii. 19 f.) scarcely counts.
3 Acts xvi. 2 Todrov 70é\noev 6 Taddos
abv abr@ cEeOetv.
4b. 6 SiHOov Se rhvy Ppvylay xa
Tadarixhy xwpav.
5 Ib. 7 édOdvres 5¢ Kara rH» Muciay
érelpatov els Thv Bibuviavy mopevO7jvac.
6 Cf. 1 Pet. i. r with Dr Hort’s note
ad loc., and Additional Note on p. 157 f.
As to Bithynia we have the testimony
of the younger Pliny (a.p. 111); ‘‘ multi
enim omnis aetatis, omnis ordinis, utri-
usque sexus etiam, yocantur in pericu-
lum.”
e2
Ixvill CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
Macedonia and Achaia must receive their call first, and Asia must
wait a while. The turn of Ephesus came in A.D. 52—3, when
St Paul began a residence of more than two years in that city.
4. The Apostle reached Ephesus at the end of a progress
through the “upper parts’,’ 1e. not by the direct route from
Galatia (Acts xvii. 23) through the Lycus valley, but over the
higher ground of the interior, possibly by way of Philadelphia,
Sardis, and Smyrna, or by Philadelphia, Sardis, Thyatira, Per-
gamum, and thence down the coast. The purpose of this détour
was apparently evangelistic’, and it creates a suspicion that
Ephesus was not the only or even the first Church in Asia which
received the Gospel from St Paul’s own lips. The outworks were
carried before the citadel was attacked ; in any case, the gradual
approach to Ephesus is of a piece with the previous delays,
and emphasizes the great importance of the city as a centre of
Christian work. Meanwhile, at Ephesus itself forerunners had
been at work—the Alexandrian Jew, Apollonius or Apollos*; a
party of twelve men or thereabouts (@cei dédexa), who had
received John’s baptism; and the Roman Christians Aquila and
Priscilla, who had crossed with the Apostle from Corinth in
the previous spring. The Apostle’s own work began as usual in
the synagogue. But as at Corinth (Acts xviil. 6, xix. 9), when
his preaching was resented by the Jewish residents, he parted
company with them, and thenceforth his teaching was carried on
in one of the philosophical schools of the city’. This went on for
two years, so that Ephesus had unusual opportunities of hearing
a great Christian teacher; and though St Paul himself does not.
seem to have left the place, visitors from other parts of Asia carried
back a report of his teaching to their own towns, and the evangeli-
zation of Asia, begun during his journey to Ephesus, was at
length fairly complete (Acts xix. 10, 26), At Ephesus a Church
1 Acts xix. © dtehOdvTa TA dywrepiKa 4 The Western text says that he dis-
bépn. coursed there daily ard wpas méurrns
2 Compare the use of didpxecOac in ews dexdrys, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.;i1.e.,
Vili. 40, Xi. 19, XIV. 24, etc. as Ramsay (St Paul, p. 271) points out,
3 On the relation of Apollos to Chris- he began after the usual work of the
tian teaching at this time see J. H. A. lecture room was over.
Hart, J. T. S., Oct. 1905.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA ]x1x
began to take shape during the biennium. Disciples had gathered
round the Apostle before he left the synagogue (xix. 9), and
after the separation the number grew, and gave satisfactory
evidence of their sincerity (7b. 18 ff.); there were to be found
men who had filled the office of Asiarch, and yet were well
disposed towards the Christian cause or its leader (7b. 31). When
the crash came in A.D. 55, St Paul was able to feel that his
work in Ephesus had been practically accomplished, and that
he might go elsewhere without danger to Asian Christianity
(mie 20, Xx. 1),
5. In the spring of 56, when St Paul landed at Miletus on
his way to his last Pentecost at Jerusalem, the Church of Ephesus
already had its college of elders In Asia as in Galatia and
Lycaonia* the Apostle had instituted the presbyterate ; although
the order is mentioned only in connexion with Ephesus, it doubt-
less found a place in the other Asian Churches‘ which owed their
origin to St Paul. Two pairs of letters, which if they are not
the work of St Paul, certainly proceed from his school, supply
further materials for the history of the Churches of Asia during
the years that followed. (1) Colossians, Ephesians. The letter to
Colossae deals chiefly with the conditions of the Church in that
Phrygian city and other Churches in the Lycus valley. But
Ephesians, as is generally recognized, was a circular letter intended
for the cities of Asia generally’—a Pauline precursor in this respect
of St John’s Apocalypse—and it illumines the general situation in
Asia about A.D. 60. From this point of view it is interesting to
note the repeated reference in this Epistle to a charismatic
ministry (Eph. ii. 20, iv. 11 f.); the stress laid on the reconciliation
of the Jew and Gentile in Christ (i 11 ff.); the conception of
the ecclesia as an ideal unity (iv. 1 ff); the conception of the
Christian life as bound up with the risen and ascended life of the
Lord, and working itself out into a life of actual participation in
1 His departure was perhaps slightly 3 Cf. xiv. 23.
hastened in consequence of the riot: but 4 Cf. 1 Cor. xvi. 19 al éxxAnoiac Tis
he had not intended to stay beyond the ‘Agcias.
Pentecost of 55 (1 Cor. xvi. 8). 5 On this see Westcott-Hort?, Votes
2 Acts xx. 17 ff.; on xx. 28, see Hort, on select readings, p. 123 ff.
Ecclesia, p. 99 f.
et EN Lt TEE
Iixex: CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
His glory (ii. 6 ff.)—ideas which reappear in the Apocalypse of
John. (2) 1,2 Timothy. According to 1 Timothy, St Paul, after
his release from the Roman captivity of Acts xxvii. 30, visited
Ephesus again. He found that the fears which he had expressed in
the address at Miletus were already realized in part. Unwholesome
speculations, probably of Jewish origin’, occupied the attention of
the Ephesian Church, to the neglect of practical Christianity.
Other evils were rife in the Christian society, such as eagerness
for office, unseemly disputes in the Church assemblies, gossip and
slander if not worse sins among the women, even among those who
as widows were pensioners and servants of the Church. There were
Christians who attempted to make a gain of their religion, and others
of the wealthier class who prided themselves on their wealth, and
needed to be urged to share it with their poorer brethren. The
whole picture is far from hopeful, and im the Second Epistle it
becomes depressing. All Asia had turned away from its father in
the faith (i. 15 )—an exaggeration, it may be, but one which suggests
at least an anti-Pauline movement in the churches of the province;
two of the ringleaders—Phygelus and Hermogenes—are mentioned
by name; a certain Onesiphorus is warmly commended, as if he
were almost a solitary exception to the general apostasy. St Paul
despatched to Ephesus (iv. 12) one of his few remaining friends,
Tychicus of Asia’, perhaps in the hope that a native of the province
might succeed in recalling Asia to its allegiance. So the curtain
falls wpon the Apostle’s relations with the Asian Churches,
6. It was probably after the death of St Paul that St Peter
wrote his circular letter to the Churches of Asia Minor*, The |
letter makes no special reference to the affairs of the province of
Asia, but its account of the condition of Christians in Asia Minor
must be taken to apply to provincial Asia, which was one of the
four provinces addressed‘. In the first place it is remarkable that
while St Paul himself is not mentioned, the Apostle of the
1 Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p.131ff. receive the letter, which, to judge from
2 Acts xx. 4 “Actavol dé TvxKos cat the order of the names, entered Asia
Tpddimos. Cf. Eph. vi. 21. Minor by way of the Euxine, possibly at
3 See St Mark?, p. xxii. Sinope; ef. Hort, First Ep. of St Peter,
4 Not however the first province to pp. 17, 176ff.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxi
Circumcision not only associates himself in this letter with two
of St Paul’s companions, Silvanus and Mark (iv. 12 f.), but makes
considerable use of St Paul’s Epistles, and among them of the
encyclical IIpos’Edeoious. The fact has been used as an indication
of date, but it may serve also to shew the delicate care with which
St Peter endeavours to maintain the continuity of Christian
teaching in churches which had been to some extent estranged
from their founder, and without such an intimation might have
been led to regard Peter in the light of a rival to whom they
were invited to transfer their allegiance. But for our purpose
it is more important to take note of the relations which
existed at the time between the Christian communities and
their pagan neighbours. Christians were spoken against as
evil-doers (ii. 12); their reasons were demanded with a rude-
ness which called for the exercise of meekness (iil. 15); there
was always a chance that any one of them might be called to
suffer as a Christian; already they had been tried by fire, and
were learning to bear their share in the sufferings of Christ
(iv. 12 ff.). Yet the persecution was as yet unofficial. The
Apostle presses on the Churches the duty of absolute loyalty to
the Emperor and the Proconsul (11. 13 ff.). Rome, indeed, is already
‘Babylon’ (v. 13), but Nero, if he is still living, exercises a power
which is of God, and while God is alone to be feared, the Emperor
must be held in honour (ii. 17). The troubles of the Asian
Christians came as yet from their neighbours rather than from the
State; their refusal to share in the revelries and impurities of
heathenism brought upon them the illwill and abuse and, as far
as the civil power permitted, the maltreatment of relatives or
fellowcitizens (iv. 3 ff.). The trial fell with especial weight upon
Christian slaves, who had no protection against the cruelty of
pagan masters, and who formed a large proportion of the early
Christian societies.
7. Inthe Apocalypse of John the field is narrowed again to
Proconsular Asia. The opening chapters of the book take the
reader on tour through a great part of the Province; he accom-
panies the bearer of the Apocalyptic circular from Ephesus to
Ixxul CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
Smyrna, and thence passes inland to Mysian Pergamum, Lydian
Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Phrygian Laodicea. Each
of the seven cities had its Christian society, and in some cases
at least this society was associated with neighbouring churches
to which it would transmit the Apocalypse or a copy. Thus
Pergamum was within easy reach of Adramyttium and Troas
(Acts xx. 5 ff., 2 Cor. ii, 12), Laodicea of Hierapolis and Colossae
(Col. ii. 1, iv. 13), and Ephesus itself of Miletus, Magnesia and
Tralles; so that the route indicated secured the distribution of
St John’s encyclical among all the Christian brotherhoods in Asia‘,
St John, like St Peter, makes no mention of St Paul. The
founder of the Asian Churches seems to have disappeared altogether
from their field of sight. If we are to believe a considerable school of
modern critics, the Apocalypse not only ignores St Paul, but bitterly
and repeatedly attacks those who still claimed to follow his teaching.
In the opinion of these scholars the Nicolaitans of c. 1. are the
Pauline Christians of the age of St John*. It is possible that this
remarkable theory holds an element of truth. The advocates of
laxity may have sheltered themselves under the great authority
of St Paul, quoting detached sentences from his epistles* in
support of their tenets; they may have represented the rdle of the
Apostle of the Uncircumcision as that of a deliverer of Gentile
Christendom from the yoke which the older Apostles and the
mother Church had sought to impose by the decree of A.D. 49;
it is even barely possible that behind the enigmatic name which
they bore there may lie some reference to the spiritual victories
won by the man whom they claimed as the author of their
policy. Against pseudo-Paulinists such as these John takes his
stand, as St Paul himself would certainly have done; but against
Paul‘ or his teaching there is not a word. No doubt it is
strange that so great a figure as that of St Paul should have been
forgotten or eclipsed in the country which had been the earliest
1 See above, c. v. That the Apostle’s words were wrested
2 See the commentary on c. li. 13. after this manner we know from Rom,
3 E.g. r Cor. x. 19 rl ody dyul; bre iii. 8; ef. 2 Pet. iil. 16.
eidwd0urdv rl €or; ib. 23 mavta ekecrw. 4 On the slight said to be intended in
Tit. i. 15 mdvra Kkadapd rots kafapois. xxi. 14, See comm. ad loc.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxul
and principal scene of his evangelistic work. . But account must
be taken of several circumstances. More than a generation had
passed away since his residence at Ephesus, and the other Asian
cities had never seen him in the flesh’, or had known him only
as an itinerant evangelist?» The rapid movements of life which
played over the surface of Ionian civilization in the years between
the beginning of Nero’s reign and the end of Domitian’s; the
transit over Asia of many of the greater ‘lights’ of the Church
on their way from Palestine westwards, and the settlement of
some of them in the province*; the presence in Asia of men
who had known the Lord in the days of His flesh or had
conversed with those who knew Him‘—these things all tended
to wipe out the memory of St Paul from the minds of the
Asian Christians. John himself as the éuotO0s, whether
we regard him as the Apostle or the Elder, may well have
excited throughout the province a sentiment of veneration such
as had never been felt for the éetpwua*® of the Apostolic body.
It is not surprising that St John is seen to fill and more than
fill the place once occupied by St Paul, or that so few traces are
left of the great Apostle’s work in the Churches of Asia when they
emerge to sight again at the end of the first century.
8. That Christianity in Asia was, in the time of the
Apocalyptist, a force with which paganism had to reckon is
evident from the new attitude which its enemies were beginning
to assume towards it—a point to which we shall presently recur.
In the larger cities the Christians probably formed an appreciable
fraction of the population; Ignatius, some fifteen or twenty years
after the date of the Apocalypse, can speak of the vroAumA7Pera of
the Ephesian Church*. Asia Minor was destined to become the
stronghold of Christianity, and in no other province of the Empire
was the faith so widely disseminated or represented by so many
2 Cf. Col. ii. 1.
2 See c. vi.
3 Polycrates ap. Eus. H.E. iii. 31 xal
yap kal kara Thy Aciay ueydd\a oroyeta
kexolunrat,...Pi\immov TOv dw&dexa aro-
oré\wy bs Kexolunrat év ‘leparéd\ec xal dvo
Ouyarépes avrod yeynpaxuiac traphévor Kal
h érépa atrod Ovyarhp év aylw mvetiuare
Twokitevcanévn év Edéow avamaterac’ ert
6é kal “Iwavyns...
4 Ib, iii. 39.
5 : Cor. xv. 8.
6 Ign. Eph. i. 3, ef. Lightfoot’s note
ad loc.
lxxiv CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
societies' as in the province of Asia. Nevertheless, Asian
Christianity, as represented by St John in the Apocalypse, does
not create a wholly satisfactory impression. The Churches pass
before us, and each is separately reviewed, with varying judgements.
If good work is being done at Ephesus, it is not the work of the
first days (ii. 4 f.). At Pergamum and Thyatira there is much to
be commended, but also something to be censured; in each of
these Churches there is a ‘ Nicolaitan’ circle, and at Thyatira its
ends are promoted by a local prophetess who is tolerated by the
Church (ii. 15,20). At Sardis Christianity is in danger of becoming
an empty profession (iii. 1); at Laodicea, the self-satisfaction of
commercial prosperity is eating out the heart of Christian humility
and love (iii. 15 ff.). Only Smyrna and Philadelphia deserve un-
mixed praise, and in each case it has been earned under the
discipline of suffering (ii. 9 ff, 111. 10). Only at Philadelphia do we
seem to hear of progress; before this Church an open door had
been set in the great trade-route which connected the town with
the highlands of Phrygia, and some attempt had perhaps been
made to take advantage of it for missionary work’.
Yet as a whole the Asian Church as seen in the Apocalypse is
still holding its own; the notes of faith, love, service, perseverance
are to be found everywhere except at Laodicea, and to Laodicea
itself a locus poenitentiae is still afforded. The Nicolaitan party
has not as yet made great progress; at Ephesus its practices are
regarded by the great body of the Church with detestation (11. 6
pucels Ta épya Tov Nixodaitay); at Pergamum it seems to be
a small minority (il. 15 éyeus Kal od Kpatovytas KTX.); at Thyatira
the Nicolaitan prophetess is merely suffered (ii. 20 adeis). As
for Judaism, the purity of the faith was no longer in danger from
that cause; the open and bitter antagonism of the Synagogue had
opened the eyes of the Christians, and worked for the good of the
Church.
1 Cf. A. Harnack, Die Mission u. Aus- Asien ist...die christliche Hauptprovinz
breitung d. Christentums, p. 461: ‘‘Klein- in Kleinasien geworden.” (KE. Tr., pp.
asien...ist das christliche Land kar’ 326, 364.)
éfoxnyv in vorkonstantinischer Zeit ge- 2 See Ramsay, Letters, p. 404f.
wesen”’s ib. p. 484: ‘'Die Provinz
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxv
g. The Nicolaitan minority calls for separate consideration.
As represented by the Apocalyptist, the party—for it was still
perhaps a party rather than a sect—taught Christians (rods éwovs
dovXovs) to commit fornication and to eat food offered in sacrifice
to idols (i. 14, 20); it did the work of Balaam, whose counsels
brought on Israel the disaster of Baal-peor; the prophetess who
pushed its claims at Thyatira was a second Jezebel, pressing
upon the people of God the immoralities of a heathen society. It
may be assumed that the Nicolaitans themselves disclaimed any
immoral object. Their purpose, it has been pleaded, was “ to effect
a reasonable compromise with the established usages of Graeco-
Roman society”; they taught that Christians ought to remain
members of the pagan clubs}, and that they might do so without
disloyalty to their faith. Such a course, they would argue, involved
nothing worse than the abandonment of an obsolete decree. The
Jerusalem decree had been issued at the first beginning of Gentile
Christianity; it had been circulated by St Paul in Pamphylia
and Lycaonia (Acts xvi. 4), and doubtless had reached Ephesus.
But St Paul himself had permitted at Corinth some modification
of the ban against e/dwAo8uTa, recognizing the liberty of Christians
to partake without question of meat which was sold in the markets
or set before them at a friend’s table, while he insisted that charity
to weaker brethren should preclude them from eating an eidwdo-
@vrov which had been declared to be such or from taking part in
a banquet held in a pagan temple (1 Cor. viii. 10, x. 25 ff.). It
may be presumed that a similar compromise had been reached at
Ephesus, and throughout the Pauline Churches. But the minority
was dissatisfied. The existing rule excluded members of the
Church not only from the public festivals which were the pride
of the Jonian cities’, but from the private clubs which connected
their common meals with sacrificial rites, and met in buildings
dedicated to a pagan deity. Those who desired to participate in
gatherings of the latter kind might have had much to urge in
their defence; it was only by such wise concessions that Christianity
1 Ramsay, Letters, pp. 299, 335 ff., 2 For the Ephesian festivals see Hicks,
346. Ephesus, p. 79 f.
Ixxvl CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
could hope to leaven the life of these Greek cities; to stand aloof
from all social reunions was to incur suspicion and dislike, and
such conduct would end in a general uprising against the Church,
perhaps in its suppression throughout Asia. These arguments
might have been used by the party with more or less of sincerity,
but they did not succeed in deceiving the Seer of the Apocalypse.
He saw in the Nicolaitan proposals not the mere abandonment of a
primitive Church order, not only the adoption of a weak concordat
with the pagan society by which the Church was environed, but
an indirect attack upon the sanctities of the Christian life. The
Jerusalem conference had in its decree brought into juxtaposition
the eating of eémAdOuTa and indulgence in sexual impurity?
(Acts xv. 20, 27), and John had not lived in a Greek city without
becoming aware that the two things were in fact closely bound up
together. Pagan festivities were too often occasions of immora-
lities from which Gentile converts had been rescued with the
greatest difficulty. If words meant anything to the writer of the
Apocalypse, he regarded the question raised by the Nicolaitans
as vital, and the danger as imminent. From participation in a
pagan guild-feast to licentiousness was but a step; yet the guilds
were bound up with the life of the cities, and to repudiate them
was a serious matter for Christians who were engaged in the local
trades. When even Christian prophecy, in the person of the
Thyatiran Jezebel, was advocating Nicolaitan principles, it was
time for the prophet of the Apocalypse to speak with no uncertain
voice; and his words (ii. 22 f.), viewed in this light, are not
more severe than the occasion demanded.
10. The Nicolaitan controversy raises the whole question of °
the relation of Christianity in Asia to Paganism at the moment
when St John wrote. In no part of the Empire was paganism
more strenuous or resourceful, and in none, so far aS we can
judge, was the conflict between the old religion and the new so
1 Tlopvedoa, mopvela (Apoc. ii. 14, 20f.) tempt to live at peace with pagan neigh-
cannot be interpreted otherwise without —bours.
doing violence to the plain meaning of * On this point see Ramsay, Letters,
the words, nor can the language used in op. 352. He is speaking of Thyatira,
ii. 6, 23 be justified if the Nicolaitan where ‘‘Jezebel”’ was at work.
surrender was merely a well-meant at-
CHRISTIANITY IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxvil
nearly brought to a head. At Ephesus in 54~5 the cry was already
raised of Christ or Artemis, and the city of the Artemision had
been lashed to a fine fury by the prospect of their great goddess,
the worship of Asia and the Empire, being abandoned at the
bidding of a Jew. What Artemis was to Ephesus, such was
Asklepios to Pergamum; indeed, each of the cities had its local
cult of one or more deities, Hellenic in name, but more or less
Asiatic in origin and character. These cults were intimately
connected with the interests of the local tradesmen and artizans’,
as well as of the municipalities and of those in authority; anyone
who attacked the religion of an Asian city brought upon himself
the illwill of the whole population. The Jews from the time of
the Seleucids had been free to follow their own faith and even to
make proselytes where they could, and it may have been their
policy to preserve the status quo, by shutting their eyes to much
that their consciences disapproved. But the new religion was
content with nothing less than an active crusade against idolatry*;
if St Paul and his friends were not (epocvAo., they were scarcely
free, as the grammateus of Ephesus maintained, from the charge
of speaking ill of the local deity; whatever Alexander the Jew
may have had to say in his defence (Acts xix. 38), the Christian
Apostle could scarcely have urged this plea. What happened at
Ephesus in St Paul’s time must have happened, mutatis mutandis,
in all Asian cities where Christianity gained an entrance. Every-
where in Asia it found itself opposed to a religious system which
was deeply rooted in the affections and supported by the interests
of the citizens, and which entered into every department of social
and commercial life. Sooner or later an open conflict was inevit-
able. When the Apocalypse was written the conflict had begun
all along the line.
1 Cf. Acts xix. 23, 25, 27
‘E p- 264, and cf. Acts xix, 26.
2 See Westcott, Epp. of St John,
Vik:
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA DURING
THE FIRST CENTURY.
1. The conflict which in the days of the Apocalyptist lay
before the Christians of Asia was more than an encounter with
the prejudices or the interests of their fellow-townsmen, due to an
attempt to substitute a new religion for a long-established cult.
Two empires' were about to meet in mortal combat: the Kingdom
of God represented by the Church, the World-power represented
by Rome. As the struggle revealed itself to the eyes of the Seer,
it was a war of the Christ with the Antichrist.
Within the limits of the New Testament, the word ‘ Antichrist’
occurs only in the Epistles of St John; cf. 1 Jo. il. 18 xadus
NKOUVGOTE OTL “Avrixpioros EpXeTat, Kal vov dv Tixplorou moAXot yeyovacw 5
ib. 22 ovrds éotw 6 dvtixpioros, 6 © dpvovpevos TOV TaTépa Kal Tov vidv 5
lv. 3 TovTo [se. Tay _mvedpa o py dpohoyet TOV “Tyootr | éorly TO TOU
av TIXPLTTOV, 3 dxnKoare OTL EpXETaLy Kal voy év TO KOT LD eotly dn 5
2 Jo. 7 OUTOS [sc. a) Hn opohoyay *Incotv Xpiorov épxopevov ev capxé |
éotiv 6 mAavos kat 6 dvtiypiotos. Here the expected coming of
Antichrist is represented as finding a fulfilment in the docetic
views of the person of Christ which were prevalent in St John’s —
time, and 1 Jo. iv. 3 is accordingly quoted against the docetic
schools of the second century by Polycarp (Phil. 7) and Irenaeus
(iii. 16. 6, 8). Irenaeus, however, uses the name ‘ Antichrist’
connexion with eschatological speculations based on 2 Thess, ii.
(Iren, iii. 7. 1, v. 25. 1) and on the Apocalypse (Iren. v. 26. 1 ff), and
from Irenaeus this use of the word descended to Hippolytus, whose
tract epi rod cwripos nuav “Incotd Xpisrod Kat wept Tod avtixpioTtov
is in our hands,
1 The expression is borrowed from Bp Westcott’s great Essay in Epp. of St John,
p- 250 ff.
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA xxix
2. It is remarkable that a word so “characteristic of the
School of St John?” does not appear in the Apocalypse, where it
might have served the writer’s purpose in more than one passage.
That the conception of a personal Antichrist existed among the
Christians of Asia in the first century is certain from 1 John ii. 18.
Doubtless they had ‘heard’ it from the prophets, and the prophets
had inherited the idea if not the word from the Synagogue.
Whether the germ of the idea is to be found with Gunkel in the
Babylonian myth of Marduk and Tiamat, or in Daniel’s presenta-
tion of Antiochus Epiphanes*, Jewish apocalypses of the first
century shew that the Messianic hope of the time rested on a
dark background of forebodings aroused by the expectation of an
anti-Messiah*, A corresponding development of the doctrine of
Antichrist is to be found in Christian circles during the Apostolic
age.
The locus classicws in the Epistles is 2 Thess. ii. 3 ff. Here
the final antagonist of the Christ is described as 6 av6pw7os
THS avomias OF 6 avopos, O GVTLKEiEVOS Kal Vrepaipopevos ert TaVTA
Neyopevov Gedov 7) cé€Baopa*. His wapovoia stands in strong con-
trast with that of the Christ ; it is Kar’ évépyeay Tod catava, not
tov Geod ; it is €v acy Suvape Kal onpeios Kal Téepace Wevdors, not of
truth. But his doom is sure; the Christ will prevail ; the ‘ Law-
less One’ is destined to perish (0 vids tis axwAecias) at the Coming of
the Lord (6v 6 kvpios “Inoots dveXe TO Tvevpate TOD OTOpaTOS aprod’
kal KaTapyyoe. TH éewUpaveia THs Tapovolas airod). The revelation of
this person (for such he certainly seems to be) is delayed by some
restraining force (176 karéxov, 6 katéxwv), the nature of which had
apparently been explained by the Apostle when he was at Thessa-
lonica (76 xaréxov oidate), though for some good reason he is
unwilling to commit it to writing. Meanwhile, the principle of
avopia is already at work.
Assuming that 2 Thess. is a genuine work of St Paul, it is one
of his earlier Epistles, and may be placed in the. last years of
Claudius (48—49, Harnack ; 53, Zahn). ‘O xaréywv is perhaps the
reigning Emperor, and 70 xaréyov his policy. As for the avoos,
the conception is based partly on the O.T., and partly it is sugges-
ted by the memory of the late Emperor Gaius, and his mad attempt
to set up a statue of himself in the Temple at Jerusalem. When
Claudius was gone, a new Emperor might return to Caligula’s folly
1 Westcott, Epp. of St John, p. 7o. 4 Cf. Dan. l.c.
2 Cf. Dan. xi. 36. 5 Cf. Isa. xi. 4, a passage which the
8 Cf. Apoc. Baruch xxxv. ff. dsc. of Targum applies to Armillus.
Isaiah 4, 4 Esdr. 5 ff.
xerox ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
or surpass it, and prove himself a very Antichrist. But there
is nothing in the Apostle’s words which compels the belief that
Nero was in his thoughts, or even that he consciously connected
the Antichrist with a future Emperor. All that he definitely
foretells is the advent of a great antichristian power after the
removal of the existing bar, and before the second Advent of
the Lord.
An earlier Christian apocalypse, based on the teaching of Christ
and now embodied in the Synoptic Gospels (Me. xili.= Mt. xxiv. =
Le. xxi.), may have been already in circulation when 2 Thess. was
written. It speaks of the ‘ Abomination of Desolation’ ‘‘ standing
(éornxoTa) where he ought not” (Mc.) or “standing (€éo70s) in a holy
place” (Mt.)1, St Luke substitutes for this the paraphrase, ‘‘ When
ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her
desolation is at hand,” i.e., writing after the fall of the city, he
interprets the prophecy as fulfilled in the investment of Jerusalem
by Titus. But whatever may be intended by the BdeAvypa tis
éonuwoews, it is difficult to overlook the general resemblance
between St Mark’s éoryxdra omov ov det= ev to7w dyiw (Mt.), and St
Paul’s wore avtoy eis Tov vadv Tod Geot Kabioa. The BdedAvypya had
been almost realized under Caligula, and the Apostle looked torward
to its full realization, perhaps in the near future; to St Luke, who
outlived St Paul, the day seemed to have come when the city was
invested by the Roman general.
3. In the Apocalypse another stage is reached. Assuming
that the book in its present form belongs, as Irenaeus states, to
the end of Domitian’s reign, the follies of Caligula, the atrocities
of Nero, and the victory of Titus? belong to the past; a quarter
of a century separates the fall of Jerusalem from the vision
of Patmos. New developments call for new conceptions of the
autichristian power, and to St John, guided by his recollections of
the Book of Daniel, it assumes the form of a Wild Beast. Two
Wild Beasts are mentioned in ¢. xiii., but the second does not retain
the name ; he reappears in a later chapter as the False Prophet;
from ¢. xii, 11 the first Wild Beast, whose prophet he is, receives
the title 7é @npiov to the exclusion of his subordinate, and if we
may use a word which the writer of the Apocalypse perhaps in-
tentionally lays aside, this first Wild Beast is the Antichrist of
St John’s vision. To him belongs the mystic number 666 ; it is
* Mt. adds, 76 pn@év did Aaviid tod the Apocalypse, but in reference not to
mpopyrov. Cf. Dan. ix. 27, xi. 24, xii.11. Jerusalem but to Babylon (xvii. 4f.,
* Both Pdd\vyua and épnuody occur in xviii. 16, 19).
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxx1
he who like St Paul's dvouos! is worshipped by the world, and sets
his mark on his worshippers; it is on him that the new Babylon
reposes; it is he who is at last seized and cast with his prophet
into the lake of fire. In one important particular, however,
St John has made an advance upon St Paul. The Apocalyptic
Beast vanishes before the final parousia; a long interval appears
to intervene between his disappearance and the end, during which
the forces of evil muster round Satan himself, who is thus the
ultimate antagonist of Christ and of the Church.
4. Who or what is the Beast of the Apocalypse ?. Sometimes
he seems to be regarded as personal (e.g. xvii. 8, 11); at other
times we appear to be dealing with an impersonal abstraction
(xii. 1 ff, xvii. 3, 7f.). The same phenomenon has been observed
in the Synoptic apocalypse and in St Paul’s prophecy of the
Man of Sin, and the obvious explanation is that in each case the
writer means to represent a principle which finds its illustration
and works itself out in individuals. If the line of interpretation
adopted in the present commentary be accepted, the Apocalypse
refers in terms which are necessarily obscure to Nero and Domitian
as successive embodiments of the Beast; the Beast itself is properly
the hostile World-power which was identified with the Roman
Empire, and personified in the first two persecuting Emperors.
“Two Empires, two social organizations, designed to embrace
the whole world, started together in the first century....In prin-
ciple, in mode of action, in sanctions, in scope, in history they offer
an absolute contrast....The history of the Roman Empire is from
the first the history of a decline and fall...the history of the
Christian Empire is from the first the history of a victorious
progress.” The antithesis which is set forth in these eloquent
words may not have been observed at first; it does not appear
in our Lord’s attitude towards the Roman rule in Judaea, or
in the teaching of St Paul upon the duty of Christians towards
civil rulers, or even in St Paul’s prophecy, where the Empire
and the Emperor are viewed in the light of a protecting rather
1 Both descriptions rest ultimately on 2 Westcott, Epp. of St John, p. 253.
Daniel vii. 8, xi. 36.
8. R. Ki
Ixxxll ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
than a hostile force. St Peter’s Epistle is probably later than the
outbreak of the Neronian persecution, but it reinforces St Paul’s
appeal for loyalty. There was obviously no ground for the
charge of disloyalty which the Jews brought against our Lord
before Pilate (Jo. xix. 12), and against Paul and Silas before the
Thessalonian politarchs (Acts xvii. 5 ff.). It was not on the side
of the Church that the quarrel began’; in all probability it would
never have begun had not Rome provoked it by aggressive
measures which the Church could not but resent.
5. Nero opened hostilities in 64, initiating a policy of per-
secution which was not formally abandoned during the rest of the
century. The circumstances are thus described by Tacitus? and
Suetonius:
Tac. Ann. xv. 44 “non ope humana, non largitionibus principis
aut deum placamentis decedebat infamia, quin iussum incendium cre-
deretur. ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdidit reos, et quaesitissimis
poenis affecit quos per flagitia invisos vulgus Christianos appellabat.
...igitur primum correpti qui fatebantur*, deinde indicio eorum multi-
tudo ingens, haud perinde in crimine incendii quam odio humani
generis coniuncti (cor. convicti) sunt. et pereuntibus addita ludibria,
ut ferarum tergis contecti laniatu canum interirent, aut crucibus
affixi, aut flammandi, atque ubi defecisset dies in usum nocturni
luminis urerentur. hortos suos ei spectaculo Nero obtulerat et
circense ludicrum edebat, habitu aurigae permixtus plebi vel
curriculo insistens. unde quamquam adversus sontes et novissima
exempla meritos miseratio oriebatur, tamquam non utilitate publica
sed in saevitiam unius absumerentur.” Suet. Vero 16 “ multa sub
eo et animadversa severe et coercita...afflicti suppliciis Christiani,
genus hominum superstitionis novae ac maleficae.”
It is evident that Tacitus, who certainly held no brief for
the Christian faith, represents Nero as the real author of the
outrage. It took the form of a police measure, as Suetonius says,
but in the first instance it was simply a device for screening the
Emperor's own infamy. Christians already had a bad name with
the Roman populace, but no attack would have been made upon
their lives had not Nero sacrificed them to save himself. When
he proceeded to offer the use of the Vatican Gardens for the
1 How little disposed the Church was 2 On the trustworthiness of Tacitus
to make difficulties on her part may be _ see Lightfoot, Ignatius, 1. pp. 9 f., 725.
gathered (e.g.) from St Luke’s readiness 3 Hither their Christian Faith or their
to use the title DeBaords (Acts xxy. 21,25). guilt as incendiaries.
NERO,
From a bust in the British Museum.
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA xxxili
executions and to mix with the spectators, even the Roman mob
recognized the brutality (saevitiam) of his conduct.
6. Even if Nero had desired to abandon the policy of per-
secution, it would have been difficult for him to do so. The words
of Suetonius suggest that notwithstanding the reaction brought
about by the Emperor's callousness, repressive measures continued
in force. Sulpicius Severus, who wrote in the fourth century, may
be confusing later times with those of Nero when he writes
(chron. ii, 29) in reference to the latter: “post etiam datis legibus
religio vetabatur, palamque edictis propositis Christianum esse
non licebat},” but he is certainly right in adding with regard to
the atrocities of 64, “hoc initio in Christianos saeviri coeptum ” ;
and, as Lightfoot points out, when once persecution had begun the
Roman Jews, with Poppaea Sabina at their back, would scarcely have
been content to let it cease altogether, The martyrdoms of St Peter
and St Paul are connected with Nero by Tertullian (scorp. 15)
and Origen (ap. Eus. H. £. 111. 1), and those Apostles were but the
leaders of a great army of martyrs The horrors of that first
onslaught on the Roman Christians must have made a lasting
impression on the Churches throughout the Empire; and the man
who had exhausted every form of cruelty in his sudden attack
upon an innocent community and had revelled in the agonies of
his victims may well have become among Christians everywhere
the symbol of brute force triumphing over righteousness and truth,
of the World-power standing in direct antithesis to the Kingdom
of God—in a word, of Antichrist, or to use St John’s image, of the
Beast.
7. ‘So strong was the impression made by the personality of
Nero upon the Roman world that after his violent death in 68
there were many who believed or professed to believe that he was
still alive. While some of his friends year after year strewed his
tomb with the flowers of spring and summer, others issued edicts
in his name and professed that he would shortly return to the con-
1 So Ramsay, Church in the Roman 2 Cf. Clem. 1 Cor. 6 odd rAHO0s éx-
Empire, p. 244; but see Lightfoot, Ig- exra@y olrwes moddais aixlas cai Bacdvos
natius, i. p. tof.; Sanday, in Exp.iv. da fHdos waGdvres Uwdderyua Kadorov
vl., p. 408. éyévovTo vuiy,
f2
Ixxxiv ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
fusion of his enemies‘. More than one pretender claimed to be a
Nero returned from his wanderings, or even restored to life?. There
were those who whispered that the great Emperor was hiding in
Parthia, and would some day cross the borders at the head of a
Parthian host. The Christian prophet would not, of course, give
credit to these stories, but they served to supply some of the
features of his symbolism. The Beast is represented as simulating
the Resurrection and Return of the Christ; his deadly wound has
been healed (xiii. 3); he is coming again®. Nero is doubly an
Antichrist ; the historical Nero persecuted the Church, the Nero
of popular myth caricatured‘ the faith. The legend, indeed, was
not without a counterpart of historical fact. When the Apocalypse
was written, Nero had in truth returned in the person of Domitian
(xvll. II).
8. The brief reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius are of no
interest to the student of the struggle between the Empire and
the Church and may be left out of his reckoning, as St John leaves
them out in Apoc. xv. 10, where Vespasian follows immediately
after Nero. With Vespasian the Flavian house® entered on a spell ;
of power which lasted for more than a quarter of a century. Its
policy, in the belief of Professor Ramsay, was strongly anti-
christian. Attention is called to a passage in Severus Sulpicius,
probably derived from the lost Histories of Tacitus*, in which
the chronicler describing a council of war held after the fall of
Jerusalem says (il. 30): “alii et Titus ipse evertendum in primis
templum censebant quo plenius Judaeorum et Christianorum
religio tollatur...Christianos ex Judaeis extitisse; radice sublata
stirpem facile perituram.” This, if trustworthy, assigns a reason
for a Flavian policy adverse to the Church, and the hint dropt by
Hilary (c. Arian. 3) that Vespasian was among the Imperial per-
1 Suet. Nero 57,cf. Lightfoot, Clement, character of the Christ. Compare dyti-
iy Pantene
? Cf. Renan, L’Antéchrist, pp. 317 ff.,
351 ff.
3 Apoe. xvil. 8 mdpeorar. Cf. 2 Thess.
il. g ov éorly ) Tapovcla Kart evépyeay
Tov oaTrava.
4 The avrixpiocros is not a mere ayri-
dixos OF avTixeluevos, but an adversary
who consciously or not simulates the
katgap (representative of the Emperor),
a word which passed into Aramaic (Dal-
man, Worterbuch, s.v.).
5 Vespasian 69—79, Titus 79—81,
Domitian 81—96.
6 Ramsay, Church in the R. Empire,
pp. 253, 256. Cf. Lightfoot, Ignatius,
hy 0 SuRh
ee ee oe
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxxv
secutors makes in the same direction’. But neither statement
carries us far. It is only when we reach the third and last of the
Flavian Emperors that there is indubitable evidence of a revival
on a large scale of Nero’s attitude towards the Christians.
Lightfoot has collected a catena of passages which justify the
belief that Domitian was the second great persecutor®. One refer-
ence to his persecuting policy is contemporary: Clement of Rome
speaks of tas aigyvidious Kat éraddAnAovs yevouévas nuiv cuphopas
Kal tepimr@cers—words which, as Lightfoot shews, accurately
describe the capricious and reiterated attacks which distinguished
this Emperor’s policy in reference to the Church*. It is perhaps
due to the feline stealthiness and rapidity with which Domitian
dealt his blows that so few details remain. The names of two of
his victims at Rome are preserved, and the facts are significant.
T. Flavius Clemens, a cousin of the Emperor, had but just quitted
the consulship, in which he had been Domitian’s colleague, when
he was arrested and put to death; while his wife Domitilla,
Domitian’s niece, was banished to one of the islands off the coast of
Campania—Pontia or Pandateria—where political prisoners were
detained. Suetonius‘ contents himself with saying that Flavius
Clemens, whom he designates contemptissimae inertiae, was put to
death repente, ex tenuissima suspicione ; but from Dio Cassius® we
learn that the charge brought against both husband and wife was
one of ‘atheism’ (a@eornTos), and he adds: id’ 5 Kai dro es Ta
Ttav “lovdaiwy &0n é€oxéXXovTes TroANOL KaTEdixacOnoay, Kai of
Putting the data together, it is natural to infer
that Fl. Clemens and his wife suffered for their Christian faith, and
that they were by no means the only victims of Domitian’s hostility
to ‘Jewish’ ways’, But this attack on the members of the Roman
\
bev aréOavov.
1 As to objections to this statement of
Hilary founded on the silence of Melito
(Eus. H.E. iv. 26) and a counter-state-
ment of Tertullian (Apol. 5) see Light-
foot, op. cit. p. 16.
2 St Clement, i. p. 104.
ShOn.. ett. i. ps 7 f.
4 Domitianus, 15.
5 Hist. Rom. lxvii. 14. 1 sq. The
whole passage may be seen in Preuschen,
Analecta p. 13 f.
§ All Jews must have been severely
tried by Vespasian’s order that the
half shekel payable to the support of
the Temple at Jerusalem should still be
collected and be applied to the use of the
Capitoline Jupiter. This order in the
hands of Domitian became a pretext for
harsh measures being directed against
recusant Jews. (Suet. Dom. 2; see Light-
foot Ignatius i. p. 12.) Butit could not
affect the Emperor’s relatives or other
lxxxvl ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
Church, which seems to have been limited to a few leaders
of Roman society, does not fully explain the position which
Domitian holds in Christian tradition among Imperial persecutors
of the faith. Itis not only from Rome that the evidence comes,
but from Sardis, whose bishop Melito writes to the Emperor
Antoninus (Eus. H. &#. iv. 26): wovot travtwy avatretoOevtes v7r0
tev Backavev avOporrav Tov Kal nuas év dsaBorn KatTacThoat
oyor nOéAnoav Népwy cal Aopuetsavos. Nero’s persecution of
the Roman Church was notorious, but was Melito likely to have
coupled Domitian with him as a persecutor if the latter Emperor's
actions had been limited to a few arrests and executions at Rome
near the end of his reign? Is it not probable that the Asian
Churches felt his hand, perhaps some years earlier? And do not
the words suggest a cause for Domitian’s antichristian policy in
Asia which is entirely in accord with the conditions described in
the Apocalypse ?
9. It is known that Domitian went beyond his predecessor in
asserting his own divinity: “cum procuratorum suorum nomine
formalem dictaret epistulam sic coepit: Dominus et Deus nosier
hoc fiert tubet.”. The history of this extraordinary claim is in-
structive, and must be given here as briefly as may be; for fuller
details reference may be made to G. Boissier, La religion romaime
(Paris, 1900), i. pp. 1og—186; G. Wissowa, Religion u. Kultus
der Romer (Munich, 1902), pp. 71—78, 280—289; V. Chapot, op.
cit., p. 419 ff.
As early as the second century before Christ a complimentary
cult of the genius of Rome or the dea Roma had begun in the
provinces; there was a templum urbis Romae at Smyrna in B.C.
195; a Bwpos THs “Pwmns occurs in 105; a priest of Rome is men-
tioned by name in a compact between Sardis and Ephesus about
B.c. 982. A new development of this cult sprang up with the rise
of the Empire, when the majesty of Rome took a concrete form in
the person of the princeps. After the apotheosis of Julius Caesar
non-Jewish Christians; againstthesethe Mommsen, Aurelian .was the first
charge was one of ‘atheism’ simply,i.e. Emperor who officially assumed divine
of rejecting the religion of Rome. titles.
1 Suet. Domitian. 13. The claim, 2 Tac. ann. iv. 56. See Wissowa,
however, was not official; according to Religion wu. Kultus der Romer, p. 281 ff.
DOMITIAN.
From the Statue in Munich
(after Dr J. J. Bernoulli).
yi!
oe
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxxvil
(29 B.C.) a temple of Dea Roma and Diwus Julius was erected
at Ephesus. Augustus had no need to wait for an apotheosis:
during his lifetime temples were erected under the dedication Oeas
“Paopns cal XeBacrod Kaicapos*. When the Pergamenes wished
to build one in honour of Tiberius, the example of Augustus was
quoted (Tac. ann. iv. 37 “cum divus Augustus sibi atque urbi
Romae templum apud Pergamum sisti non prohibuisset”). Both
Augustus and Tiberius kept the new cult within limits; at Rome
no temple was dedicated to either Emperor within his lifetime:
Tiberius allowed only one Augusteum to be erected in his honour
within the province of Asia, and refused to permit Spain to follow
the example of the Asian cities. Gaius, who succeeded him, was a
man of another and a weaker type; epileptic, often on the verge of
insanity, incapable of self-control, he had in early life imbibed from
Herod Agrippa® a vicious taste for Oriental magnificence. The
precedent sparingly allowed by his predecessors offered this prince
a welcome opportunity of self-aggrandisement; as a god he could
surround himself with more than royal display‘ Gaius carried
his pretensions to a point at which they became at once ridiculous
and dangerous; he removed the heads of famous statues and
substituted his own: he attempted to erect a statue of himself
in the Holy of holies at Jerusalem. The Alexandrian Jews
were forced to admit the Emperor’s image into their synagogues,
and if the Church did not suffer, it was probably because she had
as yet no buildings set apart for worship, and was not sufficiently
powerful to attract attention. The “furious Caligula,” as Gibbon
rightly designates him, might have gone to even greater lengths,
had not his reign been cut short by assassination (41). Claudius,
if no better than Gaius, was saner, and during his reign there
was no fresh attempt to force the Emperor-worship on_ the
Jews, unless indeed something of this kind, in which the Roman
Christians were also involved, is suggested by the well-known
1 Dio Cassius, li. 20. 4 Suet. C. Caligula 22, ‘‘admonitus et
* Dittenberger, Or. Gr. inscr. select. principum et regum se excessisse fas-
ll. p. II. tigium, divinam ex eo maiestatem asse-
3 Wissowa, p. 284; Westcott, Epp. rere sibi coepit.”’
of St John, p. 274.
Ixxxvill_ ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
words of Suetonius? : “ Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultu-
antes Roma expulit.’ It is not clear why the Roman Jews or
Jewish Christians should have given trouble on any other ground.
We read, too, of a temple erected in honour of Claudius at
Camulodunum in Britain, which was regarded as indicating that
the Romans had come to stay and to rule. Yet if the Imperial
cult went on under Claudius, there is no evidence that it was en-
couraged by him. After death Claudius received his apotheosis’,
but amidst shouts of ridicule which are voiced in the Apotheosis
of Seneca. Nero, on the other hand, might easily have made good
a claim of this kind. No Emperor on the whole made so deep an —
impression, a circumstance due to the dramatic power and con-
sciousness of something approaching to genius which remained with
him to the last; qualis artufex pereo! Quite early in his life in an
Egyptian inscription he is called 6 adya0os daiuwv THs otxoupévns.
But he was not tempted like his predecessors to imagine himself
divine, preferring to gain credit for brilliant endowments of a
human type.» He shrank from the title of Divus and the erection
of temples in his honour, because they seemed to forebode the
approach of death, and Nero loved life better than a shadowy
immortality’. No such feelings held back Domitian from press-
ing his claims to Divine honours. He found a gloomy and
perhaps a cynical pleasure in the shouts which greeted his arrival
at the amphitheatre with Domitia; domino et dominae feliciter®.
Unable to rouse enthusiasm or admiration, he could insist on
being regarded as a god®.
10. The province of Asia accepted with acclamation the new
cult of Rome and the Emperor. For more than 200 years Rome
had been mistress in Asia, and on the whole she had contributed
to the prosperity of her great province; but the provincials had
suffered from the extortions of greedy officials, and from the days
1 Divus Claudius, 25.
2 Tac. ann. xiv. 31, ‘* quasi arx aeter-
nae dominationis aspiciebatw.”
° Suet. D. Claudius, 45 ‘‘innumerum
deorum relatus.” Cf, Dittenberger, Or.
Gy, inscr. li. p. 397, 6 Oeds KXavdvos.
* Tac. ann. xv. 74, ‘‘nam deum honor
principi non ante habetur quam agere
inter homines desierit.”
© Suet. Domitian. 13.
6 Cf. the form of oath quoted by
Wissowa, p. 71: “‘ per Iovem et divom
Augustum...et genium imperatoris
Caesaris Domitiani Augusti deosque
penates.”
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Ixxx1x
of Augustus the principatus had been hailed by the Asian towns
as their salvation’. Inscription after inscription testifies to the
loyalty of the cities towards the Empire. At Ephesus, at Smyrna,
at Pergamum, and indeed throughout the province the Church
was confronted by an imperialism which was popular and patriotic,
and bore the character of a religion. Nowhere was the Caesar-
cult more popular than in Asia, The Augusteum (LeSacretvor),
or Temple of Rome* and the Augusti, had long taken its place
among the public buildings of the greater cities. Augustus, as
we have seen, refused Divine honours at Rome, but permitted a
temple to be dedicated to dea Roma and himself at Pergamum.
The other Asian cities followed the precedent set by the old capital.
In A.D. 26 they vied with each other for the honour of building a
temple to Tiberius, when Smyrna gained the coveted distinction
over the head of Ephesus, on the ground that the latter already
possessed the Artemision‘. Ephesus, not to be outdone by her
neighbour, erected an Augusteum, probably to Claudius, and thus
acquired the title of vewxopos® of the Imperial worship. These
local temples were not of merely local interest ; their affairs were
managed by the provincial league known as the Commune Asiae
(70 xowov ths “Acias), whose president was styled Asiarch, and
perhaps also dpyepeds Tod Kowod THs ’Acias®. It belonged to
the Asiarch to direct the worship of the Augusti throughout the
province, and to preside at games which were held quinquennially
in the cities where Augustea had been erected’. Such festivals
are known to have been celebrated from time to time at five of the
1 Ramsay, Letters, p. 114 f.; Chapot,
Laprovince Romaine proconsulaire d’ Asie,
p. 62 ff. Cf. an inscription of Halicar-
nassus cited by Zimmerman, Ephesos,
p. 52 f., which describes Octavian as
evepyérny Tv avOpwrwy yévous, dbs peylo-
tas é\mldas otk émAjpwoe wdvov adda Kal
brepéBadr\ev, dogadrys mev yap yh Kal
@ddacoa, woes Oé avOovcw év elpyyy Kal
duovola Kal evernpla.
2 Mommesen, Provinces (E. Tr.), p. 345.
3 In Asia the cult of Rome was older
than the province itself; a temple was
raised to Rome at Smyrna in B.c. 193
(Tac. Ann. iv. 56).
+ Tac. ann. iv. 55.
5 M. Chapot (p. 450) gives a useful
list of the towns of Asia which possessed
the neocorate, with the reigns or dates
when it was received.
6 On these titles see Lightfoot, Ig-
natius, lil. p. 404 ff. ; Chapot, pp. 454—
482; Pauly-Wissowa, s.vv.
7 Each of the cities had its local
high priest of the Augustan cult, who
seems also to have had the style of
‘ Asiarch,’ though he was supreme only
in the local Augusteum. See Light-
foot, p. 415; Hicks, p. 87.
Ke ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
seven cities addressed in the Apocalypse, namely, at Ephesus,
Smyrna, Pergamum, Sardis, and Philadelphia’.
A system such as this, it is obvious, supphed machinery which
could at any time be used against the Church with fatal facility.
To refuse worship to Artemis or Asklepios was to decline a local
cult; to refuse it to the statue of the Emperor at a time when the
whole city was taking part in festivities organized by the Commune,
was to expose oneself to the charge of disloyalty both to the pro-
vincial authorities and to the Emperor. Our only wonder is that
this charge had not been laid against the Christians of Asia in
the time of Claudius or of Nero?; perhaps there is a trace of
such an anti-Christian movement in the reference to the days
when Antipas suffered at Pergamum’, the earliest centre of the
Caesar-worship, but of any general persecution under Nero there
is no evidence*, Yet it is easy to understand that when Domitian’s
desire for Divine honours became known in Asia, the zealous pro-
vincials would resent more keenly than before the abstention of —
Christian citizens from the games instituted in honour of the
Augusti, and the situation would become threatening. It is just
this position of affairs which the Apocalypse represents; the Beast
of whom Christians spoke with bated breath as ‘number 666° had
returned; already the markets were closed against buyers and
sellers who did not bear his mark (xii. 17), and there were
rumours in the air of an approaching massacre (ib. 15). For this
the Apocalypse is, it is true, our only authority, and its witness is
given in an enigmatic form which cannot always be interpreted
with certainty; but the main features of its story are plain enough,
1'Even the calendar shewed traces
of the new cult. ‘César a son mois,
son jour comme Aphrodite; l’époque de
sa venue au monde inaugura l’année.
Ce sont des commencements qui pré-
parent le vrai culte” (Chapot, p. 394).
2 This seems to follow not only from
the silence of St Luke, but from St Paul’s
friendship with Asiarchs.
° It is significant that while Antipas
was martyred at Pergamum, it was at
Smyrna, the second centre of the Augus-
tan cult, that trouble was imminent when
St John wrote (ii. 10).
4 Dr Hort indeed wr tes (First Ep. of
St Peter, p. 2): “It is only likely that
what was begun at Rome in connexion
with the fire spread through the pro-
vinces till it culminated in the state
of things implied in the Apocalypse.”
“The Apocalypse...proves the existence
of persecutions in Asia Minor, and
implies that they were on a wide scale.”
But there is nothing to shew that the
martyrs mentioned in the Apocalypse,
Antipas excepted, were Asiaties; the
sufferings of the Roman Christians may
have been in the writer’s mind.
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA xcl
and they accord with what is known of life in Asia during the
first century, and of Domitian’s general policy.
11, With the Beast from the sea, the hostile World-power
represented by Nero and Domitian, St John associates a Beast
from the land, a power no less hostile to the Church, which has its
origin and home in Asia itself. This second Beast allies itself
with the first, especially in the matter of the worship of the
Augusti; indeed the first Beast is represented as leaving the
affairs of the Emperor-cult entirely in the hands of the second.
The Beast from the land works miracles! in support of the new
cult, calling down fire from heaven, and causing the statues
of the Emperor to speak (xiii. 13, 15); he is the ‘false prophet of
the Imperial religion, and imposes on the credulity of the populace,
whom he sets against the Christian recusants (7b. 12, 14 ff, 17,
xix. 20). By the second Beast Professor Ramsay* understands
“the Province of Asia in its double aspect of civil and religious
administration, the Proconsul and the Commune”; in this com-
mentary the Beast from the land is identified with the False
Prophet, and regarded as the religious power represented by the
Asiarch and the priesthood of the Asian temples of the Augusti;
while in the oneta which he works we recognize the use of the
magical arts for which Asia and Ephesus in particular were
notorious. The magic formulae known as "E¢éova ypdupata® had
a worldwide reputation, and one of the earliest conquests which the
Gospel achieved at Ephesus was the destruction of costly books
which contained them‘. It is noteworthy that dapyaxia is named
immediately after eSwAoXatpeia in the Epistle to the Galatians
(v. 20)°, while the Apocalypse (xxi. 8, cf. xxii. 15) places dappyaxot,
the professors of magic, between 7répvor and eidwXoXaTpat.
Christianity, it is evident, set its face against magic from the
first ; paganism, on the other hand, had no serious quarrel with it ;
the cultivated Roman gentlemen who administered the provinces of
1 Cf. 2 Thess. ii. of. Kedevouot TA’ Edéoia ypauuara mpos atrovs
2 Letters, p. 97- Katahéyew kai dvouasexv. See Schiirer,
3 Cf. Clem. Al. strom. v. 8. §46 ra Gesch. ili. p. 296f.
"Edéoia kadovueva ypduuata év mo\)ois 4 Acts xix. 19 f.
6% modv@pi\nra dvra. Plutarch symp: > See Lightfoot’s note, and ef. Ign.
Vil. 5. 4 of wayor robs dSamongoudvous Eph. 19, Philad. 5.
xcll ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA
the Empire did not always scorn the attentions of the professional
magus’; even Emperors were credited with dabbling in their
secrets’, In Lucian’s sarcastic sketch AX¢Eavdpos 7) Vevdduarris,
we see one of these conjurors on tour, and though St John’s wevdo-
tmpodnrns is probably not an individual, but a class or system, it
may be assumed that such travelling mountebanks were used to
negotiate the wonders described in Apoe, xiii At Ephesus there
were fourteen Oecu@doi* attached to the temple of the Augusti,
who are supposed by Canon Hicks to correspond with the tur@dot
or choirmen of the Artemision ; their official name admits of this
explanation, but 1t may also mean ‘oracle-chanters, —a name under
which dealers in magic might well have been concealed. But
however this may have been, it is obvious that the Church was
hard pressed in Asia by the magic-mongers, and it 1s easy to
imagine the effect of their lying wonders on an excitable popu-
lation already predisposed to the Imperial cult and impatient of
Christianity. Nothing was needed to light the fires of persecution
but a word from the Emperor or the Proconsul, and when they
were kindled, it would be long, as the prophet of the Apocalypse
foresaw, before the peace of the Church was restored in Asia or
in the Roman world.
12. One more force which made against the Kingdom of
The Jews of Asia
Minor had been numerous from the days when Antiochus ITI
sent 2000 families of the eastern Dispersion to settle in Lydia
and Phrygia’. In Cicero’s time tribute went to the Temple at
Jerusalem from Jews in Adramyttium, Pergamum, Laodicea, and
Apamea, and there is evidence from other quarters that in the
first century there were Jews resident also at Smyrna, Magnesia,
Christ in Asia must be mentioned here.
Tralles, Sardis, and Thyatira’,
worshippers came to Jerusalem
1 Acts xiii. 6 ff.
2 Orac, Sibyll. viii. 52 ff. éocer’ dvakt
moAuoKpavos éxwy médas o'voua mdvrou
(Hadrian)...cal payix@y ddvTwy pvorypia
mavTa mebécer.
3 Apollonius of Tyana, to whom Prof.
Ramsay refers (Letters, p. 102), was a
strong opponent of the prevalent jug-
glery ; see Dill, Roman Society, p. 400.
In the year of the Crucifixion
at the feast. of Pentecost from
4 Inscr. 481. 7 (A.D. 104): Oecuwdots
vaod THY LeBacrav ev “Hdéow Kowvod Tis
*Acias.
5 Joseph. Ant. xii. 3f.; cf. Philo in
Flacc. 7. See p. lxvi, note 2.
6 Schiirer, Geschichte?, ili. p. r1f.;
art. Diaspora in Hastings, D.B. v. 93 ff.
Chapot, p. 182 ff.
ANTICHRIST IN THE PROVINCE OF ASIA Xcill
Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia,and Pamphylia*, At Salamis
in Cyprus, at Antioch in Pisidia, at Iconium, at Ephesus, St Paul
found synagogues, and in these synagogues he began his work. But
the Asiatic Jews did not assimilate the new teaching; its popularity
with Gentiles and proselytes aroused their suspicion and, as the
writer of the Acts suggests, their jealousy?» In the Apocalypse
the breach between the Synagogue and the Church is seen to be
complete; the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia have to bear
the blasphemies of those who “affirm themselves to be Jews and
are not,” a synagogue which is not God’s but “Satan’s®.” The
Jews were protected by special privilege from molestation in the
exercise of their faith*, Under Caligula indeed they had suffered
severely for their opposition to the Caesar-cult*, but the persecu-
tion ended with the death of the Emperor; under Domitian no
attempt was made to enforce a worship which neither compulsion
nor persuasion would have brought them to accept. Nevertheless,
they had no scruple in turning the attention of the populace and
the authorities to the resistance which the less favoured Christians
offered to the Imperial religion. At the martyrdom of Polycarp
it was noticed that the Jews of Smyrna not only made common
cause with the heathen but outdid them in efforts to prepare fuel
for the stake, and the Martyrdom notes that this was their wont’.
Yet Polycarp was condemned for refusing to swear by the genius
(rv¥yn) of Caesar’, an act which the Jews should have been able to
appreciate. This was in the year 155 (Harnack), but the attitude
of the Asian Jew towards Christianity had been determined at
least seventy years before. The Synagogue of Satan played the part
of the great Adversary; it not only rejected Christ, but did its best
by slander and delation and, when the opportunity was afforded,
by cooperation with the pagan mob, to bring about the destruction
of the Asian Church.
1 Acts ii. g. li. m1. p. 349 ff.
2 Acts xiii. 45 éwdjoOnoav frou. Cf. § Polyc. mart. 13 wddora “Tovdalwy
1 Thess. il. 16. mpobtuws, ws Eos avrots, els rabra vroup-
5 Apoc. ii. 9, ill. g. yotwruv. Cf. § 12 aray 7d wAnbos Ever
4 On the privileges possessed by the re xalIovdalwy.
Jews in Asia see Chapot, p. 182 f. 7 Ib. of.; cf. Lightfoot’s note, and
5 Schiirer, i. 1. p. gt, ii. m.-p. 266 ff., Westcott, Epp. of St John, p. 279.
Vee.
PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE.
1. The Apocalypse of John is the letter of an exiled prophet
to the Christian congregations to which he has ministered.
He writes under the conviction that he has a message for them
from the Supreme Prophet and Pastor of the Church, and his
primary purpose is to deliver this message. It has come to him
in the way of revelation, and under the form of a succession of
visions, and he delivers it as it was given; his letter consists
entirely of visions and revelations of the Lord, which he has
been not only permitted but commanded to transmit. But, as
the style proclaims aloud, it is not, like some of the later
apocalypses, a literary effort, appealing to readers generally
without regard to special circumstances. It is a genuine out-
come of the time, written with a view to the special needs of a
particular group of Christian societies; it portrays the life of
those societies, and ministers to their spiritual necessities. In
form it is an epistle, containing an apocalyptic prophecy; in
spirit and inner purpose, it is a pastoral.
2. ach of the Churches of Asia had difficulties peculiar to
itself, and these problems are treated first. The first three chapters,
which have seemed to some critics to have no real coherence with
the rest of the book, are in fact occupied with this preliminary
task. The glorified Head of Christendom is revealed as visiting
the Churches, and taking note of their several conditions; and
the so-called ‘letters to the Churches’ record the results of His
inspection. Nothing in the book is more remarkable than the
precision with which these separate messages differentiate be-
' On the one exception (x. 4) see the note ad loc.
PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE XCV
tween Church and Church, as the searchlight of the Spirit? is
turned upon each in succession, Only two of the Churches
escape reproof: the strenuous commercial life and the material
prosperity of the Asian cities have had their natural effect upon
the Christian minorities, which were in the sight of the Bishop of
souls suffering from this cause even more severely than from the
- slanders of the Jews or the menaces of the heathen. At Ephesus
the standard of Christian life, though still high, had been sensibly
lowered; at Laodicea the Church was lukewarm and supercilious,
at Sardis it was spiritually dead. And not only is the spiritual
condition of each society diagnosed, but the circumstances are
carefully distinguished. At Smyrna and Philadelphia the Jews
are specially hostile; at Pergamum and Thyatira trouble has
been caused by the Nicolaitans. At every turn the messages to
the Churches shew local knowledge ; some of the allusions which
have not yet received a satisfactory explanation will doubtless
yield their secret to a fuller knowledge of the history and
antiquities of Asia. The business of the prophet is with the
particular Church to which for the moment attention is called,
and which would recognize at once the force of his words. It is
enough for the general reader if he grasps the spiritual lesson
which is to be found in these messages by everyone who has an
ear to hear it.
3. After c. i. the separate interests of the Churches pass
out of sight. The visions which follow open wider fields of view
that embrace the whole Church and the whole of human history,
reaching to the consummation and the Coming of the Lord.
But the Asian Churches are not forgotten, even if they are not
mentioned again till near the end (xxii. 16, 21). Their spiritual
dangers are probably in view throughout the book, but especially
in passages where the vices of heathenism are condemned and the
faithful are warned against participation in them?, or reminded
of their obligation to keep themselves pure*, And the whole
1 Apoc. il. 7, 11, 17, 29, iii. 6, 13, 22. 3 Asin vii. 14, xiv. 4f., xvi. 15, XXil,
09 » +49 Te > 4 + >
2 As e.g. in ix. 20f., xviii. of.,xx.8, 14.
RRs, 15:
xcvl PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE
series of visions which begins with c. iv. is in effect an answer to
the forebodings by which the faithful in Asia were harassed in
view of the gathering forces of Antichrist. The Churches of
Asia knew themselves to be on the brink of an encounter with the
greatest power the world had seen. The subject of cc. iv.—xxu.
is the course and issue of the struggle, and the purpose of these
chapters is to strengthen faith and kindle hope in the hearts of
the faithful. In the light of the revelation vouchsafed to him the
prophet John sees clearly that an age of persecution is beginning,
and that it will affect not only the Churches of Asia, but the
Church throughout the Roman world. How long it will last he
does not say; in the earlier visions it seems to run on to the
consummation, but in the later great reaches of time are seen
to intervene between the end of the pagan power and the end
of the existing order. The light grows as the Seer looks, and
the issue becomes more and more distinct; Babylon falls, the
Beast and the False Prophet receive their doom, Satan himself
is finally consigned to destruction, and the City of God descends
from heaven, idealized and glorious, as becomes the Bride of the
glorified Christ. The final outcome of the struggle between the
Church and the World, the Christ and the Antichrist, is postponed
to the last two chapters, but there are anticipations of it all
along the course of the book: in the promises with which each
of the seven messages to the Churches ends; in the vision of
the innumerable multitude before the Throne of God; in the
vision of the 144,000 virgin-souls upon Mount Zion. The whole
book is a Sursum corda, inviting the Churches to seek strength
in the faith of a triumphant and returning Christ. In vain the
Ancient Enemy stirs up trouble ; in vain the Beast from the sea
sets up his image, and the Beast from the land compels men
under pain of outlawry or death to worship it. The seal of the
living God secures those who refuse the mark of the Beast; the
martyrs are conquerors, and shall not be hurt of the Second Death ;
their names are in the Book of Life. Blessed are the dead which
die in the Lord from henceforth,...they rest from their labours, for
their works follow with them; after the fall of their great enemy
PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE xevil
they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years; they shall
enter through the gates into the City; the Lord God shall give them
light; they shall reign for ever and ever.
4. Of the immediate effect of the Apocalypse upon the Asian
Churches we cannot judge; certainly they weathered the storm,
for in the next Christian writing which comes to us from Asia,
the Letters of Ignatius, they are represented as large and
flourishing communities. The storm itself passed within two
or three years after the date which Irenaeus assigns to the
Apocalypse; Domitian was assassinated Sept. 18, 96, and the
accession of Nerva probably gave peace to the Asian Churches.
Trajan, who succeeded in the January of 98, seems to have taken
no active measures before A.D. 112, when his attention was directed
by the younger Pliny to the extraordinary progress of Christianity
in Bithynia. Perhaps it may be safely inferred that in the interval
between 96 and 112 the danger threatened by the Caesar-
worship ceased to be pressing, and for the moment the need of
comfort such as the Apocalypse offered was less keenly felt. But
what St John had written in the Spirit for the times of Domitian
and the Churches of Asia remained as a heritage for all suffering
Churches throughout the Empire. An early example of the help-
fulness of the book to Christians under persecution has survived
in the Epistle of the Churches of Vienne and Lyons, written in
177 to their brethren in Asia and Phrygia, which bears many
signs of the use of the Apocalypse by the Christian societies of
South Gaul during the troubles in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
It quotes or alludes to Apoc. i. 5, ili. 14, xiv. 4, xxii. 111. It is
impossible to doubt that the roll which contained St John’s great
letter to the parent Churches in Asia was often in the hands of
the daughter Churches in Gaul, and perhaps accompanied the
confessors to the prisons where they awaited the martyr’s crown.
5. There is some reason for believing that the writer of the
Apocalypse, before his work was ended, realized that the book
might find a larger field of service than the Churches of Asia or
even the Churches of the Empire could offer. In the early chapters
HUSH Hi. Vs E. 10, 575, 2-.3s
Ta WOODSTOCK COLLEGE 9
XCV1ll PURPOSE OF THE APOCALYPSE
it is clear that St John writes with a view to his message being
read aloud in the local Church assemblies : blessed is he that readeth
and they that hear the words of this prophecy ; he that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches!. Beyond the
transmission of the letter for reading in neighbouring Churches,
the prophet contemplates no circulation of his book; his message
is to the Churches of Asia, and he is content to be the means of
conveying it to them. But when he reaches the end a presenti-
ment seems to enter his mind that the book will live: J testify
unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him
the plaques which are written in this book; and if any man shall
take away...God shall take away his part from the tree of life*.
The primary destination of the Apocalypse is still kept in view:
it is to the hearer rather than the reader that the Apocalyptist
makes his final appeal. Yet the appeal seems to imply an
expectation that the book will be copied and circulated for wider
reading. The words are based on two passages in Deuteronomy,
and they practically place the Apocalypse on a level with the
Torah and anticipate for it a place among the Scriptures of the
Church. St John knew himself to be a prophet, and his writing
to be a prophecy; that he was commanded to consign his visions —
to a book was an assurance to him that their purpose would not
be fulfilled in one generation or in two. He sees the book
going down to posterity, and like the Deuteronomist he endeavours
to guard it against interpolation and excision. As he writes the
last words upon the papyrus roll that les upon his knee, the
conviction dawns upon him that the Revelation of Jesus Christ
was given for the warning and comfort of the whole Church
to the end of time.
1 Apoc. i. 3, ii. 7 ete. 2 Apoce, xxii. 18 f.
EX,
DATE.
1. Early Christian tradition is almost unanimous in assigning
the Apocalypse to the last years of Domitian.
The following are the chief authorities. Iren. v. 30. 3 ap. Eus.
H, #. ii, 18, v. 8 ei yap er avadavddv 74 viv kaipa knpvttec bar Tovvopa
avrod [sc. tot avrixpiotov], dv éxeivov av éppéOy tod Kai Ti “AzroKd-
Avy Ewpaxotos: ovdE yap 7pd TOAAOD xpovov Ewpaby, GAA GyEddv ext
THS nmetepas yeveds, Tpds TO TéAEL THS AopeTiavod apxns.
Clem, Alex. quis dives § 42 tod tupavvov TeXeuvTHoavTos ard THs Iatpov
THs vyoov peTnAGey ext THY ”"Edecov. Origen, in Mt. tom. xvi. 6 6 8%
‘Popaiwy Bacrrevs, ws 4 tapadocts diddoKe, Karedikace TOV “lwdvyny
paptupodvta Oia Tov Tis aAnbeias oyov eis Latpov tHv vicov*.
Victorinus in Apoc. (x. 11) “hoe dicit propterea quod quando haec
Toannes vidit, erat in insula Patmos, in metallum damnatus a Domi-
tiano Caesare. ibi ergo vidit Apocalypsin, et cum iam senior
putaret se per passionem accepturum receptionem, interfecto Domi-
tiano, omnia iudicio eius soluta sunt. et Ioannes, de metallo dimissus,
sic postea tradidit hance eandem quam acceperat a Deo Apoca-
lypsin”; 2. on xvil. ro ‘‘intellegi oportet tempus quo scripta
Apocalypsis edita est, quoniam tunc erat Caesar Domitia-
nus...unus exstat sub quo scripta est Apocalypsis, Domitianus
seilicet.” Euseb. H.2. iii. 18 év rovrw [sc. in the time of Do-
mitian] xaréyer Adyos Tov ardaroov apa Kal ebayyediotHy “lwavyny
ere TH Biw evdiatpiBovra THs cis Tov Geiov Oyov Evexev praptupias
Ilatpov oixeivy KatadixacOjvar tiv vicov: ib. 20 Tore 8% ovv [on
the accession of Nerva] xal tov ardcto\ov “lwavvyv axd ris Kara
THY Vncov duyns THY ert THs “Edéoov diatpy3iv aredndévar 6 TAY
Tap iv apxaiwy zapadidwor Aoyos: tb. 23 “Iwarvys Tas avrobe
dtetrev exxAyoias, ard THs KaTa THY VHoOV peta THY Aopmeteavod
teXevTiv eraveNOuv pvyijs. Ps. Aug. quaest. V. et N.T. 76. 2 “ista
revelatio eo tempore fasta est, quo apostolus Tohannes in insula erat
Pathmos, relegatus a Domitiano imperatore fidei causa.” Hieron.
de virr, illustr. g “quarto decimo anno secundam post Neronem
aT Sere
1 According to Dionysius Barsalibi,
Aiippolytus followed Irenaeus in assign-
ing the Apocalypse to the reign of Do-
mitian (Gwynn, in Hermathena, vii.
137).
f ie will be seen that the Alexandrian
testimony is not explicit; the Emperor
who banished John is not named either
by Clement or Origen. But in the
absence of evidence to the contrary
they may be presumed to have followed
in this respect the tradition of South
Gaul and Asia Minor.
g2
c DATE
persecutionem movente Domitiano in Patmon insulam rele-
gatus scripsit Apocalypsin...interfecto autem Domitiano et
actis elus ob nimiam crudelitatem a senatu rescissis sub Nerva
principe redit Ephesum,”
2. According to other ancient but not early authorities the
book was written under Claudius!, Nero, or Trajan.
Thus the title prefixed to both the Syriac versions of the Apoca-
lypse assigns the banishment of St John to the reign of Nero
(Aon . 04 anda)? Epiphanius places both the exile
and the return under Gleucine (haer. li. 12 pera tiv abtod ard THs
Ilatpov éravodov tHv ért KAavoiov yevouevnvy Kaicapos: 2b, 32
avtod b€ tpopytevoarvtos ev xpovors KAavoiov Kalcapos avwratw
ote eis THY Llatmov vycov imrppéev KTA.). The Synopsis de vita et morte
prophetarum attributed to Dorotheus goes to the opposite extreme,
placing the exile in the time of Trajan: tro d€ Tpatavod
Baoiréws eEwpicbyn ev tH vyow LUartpw...pera 5¢ THY TeACUTHY
Tpaiavod éraveecw amd THs vyoov, adding however: iol d€ ot
A€yovow py ext Tpaiavod avtrov éfopicOjvar ev Ilatww, adda éxi
Aopetiavod. Similarly Theophylact on Mt. xx. 22 "Iwavvyny de
Tpatavos xatedikace paptupotvta TO Adyw THs GAnOeias (compare
the extract from Origen in § 1). The reference to Trajan has
perhaps been suggested by Iren. il. 22. 5 apémewe yap avrots
[6 “Iwavvys| péxpe tav Tpaiavod xpovwr.
3. The general situation presupposed by the book is con-
sistent, as we have seen, with the early tradition which represents
it as a work of the last years of Domitian.
briefly summarized here. (a) The condition of the Asian
Churches, as it is described in cc. ii, ui, is that of a period
considerably later than the death of Nero.
undergone many changes since St Paul’s ministry at Ephesus,
Their inner life has
and even since the writing of the Epistles to the Ephesians and
Colossians® and the two Epistles to Timothy. Deterioration has
1 On this see Hort, Apocalypse, p.xvili. | municated by St John to Laodicea pro-
The evidence may be.
2 So Theophylact, praef. in Ioann.,
but speaking of the fourth Gospel: 6 kcal
ouvéypawev év Idtuw 7H vyjow é&dpioros
Ovarehay pera TpiaxovTadvo ern Tis TOD
xpisrod dvadjnWews. Tertullian (scorp.
15) does not definitely say that the exile
to Patmos took place under Nero, though
he is credited by Jerome (adv. Jovin. i.
26) with doing so, and his words admit
of that construction.
3 Lightfoot, indeed, assuming the
earlier date of the Apocalypse writes
(Colossians, p. 41): ‘‘the message com-
longs the note which was struck by
St Paul in the letter to Colossae. An
interval of a very few years has not
materially altered the character of these
Churches. Obviously the same temper
prevails, the same errors are rife, the
same correction must be supplied.” But
the examples which he gives (pp. 41—44)
shew only that the same general ten-
dencies were at work in the Lycus valley,
as when St Paul wrote, and this might
well have been so even after an interval
of more than 30 years.
DATE cl
set in at Ephesus, and at Sardis and Laodicea faith is dying or
dead. The Nicolaitan party, of which there is no certain trace in
the Epistles of St Paul, is now widely distributed and firmly rooted.
The external relations of the Churches shew a similar advance.
In past days Pergamum had witnessed a single martyrdom: nowa
storm of persecution was about to break on the Churches, and the
faithful might expect to suffer imprisonment and death. (b) The
prevalence of the Imperial cult, and the pressure which was being
put upon recusant Christians by the Asiarchs, are suggestive of
Later
than Domitian’s reign this precise situation could not have arisen ;
the time of Domitian rather than of Nero or Vespasian’.
Nerva did not maintain the aggressive policy of Domitian’, and
when Trajan’s rescript began to do its work, the petty persecution
described in Apoc. xiii. would give place to formal indictment before
the Proconsul. Thus the death of Domitian (Sept. 18, 96) is our
terminus ad quem; a terminus a quo is supplied by the date of his
accession (Sept. 13, 81), but the superior limit may with great
probability be pushed forward to A.D. 90 or even further, since
Domitian’s jealous insistence on his claims to Divine honours and
his encouragement of the delatores belong to the later years of
his reign.
4. There are other indications of date which are more
definite, and point in the same direction. (a) It is impossible
to doubt that the legend of Nero redivivus is in full view of the
Apocalyptist in more than one passage (xill. 3, 12, 14, xvul. 8).
Archbishop Benson, indeed, seeks to impale those who hold this
theory on the horns of a dilemma*. If St John referred to the
legend, either he believed it or he did not. If he believed it, “he
believed not only what was not true, but what decently-informed
and reasonable heathen never believed.’’ If he did not believe it,
written, belongs to the later rather than
to the earlier epoch; see c. vii. of this
introduction.
1 Dr Hort (1 Peter, p. 2) maintains
that ‘‘in Asia Minor, the special home
of the Emperor-worship, we have no
right to assume that it was only under
an Emperor like Domitian...that Chris-
tians were likely to have it forced upon
them.” This no doubt is true, but
the probability remains that the great
outbreak of persecution, which was
imminent when the Apocalypse was
2 Cf. Dio Cassius, Ixvili. 1 ploe dé
Aoueriavod al elxéves abrov...cuvexwvetOn-
cav...kal 6 Nepovas rots re xpwopévous éx”
dceSeia apnxe, kal rods duydvTas KarTiHya-
yev. See also Eus. H. FE. iii. 20.
3 Apocalypse, p. 173f.
cul DATE
he was guilty of a grave political offence in using for his own ends
a story which was ‘hostile to the peace of the district where it
existed,” and moreover was aimed against the reigning Emperor.
The second alternative has been assumed in the following com-
mentary, but the inference which Dr Benson draws is not admitted.
No one who appreciates the greatness of our author will suppose
that he gave credit to the wild legends which were afloat about
Nero’s return. Butthe conditions of apocalyptic writing did not
preclude him from working mere legend into his symbolism, nor
was there any appreciable danger in the use of this legend in a
book addressed to Christians only. The reference to the reigning
Emperor was not likely to be intelligible to any non-Christian into
whose hands the book might fall, and to Christians it suggested
nothing which was not already notorious.
In Asia the story of Nero’s recovery was common talk as early
as A.D. 69 (Tac. hist. 11. 8 “Achaia atque Asia falso exterritae
velut Nero adventaret vario super exitu eius rumore, eoque pluri-
bus vivere eum fingentibus credentibusque”); but pretenders
continued to arise, and even under Trajan the belief that he was
yet living was still general (Dio Chrysostom, or. xxi., cal vov ére
mavtes émOupovor Syv, of b& mreiotos Kal olovrat). (b) In
cc. Xl, xvii. Domitian is described in terms as plain as the
circumstances allowed. Nero is dead, but the stroke of his death
ts healed (xiii. 3, 12). He is the Beast—he impersonates the
brutal strength of the persecuting World-power, and he was, and
as not, and is about to ascend out of the Abyss (xvii. 8). Nero
himself was the fifth Emperor, and he has fallen; but the Beast
which was and is not reappears in an eighth Emperor, who is of
the seven, inasmuch as he recalls to men’s minds the fifth, and
plays his part over again, till he too goeth into perdition
(evita it)?.
5. Notwithstanding the external and internal evidence which
supports the Domitianic date, the great Cambridge theologians of
the last century were unanimous in regarding the Apocalypse as
a work of the reign of Nero, or of the years which immediately
? Nero was born in a.p. 37, so that, refer (xvi. 12) to the dread of a Parthian
had he lived till 4.p. 100, he would have invasion, which was connected with the
been not more than 63. expectation of Nero’s return: cf. Tac.
* See the commentary ad locos. It hist. i. 23 Orac. Sibyl. iv. 137 ff.
may be added that St John appears to
DATE cill
followed his death. Bishop Lightfoot seems to have accepted
“the view which assigns it to the close of Nero’s reign or there-
Bishop Westcott placed it “before the destruction of
Jerusalem*.” Dr Hort in his posthumous commentary on 1 Peter®
writes: “there are strong reasons for placing [the Apocalypse]
not long after Nero’s death.” Such a threefold cord of scholarly
opinion is not quickly broken, and the reasons on which it was
abouts?.”
founded deserve the most careful consideration. In the partition
of the New Testament between the three, the Apocalypse, un-
happily, was “not finally assigned‘,” and their published writings’
contain but incidental references to the question of its date.
From these it would appear that they were guided in their judge-
ment on this point partly by the relation which they believed
the Book to occupy with reference to the Fall of Jerusalem,
partly by the contrast which it presents to the Fourth Gospel.
Thus Dr Hort writes: “The day of the Lord which the writer to
the Hebrews saw drawing nigh had already begun to break in
blood and fire, when St John sent his Apocalypse to the Gentile
Churches of Asia‘”’ And Dr Lightfoot: “It marks the close of
what we may call the Hebraic period of St John’s life, ie. the
period which...he had spent chiefly in the East and among
Aramaic-speaking peoples’.” but perhaps the fullest treatment
of the subject is to be found in Dr Westcott’s introduction to the
Gospel of St John: “Of the two books (he says) the Apocalypse
is the earlier. It is less developed both in thought and style....
The crisis of the Fall of Jerusalem explains the relation of the
Apocalypse to the Gospel. In the Apocalypse that ‘coming’ of
Christ was expected, and painted in figures; in the Gospel the
‘coming’ is interpreted*,”
It is clear that these arguments for placing the Apocalypse
1 Biblical Essays, p. 52; cf. Super-
natural Religion, p. 132.
2 St John, Intr. p. 1xxxvii.
8 P. 2; ef. Hulsean Lectures, p. i40f.,
Judaistie Christianity, p. 160.
+ See Bp Westcott’s prefatory note to
Dr Hort’s 1 Peter (p. vii).
* On the argument by which this
view is supported in Apocalypse i—iii
(1908) see the postscript to this chapter,
8 Jud. Christianity, p. t6o.
7 Supernatural Religion, p. 132. Dr
Lightfoot appears to be in general agree-
ment here with his antagonist, who
placed the Apocalypse ‘about a.p. 68,
69.”
8 St John, p. Ixxxvi f.
clV : DATE
under Nero or Vespasian rest on more than one presupposition.
The unity of the Book is assumed, and it is held to be the work
of the author of the Fourth Gospel. But the latter hypothesis is
open, and perhaps will always be open to doubt; and the former
cannot be pressed so far as to exclude the possibility that the
extant book is a second edition of an earlier work, or that it in-
corporates earlier materials, and either hypothesis would sufficiently
account for the few indications of a Neronic or Vespasianic date
which have been found in it’s When it is added that the great
scholars who have been named dealt with the question incident-
ally and not in connexion with a special study of the Apocalypse,
it seems permissible to attach less importance to their judgement
on this point than on others to which their attention had been
more directly turned.
6. With all due deference, therefore, to the great authority of
Westcott, Lightfoot, and Hort, and of the foreign scholars? who
have supported an earlier date, adhesion has been given in this
edition to the view that the Apocalypse, at least in its present
form, belongs, as Irenaeus believed, to the reign of Domitian and
to the last years of that reign (g0—96). This date appears to be
consistent with the general character and purpose of the book.
The Apocalypse as a whole presupposes a period when in Asia at
least the Church was compelled to choose between Christ and
Caesar. And the prophet foresees that this is no local or passing
storm, but one which will spread over the whole Empire, and run
a long course, ending only with the fall of paganism and of Rome.
The Coming of the Lord is no longer connected with the Fall of
Jerusalem, which is viewed as an event of past history? A new
Jerusalem has taken the place of the old city of God, and the
Apocalyptist can already see its ideal glories revealed. But for
the moment Babylon is in the foreground of the picture, and
Babylon must fall before the end, and after Babylon the Beast
1 E.g. the cryptic representation of | and Weiss, Dusterdiek, and Mommsen,
Nero’s name in xiii. 18, and the ap- who place it under Vespasian; see
parent reference to Vespasian as the C. Anderson Scott, Revelation, p. 48,
reigning Emperor in ¢. xvii. ro. note 1.
2 E.g. Baur, Hilgenfeld, Beyschlag, 3 On c. xi. 1 ff. see the commentary
who assign the book to the reignof Nero, adl,
DATE CV
and the False Prophet. Even the triumph that follows on their
destruction is not final, for the Dragon remains to be overcome.
So the Coming is postponed indefinitely, though the old watch-
word, “Ido épyouat tayv, still rings in our ears. The whole
standpoint is that of the closing years of the first century, when
the Church knew herself to be entering upon a struggle of which
she could not foresee the end, although of the victorious issue she
entertained no doubt.
[In the Apocalypse of St John i.—iii. (1908) Dr Hort deals at
some length with the date of the Book, and on historical grounds
strongly supports the view which places it at the beginning of
the reign of Vespasian.
He admits that “if external evidence alone could decide, there
would be a clear preponderance for Domitian” (p. xx.). “On the
other hand the general historical bearings of the book are those of
the early, and are not those of the late period” (p. xxxu.). Two
points in particular are urged as leading to this conclusion.
(1) ‘The whole language about Rome and the empire, Babylon
and the Beast, fits the last days of Nero and the time immediately
following, and does not fit the short local reign of terror under
Domitian.” (2) “The book breathes the atmosphere of a time of
wild commotion...it is only in the anarchy of the earlier time that
we can recognise a state of things that will account for the tone
of the Apocalypse ” (p. xxvi. f.).
These two positions rest upon evidence which is given in full
(pp. xxl—xxvi.), and would be nearly conclusive if the Apoca-
lypse had been addressed to Rome or written from the standpoint
of a Roman Christian. But the conditions which existed in the
province of Asia may have coloured events differently in the eyes
of an Ephesian prophet. In the foregoing chapters of this intro-
duction an attempt has been made to shew that in the later years
of Domitian’s reign the Czesar-worship in Asia was a danger which
threatened the Church with imminent destruction. If that view
is correct, there is no need to take into account the shortness of
“the local reign of terror” at Rome under Domitian or the com-
cvl1 DATE
parative length and severity of Nero’s persecution. Neither of
these would have greatly influenced the attitude of Asian
Christians towards the Emperor or the Empire; it would rather
have been determined by what was happening in Asia itself with
the sanction of the Imperial authorities. In Asia at the moment
there seems to have been good reason to expect a recrudescence
of the policy of Nero, and something worse; if there were no
recent martyrdoms, yet persecution was ready to break out upon
the least excuse, and but for the death of Domitian there would
probably have been a general uprising of the pagan population
against the Church. ‘This, as it seems, was the situation on
which the seer of the Apocalypse has seized as the occasion for
his prophecy.
For these reasons the present writer is unable to see that the
historical situation presupposed by the Apocalypse contradicts the
testimony of Irenaeus which assigns the vision to the end of the
reign of Domitian. But has the testimony of Irenaeus been
rightly understood? Dr Hort, it appears, in his lectures on the
Apocalypse referred to an article by M. J. Bovon in the Revue de
Théologie et de Philosophie (Lausanne, 1887), in which it was _
suggested that the subject of éwpaOy in Iren. v. 30. 3 is not
atokaduyis but 6 THY atoKaduw éwpaxes, Le. 6 “loavyns.
This view has been supported with great acuteness by the Bishop
of Ely in the Journal of Theological Studies for April 1907.
It does not, however, seem that Dr Hort- himself, although he
admitted “the difficulty of accounting for yap on the common
interpretation, and the force of the argument from the use of opaw
with persons in Irenaeus” (p. 42), allowed M. Bovon’s suggestion
to weigh with him against the usual and natural interpretation of
the words. On the contrary he assumes that Irenaeus bears
witness to the Domitianic date, and for the view which he prefers
he relies entirely on the internal evidence and the circumstances
which in his judgement it must be held to presuppose. ]
PS DPT ws
Di
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH.
1. Assuming that the Apocalypse was addressed by a person
of influence or authority to seven of the leading Churches of
Asia between the years 90 and 96, it is reasonable to suppose
that it was copied and circulated to some extent before the
beginning of the second century. As the encyclical was brought
round by the author’s messenger, each of the Churches addressed
would transcribe it for its own use, and send a copy to the
Churches in the immediate neighbourhood’, and these in their
turn would repeat the process. Within a few years the circulation
of such a document would overstep the limits of the province,
whether through the spontaneous action of the Asian societies®,
or in answer to the appeal of foreign Churches’, or through the
agency of individual Christians upon their travels. In one or
all of these ways the great Christian apocalypse would have
passed from Church to Church and from province to province,
and wherever it went it could not fail to excite the interest
of Christian readers.
2. Thus itis not incredible that Ignatius (110—117*) may shew
some knowledge of the Apocalypse of John in more than one of
1 Cf. Col. iv. 16 drav dvayvwodG rap’ 3 Polye. Phil. 13 ras émiorodas *Ty-
bpiv 7} émisToX}, Tojoate va Kal év TH variov Tas weudbelcas july map’ avrov,
Aaodixéwy éxxAnolg dvayrwodh, kal rhv €x kal Gas boas elyouev wap’ Huiv, éréupa-
Aaodixias va kal duets dvayvOre. On § pev duiv xadds éverelNacbe.
the method of transmission see Ram- * On Clem. R. Cor. 34. 3, see N.T. in
say, Letters to the Seven Churches, the Apostolic Fathers, p.s8. Lightfoot,
Come. 11, who placed the Apocalypse under Nero
2 See Mart. Polyc. 20 xal rots éré- or Vespasian, was inclined to see in
kewa ddehpots riy émiorodjy diawéu- Clem. l.c. a reference to Apoc. xxii, 123
wacde. see his note ad l.
cvill CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
his letters to the Asian Churches (Hph. 15. 3 iva @uev adtod vaoi,
Kal autos év npiv Oeos [Apoc. xxi. 3]; Philad. vi. 1, ornrat
elow Kal TahoL VEeKpOr, Eh’ ols yéeypaTrTrat movoy CvopwaTta avOpwTov
[Apoc. 1. 12]), though the coincidences are not such as to
justify a definite conclusion. In the Epistle of Barnabas?, again,
there are one or two passages which may allude to St John’s work
(Barn. 6. 13 Aéyes 6€ Kupsos "ld0d ror ta eoyata ws Ta TPOTA
[Apoc. xxi. 3]; tb. 21. 3 éyyds o Kvptos Kai 0 utabos avtod [ Apoc.
xxi. 10 f.]); but the balance of probability is in each instance
against the reference’. There is however abundant evidence that
the Apocalypse was in circulation during the second half of the
second century, not only in Asia, but in the West.
(1) Eusebius does not mention the Apocalypse among N.T.
books known to Papias (//. #. iii. 39), unless this is implied in his
attribution of Papias’s chiliasm to a misunderstanding of certain
statements made by Apostolic authority*. But against the silence
of Eusebius we have to set the express statement of Andreas, who
in the prologue to his commentary writes: epi pevtor tod Geo-
mvevotov THs BiBAov TepiTTov pynktverv tov Adyov my ovpeba, TOV
paKapiov Tpiyoptov ppp tod Peorddyov Kai Kupirrov, TpooeTL TE KAL
TOV dpxatorépwr Hlariov, Eipnvaiov, Mefodiov, Kat “Immrodvtov mpoo-
paptupotyvtwy To aéumritov. Andreas, moreover, quotes a remark
of Papias upon Apoc. xii. 7 ff Papias, it will be remembered, was
according to Irenaeus (v. 33) an dKovotis “Iwavvov and an dpyxatos
avnp, whose florwit is likely to be nearer to the beginning than to the
middle of the second century’. (2) About A.D. 180 Irenaeus knew of
copies of the Apocalypse already ‘ancient,’ and of witness borne to
the text of the book by persons who had seen the writer (v. 30
= Eus. H.#. v. 8)*, and who, if not Papias and Polycarp, pre-
sumably belonged to their generation® (3) Justin, who lived
at Ephesus’ before he went to Rome, speaks of the Apocalypse as
a recognized Christian book, and identifies its author with the
Apostle John: apol. i. 28 odts kadetrar Kal waravas kat duaBoXos,
Ws €K TOV NMETEPwV Tvyy pap pat wv _fPevvnoavres padety
duvacde®; dial. 81 map np avyp Tis @ Ovopa ‘Twavrys, els Tov
arogTokwy TOD xXpLaTod, év aroKxadvWe. yevouevyn ata, xia ery Towy-
‘ a.D, 130-1 (Harnack).
Gospel, p. 250f.; Lightfoot, S.R.p. 150:
2 See N.T. in the Apostolic Fathers,
‘“‘we may say that Papias was probably
p. 16f.
3 & kal qyoUuat Tas dmooTONLKas TapeK-
deEduevoy dinyjoes vbrodaBeiv, Ta ev
drodeiyuact mpos avT&v uvoTiKds elpnucva
un ovvewpaxira. Cf. Lightfoot, Super-
natural Religion, p. 214, note 4.
4 See Sanday, Criticism of the Fourth
born about a.D. 60—70.”
5 The words will be found on p. 175
(note to Apoe. xiil. 18).
§ Lightfoot, S.R. p. 218.
? Harnack places the Ephesian re-
sidence of Justin ¢, A.D. 135.
8 Cf. Apoc. xii. 9, xx. 2:
ee ee ee
ee ee ~ US
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cix
cew ev ‘lepoveadym tos TO yyetépw xpioTd miotevoavtas mpoepy-
revoe', (4) Eusebius (H.Z#. iv. 26) mentions among the works of
Melito, Bishop of Sardis (c. A.D, 165), 7a rept Tod dia BOXov Kal THs ’ATo-
kadiwews “Iwavvov®, The work, whatever its nature may have been,
has perished*, but the title shews that the Apocalypse was accepted
at this time in one of the Churches to which it was originally
sent—a Church, moreover, which had little cause to pride itself
upon the character it receives from the Apocalyptist. In the
wreck of the Montanistic* and anti-Montanistic literature which
perplexed the Churches of Asia at this time, we have probably
lost many similar references to the book; but we know, on the
authority of Eusebius (//. 2. v. 18), that it was quoted by the anti-
Montanist Apollonius (xéxypyrat d€ cat paptupias ard THs “Iwavvov
*Amoxadtwews)*. Later, but before the end of the century,
Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, cites the Apocalypse against the
teaching of Hermogenes (Eus. H.£. iv. 24 ado [ovyypappa tod
@eodirov| pos tHV alpecw “Eppoyévovs tiv ervypadyy €xer, ev @ ex Tis
*AroxaltWews “Iwavvov Kéxpytar paptupias) ; in Asia Minor and in
Western Syria the book had clearly become a court of appeal to
which Christians of opposite schools could submit their differences.
(5) In South Gaul about the same time the Apocalypse was held
in equal regard. The Epistle of the Churches of Vienne and
Lyons, addressed in 177 to the region from which the book
emanated’, cites or refers to it some five times’, and one of the
quotations is introduced by the N.T. formula for the citation of
canonical Scripture (iva 7 ypady 7AnpwhH). With Irenaeus, Bishop
of Lyons, a few years later, quotations from the Apocalypse are
frequent, and they are usually introduced by the words “John
(or ‘John the disciple of the Lord”) says in the Apocalypse” (Tren.
Bemroens. O, 05.0, 20. II, 21. 3; Vv. 26. 1, 28. 2, 34.-2,- 35. X)5
once we have ‘‘the Apocalypse of John” (i. 26. 3), and once “the
Apocalypse,” without the author’s name (v. 20. 2)%. Such is the
1 The allusion to Apoc. xxi. in Tatian’s
Néyos mpds"EAAnvas to which reference is
made by Westcott (Canon, p. 320), is too
obscure to be used for the purpose of
this chapter.
2 Two separate books, according to
Jerome (de virr. illustr. g “de diabolo
librum unum, de Apocalypsi Ioannis
librum unum’’),
$ On the commentary of the pseudo-
Melito see Harnack, Gesch. d. altchr.
Litteratur, i. 254, and the chapter of
this introduction on Apocalyptic com-
mentaries (c. xvii).
4 For some instances of a Montanistic
use of the Apocalypse see Zahn, Gesch.
d, NTlichen Kanons, i. p. 205 f.
5 There is a possible allusion to Apoc.
xxii. 18 f. in the anonymous anti-Mon-
tanistic writing quoted by Eusebius in
H. E. vy. 16. The same versés may be
in the mind of Dionysius of Corinth,
when he writes (ap. Eus. H.E. iv. 23):
ad pev ékacpodvres, d dé wpooriBévTes. ols
70 oval Ketrat.
6 Rus. H.E. vy. 1 rots xara rhv’Aciay
Kal Povylav ...dde\pots,
7 The passages to which reference is
made are Apoc. xiv. 4 (dxo\ovddy 7G
apviw Smov av dwdyy), Xil. i, Xiv. 4 (TH
mapbévm pntpl), xix. g (ws els vuudixov
Setrvov KexAnuévor), Xxii. 11 (6 avomos
avounodrw eri, Kal 3 dikaos dixawAjrw
rt).
8 See Zahn Gesch. d. NTlichen
Kanons, i, 202, note 2. Quotations
from the fourth Gospel are similarly
announced, with the substitution of in
Evangelio for in Apocalypsi, cf. Iren. i.
6. 5, iil. 21. 2, lv. a5. 1, v.18. 2. On
the title ‘‘disciple of. the Lord’’ see
c. xv. of this introduction.
Cx
1
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
authority of the book that when it is silent on a point Irenaeus
permits himself to write (v. 30. 1), “dignum non est praeconari a
Spiritu sancto.” (6) At Rome, there is some reason to think, the
Apocalypse was known even before the coming of Justin. The
Shepherd of Hermas twice (Vis. li. 2. 7, iv. 3. 1) uses the remark-
able phrase 7 OAths 7 peytdyn, which occurs in Apoc. vil. 14;
moreover, it is hardly too bold to say with Bishop Westcott that
“the symbolism of the Apocalypse reappears in the Shepherd?.”
Certainly there is a marked affinity between the two books, which
shews itself in the use of similar imagery ; in both the Church is a
woman, and her adversary a wild beast; in both we read of the
Book of Life, and of conquerors distinguished by their white robes
and palms and crowns; if the Apocalypse describes the New Jeru-
salem as lying four-square within walls on whose foundation stones
are the names of the Apostolic college, the Shepherd describes a
tower which is in building, the bright squared stones of which are
the Apostles and other teachers of the Church*. That these
coincidences are not purely accidental is rendered probable by
the circumstance that the Muratorian fragment on the Canon,
which refers to the Shepherd as written “nuperrime temporibus
nostris in urbe Roma,” seems to intimate that the Apocalypse of
John was universally recognized at Rome, in contrast to the
Apocalypse of Peter which some refused to acknowledge (‘ Apo-
calypse{s] etiam Johannis et Petri tantum recipimus, quam
[?sc. Apocalypsim Petri] quidam ex nostris legi in ec{c lesia nolunt®”).
(7) The Church of Carthage, the daughter of the Roman Church,
knew and accepted the Johannine Apocalypse at the end of the ~
second century or in the early years of the third. Tertullian quotes
from eighteen out of the twenty-two chapters of the book4, and cites
it as Seripture (de res. carn. 27 “habemus etiam vestimentorum in
scripturis mentionem ad spem carnis allegorizare, quia et Apoca-
lypsis Iohannis 7 sunt, ait, qui vestimenta swanon coinquinaverunt”) ;
it is the work of the Apostle John (Ware. iii. 14, 24), the instru-
mentum Ioannis (ib. 38), and part and parcel of the instrumentum®
apostolicum (pud. 12 sqq.)®. The Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas
abound in imagery which is modelled on that of the Apocalypse (e.g.
§ 4 “circumstantes candidati milia multa”; § 12 “introeuntes
vestierunt stolas candidas, et introivimus, et audivimus vocem
unitam dicentem Agios agios agios sine cessatione...et vidi-
mus in eodem loco sedentem quasi hominem canum...et in dextra
Canon, p. 201, note2. Cf. Lardner, purpose of the book.
Works, li. p. 69: “it is very probable
that Hermas had read the book of
St John’s Revelation and imitated it.”
ARVGs. esa iil5, iv, 2° Sim. Vill. 2.
3 That the Apocalypsis Johannis is
identical with our book is clear by what
precedes: ‘‘et Iohannes enim in Apoca-
lypsi, licet septem ecclesiis scribat,
tamen omnibus dicit”—an early and
interesting appreciation of the wider
4 The quotations are most numerous
in his Montanistic books, but they occur
also in the earlier works, e.g. orat. 3, 5,
paen. 8.
5 Cf. apol. 18 ‘instrumentum lit-
teraturae”; ib. 21 ‘‘Judaeorum instru-
menta”; res. carn. 40 “ instrumenta
divina.” Cf. Zahn, Gesch. i. p. 107 ff.
6 Zahn, Gesch. i. p. 204.
|
;
:
:
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cxi
et in sinistra seniores quattuor...et introeuntes cum admiratione
stetimus ante thronum.” As in the case of the Shepherd, there
is no direct quotation here, but the influence of the Apocalypse
is scarcely doubtful. (8) At Alexandria about the same time the
Apocalypse was known, and recognized as the work of St John.
Clement, who cites it several times (paed. i. 6 § 36, ii. 10 $108, 12
§ 119; strom. iii. 18 § 106, vi. 13 § 116) with the formula ds dyow
ev TH Aroxadvwer Iwavvys, 16 § 141), regards it as Scripture (paed.
li. 12 § 119 TO cupBorrKov Tdv ypaddv), and the work of an
Apostle (quis dives § 42)’.
3. From two quarters in the second century there comes
a protest against the general acceptance of the Apocalypse of
John. (a) “ Apocalypsin eius Marcion respuit?,” as we learn from
Tertullian (adv. Mare. iv. 5); and on Marcion’s principles it would
have been impossible to accept a book so saturated with the
thought and imagery of the Old Testament. Whether he
rejected at the same time the attribution of the book to the
Apostle John which is already to be found in Justin, there is not
sufficient evidence to shew; in any case it formed no part of his
apostolicum ; he did not recognize John as a writer of canonical
Scripture’. (b) Far more significant is the attitude of the
so-called Alogi.
attitude toward the Gospels, says: “alii vero, ut donum Spiritus
frustrentur quod in novissimis temporibus secundum placitum
Patris effusum est in humanum genus, illam speciem non ad-
mittunt quae est secundum Ioannis evangelium in qua paracletum
se missurum Dominus promisit, sed simul et evangelium et pro-
pheticum repellunt Spiritum.” Epiphanius represents a nameless
party which he calls the Alogi as rejecting both the Gospel and
the Apocalypse (haer. li. 3 rd HadoKovaer Toivuy of ”AXoyor—tavTny
Irenaeus (ill. II. 9), after referring to Marcion’s
1 If the Judicium Petri, printed by
Hilgenfeld in N.7. actra canon. recept.,
may be regarded as an Egyptian writing
of the second century, its witness must
be added here: §2 elxoot yap xal réc-
oapés elow mpecBirepoa, Swdexa ex detiay
kal dwdexa €& eUwvtuwy—a reference to
Apoc iv. 4.
2 According to Pseudo-Tert. adv. omn.
haer. 6 he was preceded here by Cerdon:
“Cerdon...Acta apostolorum et Apoca-
dypsim quasi falsa reicit.’’
Tert. op. cit. iii, 14 ‘Toannem
agnitum non vis.” Some of the
Gnostic sects knew and used the Apo-
calypse, as the Marcosian *Q xai ’A
(Iren. i. 14. 6, 15. 1) and Justin the
Gnostic’s aeon ‘Amen’ (Hipp. phil. v.
26) suggest; see Westcott, Canon,
pp. 284, 311. Zahn (Gesch. i. 761)
goes so far as to say: “ wenigstens fiir
die Valentinianer des Orients und ins-
besondere fiir Marcus in Kleinasien
die Apokalypse ein Buch von nicht ge-
ringerem Ansehn als die Evv. war.”
cxil CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
yap avtois TiOnws THY eT@rvumlay...ovTe TO TOD "lwavvou evay-
yeAtov SéxovTat ovTE THY avTOVD ‘ATroKaduw...rdéyouot yap pi)
eivat avta “Iwavvov adda KypivOov, cat ov afta aita hacw
eivat év éxxdnoia'). Against the genuineness of the Apocalypse
they urged (1) that the symbolism of the book was unedifying
(ib. 32 Ti pe, Hnoiv, dhere? 7) "Atroxarurypis “lwavvov, Néyouea pot
Tept émta ayyéXov Kal Etta cadtriyyev;), and (2) that it con-
tained errors in matters of fact (ab. 33 ele mau Tpapov ta
ayyéerw Ths éxxrnotas TO €v Ovarteipots, Kat ovK Eve éxel ExKANTIA
Xpictiavav év Ovateipyn: TAs odv Eypadhe TH wn oVTN;*). It is not
improbable that Epiphanius was indebted for this information
to a lost work of Hippolytus*’, and that we have here a nearly
contemporaneous account of the first impugners of the Apocalypse.
If they are identical, as seems likely, with the party mentioned
by Irenaeus, they may have been originally an Asiatic school
of extreme anti-Montanists who felt that both the Gospel and the
Apocalypse of John savoured too strongly of the principles of the
New Prophecy to allow of their attribution to the Apostle John.
The assignment of the Fourth Gospel to Cerinthus is absurd
enough, as Epiphanius points out (op. cit. 4 wes yap éotat
KypivOov ta xata KnpivOov déyovra ;); but the Vision of the
Thousand Years in Apoc. xx. lent some colour to the suggestion
Possibly the
idea of Cerinthian authorship was first broached in reference to
the Revelation, and afterwards extended to the Gospel‘.
4. Like other Asiatic parties, the anti-Montanistic opponents
that the Apocalypse was the work of that heretic.
of St John’s writings made their way to Rome. At all events the
controversy, so far as the Apocalypse is concerned, finds its centre
in Rome at the beginning of the third century. Eusebius quotes
1 The Latin writers on the heresies yeAlou cal droxadtWews, or both of these
works.
copy Epiphanius, or repeat what their
predecessors had gleaned from him ;
see Philastr. 60, Aug. 30, Praedest. 30,
Isid. 26, Paul. 7, Honor. 41.
2 On this singular statement and
Epiphanius’s explanation see Stanton,
Gospels as historical documents, p. 209.
3 The zpos amdcas ras aipécers, OF
possibly the tép rod kara ’Iwdavvou evay-
See Dr Stanton’s note (p. 200).
4 Dr Sanday (Criticism of the Fourth
Gospel, p. 61) calls the attribution of
the Fourth Gospel to Cerinthus ‘‘a
piece of sheer bravado,” and such in-
deed it was, if the Alogi began with the
Gospel; but the other course seems
more natural.
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cxiil
from Gaius, a Roman churchman, who lived in the days of Bishop
Zephyrinus (202—219) and wrote against the Montanist Bishop
Proclus?, a statement that Cerinthus forged ‘apocalypses’ in the
name of ‘a great Apostle’:
Eus. H.£. iii. 28 adda kai Kypwos 6 6 60 azoxadvwewv [Rufinus :
per revelationes quasdam| ws tro arooroAov peyddov yeypappevwr
Teparodoyias net ws Ou dyyédwy avT@ dedervypevas Wevdomevos
ere ayet, A€ywv pera THV avagTaciv emtyevov elvat TO Bacirevov
Tod xpiotod, Kal madw ériGvpias Kat ydovais ev “lepovoaAyp tHv
capKka mwoAttevopevyv Sovdevew. Kal expos trapxwv Tais ypadats Tov
Geod dpibuov xXtAvovraetias ev yaw €optys, Gé\wv wAavar, Eyer
yiver Bar.
The words in spaced letters come very near to the terms of
our Apocalypse, but until 1888 it was competent for scholars
to suppose that Gaius referred to a book or books written by
Cerinthus in which he imitated or travestied the work of St
John. In that year Dr Gwynn, of Dublin, published in the
Hermathena (vi. p. 397 ff.) five Syriac scholia from Dionysius
Barsalibi on the Apocalypse, consisting of extracts from “the
heretic Gaius” in which Gaius comments on the Apocalypse in
terms which shew that he did not admit the authority of the
book. Gaius, therefore, was more or less in sympathy with the
Alogi, and it is not improbable that, in his zeal against Montanism,
he adopted the Cerinthian attribution. In any case it is to
Gaius and his school’ rather than to the Eastern ‘ Alogi’ that
Dionysius of Alexandria refers when he writes fifty years after:
Eus. H. EB. vii. 25 twes pev obv taév zpd yudv AOérnoav kat
dveoxevacay {Rufinus, a canone seripturarum abiciendum pu tarunt]
maven TO BuBdlov, Kal” exarrov Kedadavov StevOvvovres dyvwordv TE
kal dovAdoytorov amtodatvovres, Weider bai Te THY exrypagny. *Twavvov
yap ovK elvar A€youow, GAN’ ovde dod Aww elva, TV opodpe Kai
axel Kexaduppevny TO THS ayvotas TaparreTag pare: kal ovx oTws TOV
dmoorohwv Twa adn oid oAws TAY dylov } TOV ard THS éxkAnoias
rovrou yeyoveva TomTHnV TOD ovyypdpparos, Kypwoov dé. -TOUTO yap
elvau mis didackaXias adrov TO Soypa, éryevov éveoOar THY TOU
Xperrod BactXciay, kal Oy avbros wpéyero Lavi) @v Kal wavy
TAPKLKOS, ev TovToLS dveipoToAciv Ever Oac.. “yadpos Kal... €oprats.
1 Kus. H. 2. ii. 25, vi. 20; cf. Light- of St John.”
foot, St Clement, ii. p. 377 ff. 3 It will be observed that Dionysius
2 See Westcott, Canon®, p. 278, note2: in describing the Chiliastic views of
“*T may express my decided belief that Cerinthus uses language which comes
Caius is not speaking of the Apocalypse very near to that of Gaius.
Ss. R, h
exiv CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
5. Neither the ‘ Alogi’ of Asia Minor nor the party of Gaius
at Rome proved dangerous to the general acceptance of the
Apocalypse. At Rome Gaius was answered by Hippolytus. On
the back of the chair which holds the seated figure of the Bishop
of Portus, a list of his works is graved, and among them is one
entitled Ytrep toy Kata lwaNnNnHn e[ya]rreAloy kal AToKaAyyewc!. The
coupling of the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse suggests that this
book was directed against the ‘ Alogi, or, more probably, a similar
party at Rome represented by Gaius» The same book may be
intended by the Heads against Gaius, which Ebedjesu attributes
to Hippolytus’, and from which Dr Gwynn’s fragments have been
drawn, In his extant works and fragments Hippolytus repeatedly
asserts his belief in the Johannine authorship of the Apocalypse
(e.g. ed. Lagarde, p. 48 ows yap “lwavuns eirey ‘O @y Kal 0 HY Kal
0 €pyomevos: p.159 6 avolywr Kai ovdels KreELEL, OS Lwavyns réEyeL),
and he identifies John the disciple of the Lord with the Apostle (2b.
p. 17 Neve pot, waxapte “lwdvyn, atroatone Kal wabnTa Tov Kuptou, Th
eloes Kal HKovoas Twept BaSuddvos). During the remainder of :
the first half of the third century we hear no more of the counter-
movement. At Carthage Cyprian uses the Apocalypse freely,
both in the Testimonia‘ and in his treatises and letters; at Alex-
andria Origen entertains no doubt as to the authenticity of the
book (e.g. in Ioann. t. 1. 14 hyoly ody ev TH ’Arokadvwes 0 Tod
ZeBedaiov “lwavyns: ap. Kus. vi. 25 tb det repli Tod avatrecovtos
emt TO oTHOOS réyewv TOD “Incod "lwavvov, ds evayyédtoy ev KaTa-
NérouTrev...€ypawre O€ Kal THY “A7mrokdduiv). Circumstances led,
however, to the reopening of the question by Origen’s pupil and
successor, Dionysius, during the years when the latter was Bishop
of Alexandria (247—265). The facts are given in the large
fragments of a treatise by Dionysius Ilepi érayyedi@v preserved
by Eusebius H. £. vii. 24 f°
1 Lightfoot, St Clement, ii. pp. 394, 3 Cf, Assemani, bibl. orient. iii.
420. a 16k TAN = 3-205
2 Dr Stanton, however (Gospels as Pow Asa oe 5
historical documents, i. p. 230 ff.), after : (vasa : a1a350
discussing the attitude of Gaius towards * It is quoted 27 times in the Testi-
the Fourth Gospel, comes to the con- Monta alone, f
clusion that there is at present no ° The fragments are edited by Dr
sufficient evidence to shew that he re- Feltoe in Letters and other remains of
jected it. Dionysius of Alexandria, pp. 106—125.
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cxv
It appears that on the occasion of a visit to Arsinoe, where Chiliasm
had long disturbed the peace of the Church, Dionysius found him-
self confronted by an “EAeyyxos rept aAAnyopiotav, written by Nepos,
an Egyptian Bishop, in which, according to Eusebius, Nepos ‘taught
that the promises made in the Holy Scriptures to the saints
will be fulfilled in a Jewish sense (‘Iovdaixwrepov), and held that
there will be a millennium of bodily enjoyment on this earth.’ A
three days’ conference followed which brought the Arsenoites back
to a healthier view. But the incident led the critical mind of
Dionysius to examine afresh for himself the grounds on which the
Apocalypse was held to be the work of the Apostle John, and the
results of his enquiry are given in the third, fourth, and fifth of
the fragments of his answer to Nepos.
Dionysius refuses to follow the party who ascribed the Apoca-
lypse to Cerinthus’. He cannot venture to reject a book which is
held in high esteem by so many members of the Church (éya 6é
abernoa ovk av ToApynoape To BuBdriov, ToAAGY aito bia orovdys
exovtwv adeApav) ; with the modesty of the true scholar he is ready
to attribute the difficulties which it presents to the limitations of
his own understanding (ei px) cvvinut, aN trovod ye vovy twa
Babirepov éyxeto Oar Tots pyyacww). But while he does not presume
to challenge the inspiration of the Apocalypse or its claim to be
the work of a John, he declines to accept it as the work of
the Apostle, to whom he attributes the fourth Gospel and “the
Catholic Epistle” (i.e. 1 John). He is led to this conclusion by
comparing (1) the character of the writer of the Apocalypse with
that of the writer of the Gospel, (2) the thought and style of the
writings, and (3) their linguistic differences (rexpatpouat yap €k TE
Tod nOovs Exatépwv Kat Tod Tdv oywv eEldovs Kal THS TOD BuBALov
dueEaywyys)*. John the Evangelist abstains from mentioning his
own name, but John the Apocalyptist names himself more than
once at the very outset of his book, and again near the end.
Doubtless there were many who bore the name of John in the
early Christian communities; we read, for instance, of ‘John
whose surname was Mark,” and there may have been a second
John in Asia, since at Ephesus, we are told, there were two tombs
said to be John’s (do daciv &v “Edeow yeveobar prvyjpata, Kat
éxatepov “Iwavvov déyerGar). Again, while the Gospel and Epistle
of John shew marks of agreement which suggest a common
authorship, the Apocalypse differs widely from both in its ideas
and in its way of expressing them; we miss in it (e.g.) the frequent
references to ‘life,’ ‘light,’ ‘truth,’ ‘grace,’ and ‘love’ which are
characteristic of the Apostle, and find ourselves in a totally
different region of thought (aAXowrarn Sé Kai Eévy rapa tattra 7
"Aroxadvyis, pyre ehartouevn pate yeTvidoa Tovrwv pndevt, oyxedov
ws eimeiy pndé ovri\AaBiv mpos aita Kownv €xovoa). Lastly, the
linguistic eccentricities of the Apocalypse bar the way against
an acceptance of the book as the work of the Evangelist. The
Gospel and first Epistle are written in correct and flowing Greek,
1 See above, p. exf. 2 See Dr Feltoe’s note ad 1.
he
cxvl1 CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
and there is not a barbarism, a solecism, or a provincialism in them ;
whereas the Greek of the Apocalypse is inaccurate, disfigured by
unusual or foreign words, and even at times solecistic (yAdooay ovK
axpiBus EA\AnviLoveav aitod Br€rw, GAN idwpacl te BapBapixots xpw-
pevov, Kat Tov Kat codolKiCovTa).
6. This criticism, not the less trenchant because carefully
guarded against the imputation of levity or irreverence!, and
proceeding from so distinguished a Bishop as Dionysius ‘the
Great?” could not fail to carry weight in Egypt and in the
Greek-speaking East, shaking the faith of many in the apos-
tolical authorship of the Apocalypse, and therefore in its canonical
authority. In the fourth century Eusebius is unable to speak
positively as to its canonicity (H.Z. ili. 25 ths 6é “Amroxarinpews
eh’ éxatepov ert vUY Tapa ToOANOts TrepLérxeTas 7 SoEa. Tb. 25
émt rovrous [the canonical books] taxréov, ef ye davetn, thy
"Atoxaduyiy “lwdvvov...jv tives, as epnv, aBetovow, Etepot Sé
éyxpivovat Tots oforoyoupévots). Cyril of Jerusalem, a few years
later, not only omits the Apocalypse from his list of canonical
books, but seems definitely to exclude it from private as well as —
public use (Catech. iv. 31 ta 5€ Nowra mavta év Sevtépw Keicba,
Kal Ooa pev ev exkANTlals pH avayLVOCKETAL, TAVTA pNnde KATA
cavTov avayivwcke). It is more remarkable that Asia Minor
should have ignored the book even in formal canons; it finds no
place in the Laodicean list of 363, or in that of Gregory of
Nazianzus; while Amphilochius of Iconium expressly says: tiv
& "Aroxcddupw tiv “lwavvov madi | tives pev eyxpivovoy, ot
TNelous O€ ye | voPov Néyouvor. In Eastern Syria the Apocalypse
was either still unknown or it was ignored; it formed no part of
the Peshitta New Testament*. Junilius, who represents the
Biblical criticism of the school of Nisibis in the sixth century, is
silent about the book; the Jacobite Barhebraeus (+1286) passes
it over without notice in his Nomocanon, and so does the nearly
contemporary Nestorian Ebedjesu, both following herein the --
1 Fragment 5, e.g. ends: ovdé yap the Apocalypse with respect: Hus. H.E.
ETLTKWTTWY, LH TLS vouion, TadTa elroy, Vil. I0.”’
GNAG pedvoy Thy avomobtynTa Sievdivav TY 2 Cf. Feltoe, p. xi. :
ypapav. As Dr Westcott points out, ®° Gwynn, Apocalypse, pp. xiii, ciii f.;
Canon, p. 369, note 4, Dionysius ‘quoted cf. Zahn, Gesch. i. p. 374f.
4
:
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cxvii
‘ Apostolic Canons, which agree in this respect with the canons
of Laodicea. Western Syria, as represented by the School
of Antioch, looked with little favour on the most mystical
of early Christian writings. Neither Theodore, Chrysostom,
or Theodoret is known to have quoted the Apocalypse’. Con-
stantinople inherited the traditions of Antioch in this respect
as in others, and the Apocalypse is omitted altogether in the
Synopsis scripturae sacrae which is found among the work of
Chrysostom, nor has it any place in the catalogue of “the Sixty
As late as the
beginning of the ninth century Nicephorus places it among the
antilegomena with the Apocalypse of Peter.
books” or in either of its supplementary lists.
It is significant of
the slow progress made by the circulation or acceptance of the
book in eastern lands that no Greek commentary seems to have
been written upon it before the fifth or sixth century*. Several
causes may have concurred to cause this delay. There may have
been in some minds a lingering dread of Montanism, and in
many others a doubt as to the inspiration or the apostolical
authority of the Apocalyptist. Moreover, the Apocalypse may
From the first
perhaps the book went west rather than east; traders from
Smyrna and Ephesus carried it to Italy and Gaul, to North
Africa and Egypt; few copies seem to have penetrated to
Antioch, and fewer or none to Edessa and Nisibis.
7. In the West, on the contrary, the Apocalypse, which had
won acceptance in the second century, held its own notwith-
have been known in the East only to a few.
1 Suidas, indeed, remarks: déyerac
6¢ 6 Xpucécrouos...ryv’Awoxdduyy. ‘If
this is true,” Dr Westcott writes, not
without a touch of humour, “it is a
singular proof of the inconclusiveness
of the casual evidence of quotation ”
(Canon, p. 442, note 3).
2 It is to be noted, also, that Greek
MSS. of the- Apocalypse, uncial or cur-
sive, are relatively few; that brobéces
to this book are rare (von Soden, Die
Schriften d. N. T., i. p. 360); and that no
Greek MS. shews a stichometry (Tischen-
dorf, ii. 1044), though the stichi were
counted—according to Nicephorus they
were 1400, according to the Claromon-
tane list, 1200, and according to Momm-
sen’s list, 1800; see Zahn, Gesch, ii.
p. 397- The Apocalypse holds the last
place in nearly all Greek MSS. of the
N.T.; the exceptions will be found in
Gregory, prolegg. p. 136. In the Latin
lists and the MSS. of the Vulgate other
arrangements are less rare, e.g. the
Claromontane list places Apoc. after
the Catholic Epistles but before the
Acts, while in the Mommsen list and
the ‘ Decree of Gelasius’ it finds a place
before the Catholic Epistles; see Zahn,
Gesch. ii. p. 383, or Preuschen, Analecta,
PP- 139—149.
exvill CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH
standing the strictures of Gaius at Rome, and the rejection of its
apostolic authorship by Dionysius at Alexandria. Alexandria
soon returned to its allegiance; in his Festal Epistles (Zp. 39),
Athanasius ends his list of the canon with the words «at wad
"Twavvov *Amoxaduyis, adding: tadta wnyal tod cwrnpiov...
pendels TovTois emuBarreTw unde TOUTWY adatpeicOw Tt. In the
pseudo-Athanasian Synopsis the Apocalypse forms the eighth and
last book of the New Testament, and later Alexandrian writers
accept it without hesitation. The Latin West was from the time
It was there that
the book found its earliest interpreters, Victorinus of Pettau,
of Gaius practically unanimous in its favour’.
Tyconius, Primasius. It takes its place in all Western lists of
the canonical Scriptures: in Mommsen’s canon, in those of Codex
Claromontanus and the Carthaginian Council of 397, in the
The authority of the great Latin fathers
confirmed the general verdict of the Church; Ambrose, Jerome,
‘Decree of Gelasius.’
Rufinus, Augustine, Innocent, accepted the Apocalypse as the
work of the Apostle John.
The Eastern Church has long followed the example of the
West.
remark the Laodicean Canon which omits the Apocalypse, the
Although the Quinisextine Council endorsed without
commentaries of Oecumenius, Andreas, and Arethas must have
gone far to secure a favourable hearing for the book. Even the
Syrian Church in the seventh century possessed two versions,
one which has been identified with the work of Thomas of
Harkel, and another of a Philoxenian type’*.
No book in the New Testament with so good a record was so
long in gaining general acceptance. The reasons for this are well
summarized in a scholion to one of the MSS. of the Apocalypse?:
a \ \ a \ 5) ‘0 6 > , BY 5 \ \ > \ XA \
7) Ola TO pepiKw@s pun ExTIDETOaL avTHY, 7) Sta TO acages auTns Kal
1 On the Coptic canon see c. xvi.
2 There is an apparent exception in
the liber ecclesiasticorum dogmatum at-
tributed to Gennadius (§ 6 ‘‘erit resur-
rectio mortuorum hominum, sed una et
in semel; non prima iustorum et se-
cunda peccatorum, ut fabulat som-
niator”). But according to Dom G.
Morin who (as Mr C. H. Turner informs
me) has established the genuineness of
the attribution of this book to Gen-
nadius, somniator, if the true reading,
refers to Nepos. On the attitudes of
Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin towards
the Apocalypse see Westcott, Canon®,
pp. 472 f., 483, 488.
3 See p. cxcy.
4 Cod. 24.
CIRCULATION AND RECEPTION IN THE CHURCH cxix
duaédixtov Kal driyo.s SiadkapBavopevoy Kal voovpevov, dAdws TE
oluat dud TO nde cupdépor eivat Tots Tools Ta ev a’TH epevvay
pndé Avowtedés. The key to the interpretation disappeared with
the generation to which the book was addressed, perhaps even
with the relief which the Asian Churches experienced upon the
death of Domitian; and apart from any clue to its immediate
reference, it was little else but a maze of inexplicable mysteries.
“ Apocalypsis Ioannis,” exclaims Jerome, “tot habet sacramenta
quot verba'.” It was not everyone who was able to meet the
situation with the patient modesty of the great Dionysius, and
in the circumstances we can only recognize with thankfulness the
Providence which has preserved for us a treasure of which the
full value is even now scarcely realized.
1 Ad Paulin., ep. liii. 8.
XI.
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE.
1. A complete vocabulary of the Apocalypse will be found
at the end of this volume. Here it will suffice to point out
some of the results which may be gleaned from it.
The Apocalypse contains 913 distinct words, or, excluding the
names of persons and places, 871. Of these 871 words, 108 are
not used elsewhere in the New Testament, and 98 are used
elsewhere in the New Testament but once, or by but one other
writer. It may be useful to the reader to have these relatively
uncommon words placed before him in separate lists.
(a) Words in the Apocalypse which occur in no other N.T.
writing! ;
*ABad8dv, Taxudlev, Taxpatos, tadAndAovia, adda, tapebvoros,
dpwpov, “Aroddtov, “Ap Mayecddv, ayiw6os, tBacavopos, TBatpaxos,
tBnpvrdAos, BPrapib.ov, +Borpus, tBicowos, pouadypa, Siavyys, dutAodv
ae ditpupias, Fopaxwv, tdwdexatos, “EAAnvikds, Tepeiv, evdduyors,
téEaxooror, Leoros, LnArevew, hplwpov, Gewdns, Ovivov, Tiaoms, timmukds,
tipis, Kardbena, i anaedeiceen Kathyep, txatua, TKepapikds, TKepay-
vivat, Tképas, kBapwodds, txwvapwpov, TkrAgupa, TKkoAdovpiov, TKp.O7,
xpvorarr lew, tkpiotadros, TtxvkAdbev, trAYBavwrds, tAurapds, Tyap-
papos, tyacacba, pecovpavnpa, tuerwrov, Tunpos, TmovoiKkes, TuvKac-
Gar, pvAwos, tvedpos, Nexodairns, téAvvGos, Térupa, topynua, Topveor,
toipa, twapdarts, medexilew, tréeurtos, trerecPar, trdAnoceu,
Trodnpys, Totapopspytos, Tzpwives, trvpwos, Truppos, tpaivev, pedy,
pumatver Oat, calmorns, Toamrdetpos, Toapdiov, capddvvs, Toeuidarts,
tovdnpos, TUPLKOS, topdpaydos, foTpyvos, taXavtiatos, tretpaywvos,
Tiorns, trogov, trowalvov, Ttrptxwos, ttaxw6os, TiakivOivos, badwos,
tuados, thappaxos, thiadrn, Txarala, yadknduv, XarkohiBavos, xArapos,
fyorné, TxpvdAos, xpvoorpacos, Txpucovv.
1 Words to which a dagger is prefixed in thick type appear to be amagé Neydueva,
occur in the Greek O. T.; those printed
SE a
i
:
t
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE exxi
(b}) Words in the Apocalypse used elsewhere in the N.T, but
once, or by one other writer’.
tadew (Peee!), tadixnua (L*), faixparwota (P*), TéroxwpilerGar (L*),
tdppya (L8), tapviov (J*), Taoxnnootvy (P*), avAnrys (Mt), TBdedvo-
cebu (P'), +Boppas (L*’), TyAukis (Jac), Tyopos (L*), Tyvpvorns
(Pre), +dicropos (H), téperavov (Mc), "EBpaiori (J*), eiduAoAarpys
(Pere), téxxevrety (J°), olay (Per), tedAiooew (H), TeAKos (L*’),
téumopos (Mt), téudoBos (Le *), tévdexaros (Mt), Téprov (H), ¢Gaipa
(Peer), {Ociov (L*), TOepareia (L*Y), tOupiapa (L*), TOupag (Pe),
Tiros (Jac), tkapuvos (Mt), Txarvos (L‘), tkatouxntnpiov (P*),
TkBdpa (P°"), txBapilew (P°"), tkuBepvyrns (L*), TxvxAevew (J*),
txupaxos (P&T), frevxaiver (Mc), TAnvos (Mt), TACBavos (Mt),
tAiuvn (Le), tAwvov (Mt), tuacros (L*), Tueyorav (Mc), Tyixos
(P*), tpodvvew (P°"), vavrns (L*), tvjoos (L*), tévAwos (P™™),
tépotwpa (PTPP), tosis (P"), Topacis (L*), dcanis (P"), Topedov
(Pere), toys (J°"), travroxpatwp (P°"), trareiv (Le), trevOos (Jac),
taruxpaivew eo), TrAatos (P°), Trdvvew (L*’), rvevpaticds (P°"),
trodepety (Jac), trdvos (P°!), tropdupeos (Jo), Trpoparis (L**),
trrwxeia (P°"), tripwors (Pet), tpoppaia (L°’), tpurapos (Jac),
tovyn (L¢), todypeos (L*), toxnvotv (Jo°’), toKxoprios (L*’), Taxo-
rovcbat (P*), cuveowwveiv (P°P™?), cvvcowwvds (PPP), Fopalew
(Jo), tradatrwpos (P*), tréxyvy (L*), trpvyav (L*), thappaxia (P*),
thoivE (J°*), fpworyp (PP), Txadwds (Jac), txapaypa (L*), TxiAcoe
(Pet), txwwv (Mt), TxAwpds (Mc), txovs (Mc), TWevdys (L*), tUydi-
few (L°’), typos (L*), Tyuxpds (Mt), Tody (Pe°'), Twdivew (P*).
2. An examination of these tables leads to some interesting
facts. Relatively to its length the Apocalypse has an unusual
number of words peculiar to itself. While the Second Gospel
shews 80 such words in 2000 sticht, the Apocalypse has more
than 100 in 1400*; one in eight of its words is used by no
other N.T. writer, whereas in St Mark the ratio is about one
in sixteen®. But it is to be remembered that whereas the simple
narrative of the Evangelist demands for the most part only the
commonest words of daily life, the Apocalyptist deals with a great
variety of subjects, some of which call for a liberal use of special
terms. Thus, e.g., the enumeration of articles of merchandize in
Apoe. xviii. I1—1I3 is responsible for twelve of the words peculiar
to this book, and the list of precious stones in c. xxi. 19 f. for
ten more. Most of the Apocalyptic words which are not found
1 The letters in brackets which follow in the Gospel, J°? St John in the Epistles.
the words in this list indicate the other 2 The number of stichi is given in
N. T. writer and work in which the each case according to the stichometry
words are found; e.g. L‘=St Luke in of Nicephorus.
Acts, P* St Paulin Romans, Je’ St John 3 See St Mark, p. xlvii.
exxll VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE
or are found but rarely in other N.T. writings belong to the
language of common or commercial life, which would be familiar
to one who had been for many years resident in Ephesus. Further,
it will be observed that two-thirds of the words in the first list
(,*2,), and nearly eleven-twelfths in the second (8%), had been
previously used in the Greek Old Testament. In the second list,
the student will find it worth his while to notice the distribution
of the words amongst other N.T. writers. St Paul, it will be
seen, has 33, St Luke 30, St Matthew 9, St John (in the Gospel
and Epistles) 8, St James 6, St Mark 5, the author of Hebrews 3,
and St Peter 2. The great preponderance of Pauline and Lucan
words is remarkable, but perhaps it is sufficiently explained by the
circumstance that both St Paul and St Luke wrote under conditions
not altogether unlike those of the author of the Apocalypse. Their
lives, like his, had been largely spent among Greek-speaking peoples,
and in intercourse with Greek-speaking Churches.
The true ama& Xeyoueva of the Apocalypse are few. Some
are name-forms (‘ABaddev, “AtToAAvV@v, “Ap Maryedév, Nuxo-
Aairns), which are perhaps in every case due to the writer.
Others (SiBrapidiov, rotawopopytos, yadKorAiBavos) are probably
words current in Asia, although hitherto they have not been de-
tected in any other Greek writing. Katnywp and catafewa seem
to be of Jewish-Greek origin; 7uiwpoy is either a slip, or an
alternative form of sjuc@piov. The MSS. of the Apocalypse shew
a considerable number of orthographical peculiarities, chiefly
affecting the terminations of nouns and verbs, such as ypuvoav
(1. 13), xpucéwy (il. 1), KeKxo7rliakes (ll. 3), WéewT@KES (il. 5), Babéa
(il. 24), etyav (ix. 8), ama (x. 9), Tém@xav (xviil. 3), €Barav
(xvlll. 19), yéyovay (xxi. 6), and some of these are so well sup-
ported that they claim a place in the text. But there are
comparatively few lexical eccentricities, and if we are reminded
by an occasional transliteration that the author was a Jew by
birth and education, it is clear that he had lived long enough
in the Greek cities of Asia to have ready to his hand all the
Greek words that he needed for the purpose of his book. The
Greek vocabulary of the Apocalypse does not suggest that the
ee
~~
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE CXxill
writer was crippled by a want of appropriate words. His store
is ample for his needs, and it seems to have been chosen with
care,
3. When we pass from vocabulary to grammar, the case is
different. Dionysius, as we have seen, with the acumen of an
Alexandrian scholar, was struck by the many departures from
the rules of syntax which mark the Apocalypse, and charges its
author with writing incorrect Greek and even occasional solecisms.
His criticism is courageous, but not unjust. Fortunately no
systematic attempt was made in Egypt or elsewhere to bring
the book up to the standard of literary orthodoxy, and in the
best MSS. it has come down to us with many at least of the
writer’s grammatical peculiarities untouched.
Nothing like a grammar of the Apocalypse! can be attempted
here, but some of the more striking features of its peculiar style
are collected below.
(1) The ‘solecisms’ of the book consist largely of various forms
of anacoluthon, shewing a singular indifference to the laws of
concord. They may be roughly classed as follows. (a) Nomina-
tives are placed in apposition to other cases: i. 5 do “Incod Xpiorod,
5 pdptus 6 motos. ii. 20 TH yuvaika “lelaBed, 7 A€youoa EavTyv
mpopyrw. ili, 12 THs Kawys "lepovcadAnp, 4 KataBatvovta €k Tov
otpavod, Vili. g dreOavev 76 tpitov Tav KTTpaTwv TdV ev TH Oarddoon,
7a éxovtra wWoyds. Other examples may be found in xiv, 12,
xvi. 14, Xx. 2, xxi. 11. (5) The participle Aéywv—occasionally
éxwv—follows irregularly after the announcement of a fresh voice or
persona dramatis: iv. 1 7 pwvi)...ds cadmuyyos...A€ywv. ix. 13 HKovTa
doviv piav...éyovra, xi, 15 éyevovto gdwval peyddac... A€yovres.
xiv. 6 eldov aANov dyyeXov eropevov...éxovta...déywv. Tb. 14 eldov
kat idod vedéAy Aevky, Kal ext tiv veheAnv Kabypevov...exwv. (c) The
construction is broken by a parenthetic clause, after which the
sentence may or may not return to its original course: i. 5 f. 7o
dyaravre nas Kat AVoartt...kat éroinvev...adiTG 7 Sofa. x. If. €ldov
dAXov ayyeXov ioxupov KataBaivovta...xal To tporwmrov avrod ws 6 7ALos
Kal of T0des adrod ws oTVAoL Tupds, Kat €xwv... (d@) The grammar is
disturbed by the otiose addition of a personal pronoun or an adverb
1 The subject has been treated more
or less fully by Vogel (Comm., p. 5 ff.),
Winer (Exeg. Studien, i. p. 144 ff.),
Ewald (prol. to Comm. § 6), Hitzig (Uber
Johannes Marcus, p. 65 ff.), Liicke, Ver-
such einer volistdindigen Hinleitung, i.
p- 448 ff., Bousset (intr. to Comm. p. 183
ff.), and in England by 8. Davidson
(Intr. to N. T. iii. p. 552 ff.), Archd. Lee
(intr. to Comm. p. 454 ff.). A Johannine
Grammar has been recently published by
Dr E. A. Abbott as a sequel to his
Johannine Vocabulary (1905), but it
deals with the Gospelonly. A thorough
monograph on the grammar of the Apo-
calypse is still to be desired.
CXXIV VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE
of place after a relative or participial clause: ii. 7 7@ vuxdvte (or, as
in v. 26, 6 viKdv) ducw air@...lil. 12 6 ViKOY, Toujow avrov...vi. 4 TO
Kabnpeva.. ©5069 avTO haeiv aHV <ipnv ny €k THs Vis. Kal ebo6n | avT@
payaipa. xii, 6 Sov exe éxet. xiii, 8 oF od yéypamtat TO ov vopa
avvov. (e) Genders, numbers, or cases are at fault: vii. g «ldov,
Kat tdov oxAos monte EOTOTES, . TeptBeBAnpEvors. Vlil. 9 70 Tptrov
tov Tolwv duepOapyoay. 4 ovToL low ai dvo éXatat Kal at dvo
Auxviar al...€oT@Tes. Xi. 5 ET EKEV vitor, apoev. Xiv. 19 THY Anvov
TOU Pose Tov Geod Tov péyav. XVil. 3 Onpiov...yemovta...€xor| Ta].
xxl. 14 76 Tetyos...€Xwv.
(2) Besides ‘solecisms’ the Apocalypse has, to borrow another
term from Dionysius, a large number of ‘idiotisms.’ The idiosyncrasy
of the writer shews itself § sometimes in a startling phrase such as
i. 4 amo 6 dv Kal 6 WV kat 6 €pXopevos, or 1,8 eyo. ete TO GAda Kal TO
&, or ix. 12 and xi. 14 97 ovai y pia, 4 Sevtépa, 4 Tpirn; Sometimes
in grammatical peculiarities, some of which frequently recur, such
as the following: (a) Different tenses and moods are joined by a
copula without any clear reason for the change: ii. 2 f. ére(pacas...
éxeis...€Baoracas...Kexomiaxes, lil. 3 eiAndas kai nxovoas. Lb.
ToMow avrovs iva nfovew Kal TporKvyyTOVoW...Kal yvaow. Vv. 7 £. 7AGev
Kal eiAndev...kai Gre ehaBev. Vil. 13 f. arexpiOn...kat elpyKa...Kal €7ev.
Vili, 5 etAndev...Kat éyeuiorev,,.Kal €Barev. ix. 5 €000n aitois iva my
aroKteivwow avtovs, GAN iva Bacavcbyoovra. xxi, 24 ff. wepitarny-
covow...d€povow...o0 pn Krecbdow...otcovow...o0 py €ir€edAOy.
(b) Adjectives and verbs are made to govern cases other than
those required by usage; i. 13, Xiv. 14 duovov viov avOpwrov. ii, 14
edidacxeyv TS Badax. viii. 13 ovat Tovs Katoixodvtas emt THS ys.
Xll. 12 ovat THY ynv Kal THY Oadagoay. Xix. 5 aiveire TO Hed nudv.
(c) Other unusual constructions abound, such as: iv. gf. dra
dwcovew.. -TECOWTAL, vill. 4 eae 0 Kavos. ..TAalS Tpomevyats, 1X. 4
eppeOn avrais iva py adixijrovow. Bee Shorw.. .Kal tpopyntevoovow.
Ib. 5 cits Gedney. xii. i eyevero Bucs, 0 > Muxarpr | kat ot ayyehou
avTov Tov To\EuHoaL. XVill. 20 Expwev 0 Geos TO Kpiva tuav e& adris.
Xxil. 14 paxaptos...iva €orar...Kal...eire\Owow.
Many attempts have been made to minimize the grammatical
irregularities of the Apocalypse. In the most recent of these, a
chapter of Archbishop Benson’s Apocalypse which bears the
characteristic heading “A Grammar of Ungrammar',” the in-
stances are classified with the view of shewing that in most of
them the Apocalyptist had a definite reason for his departure
from usage. Whatever may be thought of the explanations which
are offered in his defence, it is evident that he has not erred in all
cases through ignorance?,and it is possible that he has not done so
1 Essay v. p. 131 ff. self to write Suovov vidv, in eighteen other
“ E.g. if he has twice permitted him- passages émo.os governs the dative.
PORTE TSS
o>
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE CXXV
in any instance. His eccentricities of syntax are probably due
to more than one cause: some to the habit which he may have
retained from early years of thinking in a Semitic language’;
some to the desire of giving movement and vivid reality to his
visions, which leads him to report them after the manner of short-
hand notes, jotted down at the time; some to the circumstances
in which the book was written.
currence of causes, it cannot be denied that the Apocalypse of John
But from whatever cause or con-
stands alone among Greek literary writings in its disregard of
the ordinary rules of syntax, and the success with which syntax
is set aside without loss of perspicuity or even of literary power.
The book seems openly and deliberately to defy the grammarian,
and yet, even as literature, it is in its own field unsurpassed. No
judge who compared it with any other Greek apocalyptic work
would hesitate to give the palm to the canonical Apocalypse.
4. Apart from solecisms and other idiosyncrasies, the style of
the Apocalypse is distinguished by a number of characteristic
phrases and turns of expression which give it individuality.
Some of these recur with slight variations throughout the book.
Thus i, 2 éuaptipyoev tov Adyov Tod Geod Kal ri paptupiav “Incod
Xpicrod starts a note which is heard again 7d, 9 dua Tov Adyov Tod
God Kat tHv paptupiay “Incod, vi. 9 dua Tov Aoyov Tod Heod Kai dua TV
paptupiav iv elxov, Xx. 4 dua THY paptupiay ‘Incod Kal dia Tov odyov
tov Geod.
The reader meets again and again the phrase ot xarov-
Kobvres ért THY yHv, Or ert THS yHs, OF THY yay (ili. To, Vi. 10, Vili. 13,
1 The present writer, while welcoming
all the light that can be thrown: on the
vocabulary and syntax of the N.T. by
a study of the Graeco-Egyptian papyri,
and in particular the researches of Pro-
fessor Deissmann, Professor Thumb, and
Dr J. H. Moulton, deprecates the in-
duction which, as it seems to him, ig
beingsomewhat hastily based upon them,
that the Greek of the N. T. has been but
slightly influenced by the familiarity of
the writers with Hebrew and Aramaic.
‘Even the Greek of the Apocalypse,”
Dr Moulton writes (Grammar of N.T.
Greek, prolegg. p. 8f.), ‘does not seem
to owe any of its blunders to ‘ Hebra-
isms’...Apart from places where he (the
author] may be definitely translating a
Semitic document, there is no reason
to believe that his grammar would have
been materially different had he been a
native of Oxyrhynchus, assuming the
extent of Greek education the same.”
But the facts seem at present insuflicient
to warrant this conclusion. It is pre-
carious to compare a literary document
with a collection of personal and business
letters, accounts, and other ephemeral
writings ; slips in word-formation or in
syntax which are to be expected in the
latter, are phenomenal in the former,
and if they find a place there, can only
be attributed to lifelong habits of
thought. Moreover, it remains to be
considered how far the quasi-Semitic
colloquialisms of the papyri are them-
selves due to the influence of the large
Greek-speaking Jewish population of the
Delta.
CXXV1 VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE
xi, Io, xili, 8, 12, 14, xvii. 2, 8), the combination muords kat .
adnOwos (iii. 14, XIX. II, XX]. 5, xxil. 6), the refrain 6 €ywv ovs
axovoatw (il. 7, II, 17, 29, ill. 6, 13, 22, and with a slight difference,
xiii. g). Mera tadra eidov, Kat idov, 6 Kabymevos eri tov Opdvov (rod
Gpovov, Td Opovw) are other examples. Further, the writer has a
habit of repeating the article or a governing clause before every
member of a series when the same subject or class of subjects is
in view, e.g. ix. 20 7a eldwda Ta ypvoa Kal TA apyvpa Kal TA XaAKG
Kat Ta AGwa Kai Ta EVALVa, XV. 2 TOS ViKwVTAS ek TOU Onpiov Kat eK
THs €ikOVOS AVTOD Kal ex TOD apiOpod Tov dvopaTos aiTod. XVI. 13 éK
Tov OTOpaTOS TOD SpaKkovTos Kal €k TOD OTOpaTOS TOD Oypiov Kal ex TOD
oTOpatos TOD WevdorpoPytov. XvVii. 6 peHtovcav ek TOV aipatos TaV
ylwv Kat €k TOD aiwatos THV paptipwv Incot. There are many minor
singularities, such as the frequent use the instrumental dative
preceded by ev, €.g. ev poppaia (il, , &v paBow (Gil. 27 eexam 59
Xix. 15), ev g@wvy (v. 2, Xiv. 7), & a ; Kibipaus (xiv. 2), éy wupt
(xvi, 8, xvii. 16); the nearly constant omission of the article before
proper names, not excluding “Ijcots; the employment of eis as
almost equivalent to an indefinite article (vill. 13 €vos aerod, XVill, 21
eis dyyeXos) ; the peculiar use of woe in such clauses as xXili. Io,
18 (xiv. 12) Moe eoTW 7 Uropovyn, we 7) Todia éoTW, XVil. Q ade O
vods 0 éxwv codiav; the recurrence of the formula e067 aire | (abrots)
followed by a noun, an infinitive, or a subjunctive with iva; the
partiality shewn for the perfect tense, especially in the case of
cithngpa (il, 27, Ul, 3, V. 7, Vill. 5, xi, 17) and cipyxa (vil. 14,
xix. 3); the many beatitudes interspersed among the visions (i. 3,
al asia GVA OT b EKAK. 1Q, OKO! KAI med) Lastly, a considerable
number of ordinary words occur with remarkable frequency, catch-
ing the eye again and again as the book is turned; a few may be
specified here: ayyedos, ay.os, aia, axovev, apnv, avolyew, azo-
OvncKev, aornp (never aorpov), BadAew, Baored’s, BiBXiov, Pree,
Bpovrn, Yh ypadev, dexvvev, d0€a, dvvapus, €Ovos, exkAnola, évwrtov,
eSovola, epyov, éroalev, edppaiverbar, Loy, Atos, Oadacoa, Gavaros,
Opovos, Ovotactypiov, idetv, idov, Kabijo Gar, karaBaivew, Kepady, Kpatety,
Kpivew, Aap Bavewv, AevKos, Novos, peyas, vaos, vEeKpos, VLKGV, OiKOUMEVN,
G}L0L0S, dvop.a, oipavos, OPOadpos, TAVTOKPAT Wp, TUTE, mepipadrreobat,
aimtew, TAavav, TANY)H, TOALS, TpoTKVELY, TpOTwToY, Tpopytns and
its cognates, zip, poppata, onpeiov, aotedavos, oTOpa, opacen,
oppayis, tedeirba, vowp, tropovn, poBeiobat, porn, xelp, Xpvceos,
«oy. This list will be found a suggestive one; in most cases the
subject of the book or the circumstances of the author sufficiently
account for the more or less frequent recurrence of the words;
in some the reason lies deeper. But however their repetition may
be explained, it goes far to impart to the Apocalypse the colouring
‘which marks its style.
5. It is of interest to compare the vocabulary, grammar, and
style of the Apocalypse with those of other New Testament
writings traditionally assigned to St John, and especially with those
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE exxvii
of the Fourth Gospel. (1) Vocabulary. Of the 913 words used
in the Apocalypse 416 are found also in the Gospel, but the
words common to both books are either of the most ordinary type,
or are shared by other N.T. writers. The eight words dpvioy,
’EBpaiorti, éxxevtety, KuKAEvELY, OWis, TophupeEos, TKHVOdY, Poi€,
which occur only in these two books, do not supply a sufficient
basis for induction.
is used but once in the Gospel, and then with a different refer-
*Apviov, used 29 times in the Apocalypse,
ence; the form «cu«devew in Jo. x. 24 and Apoc. xx. 9 is found
in the Gospel only in Cod. B; dyes, ropdupeos, and potw€ are
fairly well established in the Greek of the O.T.; on the other
hand, Efpaiori is somewhat markedly Johannine, occurring five
times in the Gospel, which uses also ‘Pwpaiori and “EXXnuicri;
axnvooy is strongly characteristic of the teaching of the fourth
Gospel, though it occurs there but once}, and the use of e&exev-
tnoav for 123 in Zech. xii. 107, both in Jo. xix. 37 and Apoce. 1. 7,
is certainly noteworthy and probably more than a coincidence*, If
we extend our examination to words which, though not exclusively
used in these books, are prominent in them or in one of them,
the evidence is similarly divided. On the one hand there are
not a few points in which the diction of the Apocalypse differs
notably from that of the Gospel: the conjunctions aAa, yap,
ovv, which continually meet the reader of the Gospel, are com-
paratively rare in the Apocalypse‘; évw7voy, a characteristic
preposition in the Apocalypse, occurs but once in the Gospel; the
Evangelist invariably writes "lepocoXvpa, the Apocalyptist ‘Iepou-
cadnu*; the one chooses auvos when he is speaking of the Lamb
of God, the other dpviov; to the one the Eternal Son is simply o
1 St Paul has éricxnvody in a similar
sense (2 Cor. xii. 9).
2 On this see Deissmann, Die Septua-
ginta-papyri...der Heidelberger Papyrus-
sammlung, p. 66 f.
3 See c. xi.
4’AXAd occurs 101 times in J*’, 13
times in Apoc. ; ydp 65 times in J*’, 16
in Apoec. Ov which is the favourite
mark of transition in the Gospel is used
but 6 times in the Apocalypse, and only
in ce. i.—iii. But otv is wholly absent
from the first Epistle of St John, and
yap occurs there but thrice (Westcott,
Epistles of St John, p. xl.).
5 The exclusively local use of the name
in the Gospel does not altogether account
for this difference. “Iepovcadju is used
freely in speaking of the locality by
St Luke and St Paul; with Mt., Mc.,
Je’, on the other hand, the use of "Tepo-
cé\uua is habitual, though Mt. once
writes "Iepovgayju (xxiii. 37).
CXXVlll VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE
Aoyos, to the other the glorified Christ is 0 Aeyos tod Oeov. The
Apocalyptist uses the Synoptic and Pauline terms evaryyéduop,
evayyenrivery, Knpvocev, KANpovomeiv, peTavoeiy, wvoTHpLov, 7
oixovpevn, ocuvvKowwrvely, from which the Evangelist seems to
refrain; while on the other hand, as Dionysius long ago pointed
out, of many of the key-words of the Gospel he shews no know-
ledge. On the other hand the two books have in common a
fair number of characteristic words and phrases, such as dAnOwos,
éfoucia, wapTupeiv, vikav, odnyelv, oida, onwaivew, Tnpelv (Noyov,
evToAnyv), uTrayev. It is still more significant, that both attach
a special meaning to certain words; both use ‘lovdaios of the
Jew considered as hostile to Christ or the Church, and in both
such words as f7, Qavatos, Supdv, wewdv, viudn, do€a, bear
more or less constantly a spiritual sense—a remark which applies
also to several of the words mentioned above (e.g. vuxadv, odnyety).
(2) Thus on the question of the literary affinity of the Fourth
Gospel and the Apocalypse the vocabulary speaks with an un-
certain sound, though the balance of the evidence is perhaps in
favour of some such relationship between the two writings. This
probability is increased when we compare them from the point
of view of their grammatical tendencies. While the solecistic
anacolutha of the Apocalypse have no parallel on any large
scale in the Gospel, there is a considerable number of unusual
constructions which are common to the two books. Some may
be mentioned here. (a) The partitive 逫 with its dependent
noun or pronoun is used in both as the object or subject of a
verb: eg. Jo. xvi. 17 elray ody éx THY pabnTav avtod; Apoc.
li. IO péArer Barety €E vuar, 111. 9 O1de Ex THs cvvaywyis, Xi. 9
Brérrovew éx Tov Nady. (b) Both books place pera after Narety
(Jo. iv. 27 bis, ix. 37; Apoc. 1. 12, iv. I, x. 8, XVil, 1) cacOjeaee
and mepuratety (Jo. vi. 66; Apoc. iil. 4), and é« after o@feuw or
thpeiv (Jo. Xl. 27 cHooV pe EK THS Wpas TavTHS, Apoe. Ill. IO ce
THPNTW €K THS Wpas TOD Tetpacuov). (c) Both use wa in an
unusual sense (Jo. vill. 56 nyaddNacato iva in, 1x. 2 Tis HwapTev -
...va TUPros yevunOH 3 Xl. 15 yalpw...iva muctevonte: Apoc. xiv.
TMK. T)); ‘
|
VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE CXX1Xx
(3) Coming to the style of the books, a comparison will
lead to results very similar to those which were obtained by
examining their vocabularies. The general effect of the style
of the Gospel is as far as possible from the effect which the
Apocalypse produces on the mind of the reader: “it is free from
solecisms, because it avoids all idiomatic expressions!.” The book
flows along smoothly from the prologue to the end; there is
no startling phrase, no defiance of syntax; if it is obviously the
work of one who was more familiar with the construction of the
Semitic than of the Greek sentence*, yet the author seldom or
never offends against definite laws. In these respects he not only
differs from the Apocalyptist, but stands at the opposite pole to
the eccentricities, the roughnesses, the audacities, of the latter.
Yet it is also true that he has many points of resemblance with
the writer of the Apocalypse, both in regard to sentence-formation
and to the phrasing of his thoughts. As to the former, the fol-
lowing points have been noticed amongst others. (i) Both the
Evangelist and the Apocalyptist fall in places into parallelisms ;
ef. Jo. 1. 4f. 6 yeyovey €v adt@ fur jv, | Kal 7 Son Hv TO bas TOV
avOpwrav: || Kal To pas év TH cKxoTia haiver, | Kal 7) cKoTia avTO
ov KaTédXaBev. Apoc. xxi. 23 1) Todus ov xpElay EEL TOD HALov |
ovdé THs cedjvys, iva paivwow aith: || 1) yap Sofa Tod Oeod
épaticey avTynv, | kai 6 AVYVOS avThs TO apviov. (ii) Both are
partial to the form of antithesis which presents first the positive
and then the negative side of a statement or direction; e.g. Jo.
1. 3 mavra Ou avTod éyéveto, Kai ywpis avTod éyéveto ovdé &v.
x. 12f. 6 pucOwrds Kal ove Ov Troimny...picOwTos éotiv Kal ov
per avT@ Tepl THY TpoBatwr. Apoc. ili. 3 HEw ws KrETTNs, Kal
ov mH Yyv@s Toiav wpav HEw; ib. 16 yALapos el, Kal odTE Leards
auTe Wuxpos. xX. 4 oppayicov & éXadnoay ai éxta Bpovrai, cai
py avTa ypdayrns. (ii) Both repeat the article for the sake of
emphasis: Jo. 1. 9 TO das TO adnOuor, Vi. 32 TOY apTor...Tdv
adnOivov, xv. 1 7 aurredos 1) adAnOu7}, X. II 6 Troushy 6 KarOs;
Apoc. 1. 5 6 mwaprus 6 miotds, ii. 11 tod Oavatouv rod Seurépou,
1 Westcott, St John, p. 1. cal Character of the Fourth Gospel,
2 Cf. Sanday, Authorship and Histori- p. 28f.
SR: u
CXXX VOCABULARY, GRAMMAR, AND STYLE
1b, 12 THY poppatay Thy Sictowov THy o€etay, Xvill. IO 4 mods 7
peyaAn...9 loxupd, XXi. 10 THY TOW THY ayiav (iv) Both
add parenthetic explanations for the sake of circumstantial
fulness: cf. Jo. vi. 22 fi, xi. 1 ff, xvin. 13 f.; Apoc. x1 9 (im 2)
X1V. II (x1x. 20), xx. 14 (xxi. 8). (v) Similar or identical phrases
occur in both, eg. movety adynOevav (Jo. ili. 21), morety Weddos
(Apoc. xxl. 15); mrovety onuetov (Jo. 11, I1, 23, iv. 54, ete., Apoc.
xl. 13 f, xix. 20); wépos eye (Jo. xii. 8, Apoc. xx. 6); dvoya
avT@ (Jo. 1, 6, il. I, xviii. 10, Apoc. vi. 8, ix. 11), Even more
remarkable are the following coincidences of language: Jo. 1. 14
0 ROxyos...€oxknvacey év Huiv, Apoc. vil. 15 0 xaOnwevos él
Tov Opovov cxnvece: em avtovs ; Jo. iv. 6 KexomriaKos ex THS
odoitropias, Apoc. il. 3 ov Kexotriaxes; Jo. vil. 37 éav tus diva
epxécOw mpos pé Kai mivérw, Apoc. xxil. 17 0 durav épyécbo;
Jo. x. 18 tavtTnv tiv évtoknvy éXaBov Tapa tod TaTpos jou,
Apoc. 11. 28 ws Kayw eiAnda Tapa Tov Tatpdés pov; JO. xvi..12
ov dvvacbe Bactafeyv, Apoc. i. 2 ov dwn Bactacar; Jo. xx. 12,
Apoc. lil. 4 éy Xeveois. The bearing of this evidence on the
question of authorship will be discussed in a later chapter! ; mean-
while we may observe that it creates a strong presumption
of affinity between the Fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse, not-
withstanding their great diversity both in language and in
thought.
1, Xv.
5 Hl
SYMBOLISM.
1. The Apocalypse of John shares with other apocalyptic
writings a partiality for symbolical imagery and the symbolical
use of numbers. Teaching by the use of symbols is found in
every part of the Old Testament, but it becomes especially notice-
able in the later prophecies, and in the book of Daniel. The
visions of which these books largely consist present a succession
of strange and sometimes weird or even monstrous shapes, designed
to suggest ideas that could not be expressed in words, or persons
or forces that the writer preferred to leave unnamed. This
habit was adopted by the non-canonical apocalyptists, from Enoch
onwards, and it receives illustration in every page of St John’s
book.
2. The imagery of the Apocalypse lays under contribution
all the departments of nature and life. The animal kingdom
lends its éa and its @npta—horses white, red, black and pale,
the lamb and the calf, the lion, the leopard and the bear, the
locust, the scorpion and the frog, the eagle and the vulture, the
birds of the air and the fishes of the sea; the vegetable kingdom,
its trees and herbs and grass. Earth, sea, and sky bring their
tribute. Agricultural operations such as harvest and vintage, the
life and trade of great cities, the march and clash of great armies,
are all depicted on its canvas. A sea of glass is spread before
the Throne in Heaven: a river flows through the Holy City.
The sky yields its stars, now shining in the firmament, now falling
to the earth, now forming a cluster in the hand of the Christ, or
a coronet on the head of the Mother of Christ and Christendom.
Across the heavens there sweeps from time to time a more than
tropical storm of thunder, lightning, and hail, followed by earth-
42
CXXX11 SYMBOLISM
quake. Human life supplies an abundance of imagery. We see
the mother and her child, the harlot and her lovers, the bride
arrayed for her husband. Crowned heads wear the oréfavos or
the d:adnua; warriors carry the two-edged sword; the shepherd
appears with his iron-tipped staff, the reaper with his sickle, the
herald with his trumpet, the builder with his measuring rod, the
holiday-keeper with flute and harp, the reveller with golden cup,
the king with his roll, written within and on the back with the
secrets of State and sealed. Figures move across the stage attired
in the long girdled robe of kingly or priestly dignity, or in the
shining white of byssus; two are dressed in sackcloth; one wears
purple and scarlet, and is decked with gold and precious stones
and pearls.
3. (a) A large proportion of this imagery is drawn, as a
previous section will have shewn, from the Old Testament. Places,
persons, and objects which occur in the historical books reappear
in the Apocalypse as symbols of facts in the life of the Church
or of the new world to which the Church points and which lies
behind the visible order. Familiar place-names meet us here
and there—the Euphrates, Egypt, Sodom, the Hill of Megiddo,
Babylon, Jerusalem. The seven-branched candlestick of the
Tabernacle suggests the golden Avyvias which represent the
Churches of Asia; Balaam finds his analogue in the Nicolaitans,
and Jezebel in a Thyatiran prophetess. The new Israel is con-
fronted by a new Babylon, and the Bride of Christ is a new
Jerusalem. The Elders round the Throne answer to the elders
of Israel; the Two Witnesses exercise powers which remind the
reader of the miracles of Moses and Elijah. Tabernacle and
Temple, altar and censer and ark, recall the religious glories of
ancient Israel. A holy place not made with hands is seen in the
heavenly places ; the manna laid up before God finds its counter-
part in the future life of the victorious Christian. (b) In other
instances the N.T. Apocalypse adopts in part or in whole the
symbolism of the O.T. writers, as when it speaks of the Tree of
Life, the Book of Life, the Water of Life; or the metaphors of
the O.T. become the symbols of the new prophecy, as when our
SYMBOLISM Cxxxill
Lord is designated the Lamb and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,
or the Root of David; or again, a whole system of O.T. symbolism
is more or less fully pressed into the service of the book, as in the
ease of the High Priest’s breastplate, and of Ezekiel’s scheme of
a restored Jerusalem.
4. The Apocalyptist, however, does not limit himself to
O.T. imagery, but has much that is his own, or that belongs
to the common stock of the later apocalyptic. The Woman with
Child has no parallel in the O.T., and in spite of Gunkel’s efforts
to find the genesis of this fine conception in Babylonian folklore,
it may be confidently regarded as essentially a creation of the
writer's own mind, under the influence of the Spirit of Christ.
The description of the Harlot Babylon, seated on the scarlet Beast,
has points of contact with passages in the Hebrew Prophets; but
as a whole it is new and original. A like verdict may be passed
upon the three great sevenfold visions, the Seal Openings, the
Trumpet Blasts, and the Outpouring of the Bowls; their partial
indebtedness to the Old Testament does not take from the fresh-
ness and vigour of St John’s symbolism. The idea of a millennium
was in the air when St John wrote, but no writer had used it
as the symbol of a spiritual triumph, or worked it into a scheme
of the Divine ordering of history.
5. Much of the imagery of the Apocalypse is doubtless not |
symbolism, but merely designed to heighten the colouring of the
great picture, and to add vividness and movement to its scenes.
Such secondary details, like many of the minor features in the
Parables of our Lord, must not be pressed into the service of a
spiritual interpretation, or indeed of any specific interpretation
whatever, their purpose being simply to contribute to the general
effect of the context where they occur. These non-symbolical
images are sometimes taken from the life of the times, as when
the writer recounts the imports that found their way to the new
Babylon, many of which he may himself have seen shipped off
to Ostia from the port of Ephesus; or they belong to the common
stock of the eschatological language of apocalyptic writing (e.g.
vi. 12 ff.); or they are due to the inspired imagination of the
CXXX1V SYMBOLISM
Apocalyptist himself, forming part of the picture which is present
to his mind as he writes.
6. But there is also much which is directly symbolical. In
not a few cases the writer stops to interpret the symbol (eg.
IN CC. 1. 20, 1v. 5, V. 6, XU. 9, xvi. O f., 12, 15): 7 inwenmemmae
symbolical meaning is only half veiled; thus it is impossible to
mistake the import of the standing Figure in i. 13 ff, or of the
seated Figure in c. iv. 2, or of the Lamb, or the Lamb’s Wife.
There remain, however, a certain number of symbolic forms as
to which there is room for diversity of judgement even among
interpreters who follow the same general method of interpretation.
Thus in c. vi. 2 the rider on the white horse is by some com-
mentators identified with the Divine Rider of c. xix. 11, while
others regard the former as symbolizing either the Roman or
the Parthian conqueror. In c. vu. the 144,000 are by some
understood to represent, like the countless multitude, the whole
body of the Church, though under a different aspect or at another
stage of its history, whereas others take the two visions to
set forth respectively the Jewish and Gentile Christians, or the
Jewish Church and the Christian Church. In c. xi. 8 interpreters
are divided as to the meaning of “the great city”; in xvil. 12
there is considerable difference of opinion as to the identity of
the “ten kings.” Many other such ambiguities perplex the
student of the Apocalypse, and though he may be able to arrive
at conclusions which satisfy his own judgement, it is impossible to
offer such reasons for them as will compel assent. But the
uncertainty which thus besets apocalyptic interpretation does not
seriously detract from the general value of the book. Nor can it
be laid to the charge of the author that he is unnecessarily
obscure. It is of the nature of apocalyptic literature to be
involved in some measure of obscurity; and this is not the least
valuable of its characteristics, for it affords scope for the exercise
of the Christian judgement: &de 4 codia éotiv: bbe 6 vods oO
éywv codiay (xiii. 18, xvii. 9). In the elasticity of symbolical
language the Apocalypse has its chief advantage over the more
exact and didactic, but less inspiring and suggestive style of
ordinary prophecy.
—_— ee Oe ee ee "
SYMBOLISM CXXXV
7. No reader of our Apocalypse can have failed to notice
the frequent recurrence of numbers which appear to carry with
them a certain symbolical meaning".
The following are the numbers that are met with in the book:
2, 3; 34, 4, 5, 9, 7, 10, 12, 24, 42, 144, 666 (or according to another
reading, 616), 1000, 1260, 1600, 7000, 12,000, 144,000, 100,000,000,
200,000,000, The predominant number is seven, which occurs fifty-
four times. The book is addressed to seven Churches represented
by seven lampstands, while their ‘angels’ are seven stars. There
are seven Spirits of God, symbolized by seven lamps. The Book
in the Hand of God is sealed with seven seals; the Lamb before
the Throne has seven eyes and seven horns. Seven angels blow
seven trumpet-blasts; seven other angels pour out the contents of
seven bowls full of the seven last plagues. Seven thunders utter
voices which the Seer is bidden not to write. Seven thousand
are killed in the great earthquake which follows the ascension
of the Two Witnesses. The Dragon has seven heads, and upon
them seven diadems; the Wild Beast from the Sea has seven
heads on which are “names of blasphemy”; the Scarlet Beast
on which Babylon sits has likewise seven heads, variously inter-
preted by the writer as seven mountains, or seven kings. Next
in frequency to the heptad is the dodecad. The new Israel, like
its predecessor, consists of twelve tribes; the Mother of Christ is
crowned with twelve stars; the new Jerusalem has twelve portals,
and the wall that girdles it rests on twelve foundation stones on
which are engraved the names of the twelve Apostles; the Tree
of Life in the new Paradise bears twelve manner of fruits, after
the number of the months. Multiples of twelve, also, are common.
Each of the tribes of the new Israel contains 12,000, making a
total of 144,000; and 144,000 is also the number of the virgin
souls which in the second part of the book are seen surrounding
the Lamb on Mount Zion. The Elders round the Throne are
twenty-four, and they are seated on as many subordinate thrones.
Each side of the Holy City is 12,000 stades in length, and the
wall which surrounds it is 144 cubits in height.
Ten is another favourite number. The time of pressure which
1 On the symbolism of numbers see Tyconius reg. y (ed. Burkitt).
CXXXV1 SYMBOLISM
is coming on the Churches of Asia will last ten days. Both the
Dragon and the first of the two Wild Beasts have ten horns ; and
so has the Scarlet Beast, whose horns are interpreted as “ten
kings.” As a multiple ten enters into most of the higher
numbers in the book. Fowr, again, occurs frequently. The oa
are four; four angels stand at the four corners of the earth,
charged with the control of the four winds of heaven; four angels
are bound at the Euphrates, until the moment comes for the
The Holy City lies four-
Three is somewhat less
execution of their work of slaughter.
square, and forms a perfect cube.
prominent, but the last three Trumpets constitute a triad of
“ Woes,” and under the earlier Trumpets a third part of everything
which has been attacked is smitten (vill. 7-12; cp. 1x. 15, xl. 4).
The “ great city” is rent by an earthquake into three parts; each
side of the square which forms the new Jerusalem is entered by
three portals. There are other numbers which are used symbolically
but once. The wings of the {oa are six; there are five months
during which the world is tortured by the locusts of the Abyss; the
Witnesses who are slain and rise again and ascend to heaven are two.
8. The recurrence of some of these numbers, notably of seven},
twelve, ten and four, can scarcely be accidental. The writer’s
partiality for them is due in some measure to his Semitic habits
of thought.
gather from countless passages of the Old Testament’.
lyptist who was a Christian Jew would find a special attraction in
a number which had already played a great part in Jewish
apocalypses from Daniel onwards. It would fall in with this
tendency of the writer’s mind if, as has been thought, the most
prominent of the Churches of Asia were as a matter of fact seven
in number, so that, as the phrase ai émTa éxxAnoiat at év TH
"Acia (i. 4) suggests, they were probably known as the Seven
Churches in Asia even before they were so addressed by St John’.
To the Hebrew mind seven denotes completion, as we
An apoca-
1 Dr Abbott points out (Grammar,
§ 2624) that the Fourth Gospel is ‘‘ per-
meated structurally with the idea” of
sevenfoldness.
* The genesis of the idea is well stated
by Philo legg. alleg. 1. 4 xalper dé h pvors
eBdouade’ wavirés Te yap émTa yeydr-
acw...xal dpxros émTd aorpots cupsadnpod-
Tat...Kal Tpomal d€ cedjvns EBdoudor ylyov-
TAL.
3 So Ramsay, Letters to the Seven
Churches, p. 178. But this is perhaps
to build too much upon the article.
Cry
SYMBOLISM CXXXVil
But in any case the selection of Seven Churches as the recipients
of the Apocalypse strikes a keynote which rings through the
earlier chapters, and determines the number of the lampstands,
the Angel-stars, the Spirits of God, and the Eyes of the Lamb. In
the second part of the book the seven heads of the Dragon and
the Wild Beast are perhaps suggested by the seven hills of Rome
and the seven Augusti who preceded Domitian. But though
local circumstances chimed in with the traditional use of this
number, the writer, as we have said, was doubtless drawn to it by
its O.T. associations, and it is used in conformity with O.T.
practice. Each series of seven is complete in itself, and each
suggests the perfection which belongs to the Divine, or that which
is claimed by the Antichrist.
Of other numbers which appear to be symbolically used in the
Apocalypse three and four occur in connexion with memorable
incidents or contexts of the Old Testament (Gen. xviii. 2, Ex.
xxii. 14, Deut. iv. 41, Dan. vi. 10; Gen. ii. 10, Ez.i. 5, Dan. vu. 2,
vil. 8). Three seems to denote limited plurality; four, the
number of the winds and the quarters of the sky, is a fitting
symbol for the visible creation. Ten, also, has a recognized mean-
ing; as the round number, it is suggestive at once of indefiniteness
and of magnitude ; in the thousand both these features are magni-
fied, and a thousand years thus represents a great period of time
stretching over many generations, but of unknown length. The
uncertainty which results from such a use of numbers would be
fatal to the value of a historical document, but it is admirably
adapted to the purpose of an apocalypse, where the veil is lifted
only so far as to disclose the dim outline of great issues.
g. Two of the Apocalyptic numbers call for separate treat-
ment. (a) Three and a half days are given as the interval
between the death and resurrection of the Two Witnesses (xi. 9, Ir).
This period corresponds with the “time, times and a half” of
¢. Xi. 14, which is taken over from Dan. vii. 25, xii. 7. In Daniel
this expression probably represents the three and a half years
during which Jerusalem was in the hands of the Syrian oppressor,
and the Apocalypse accordingly uses it or its equivalents (42 months,
1260 days) to signify the age of persecution, whatever its duration
@XXXVill SYMBOLISM
might be. Gunkel thinks
of the 34 months which intervened between the winter solstice and
the Babylonian festival of Marduk. Others, again, identifying
the time, times, and a half of Dan. vii. 25 with the half-week
(ViavD 80) of Dan. ix. 27, regard the Apocalyptic 34 in the
light of a ‘broken seven, a symbol of the interruption of the
Other explanations are less probable.
Divine order by the malice of Satan and evil men.
(b) If the number 666 in Apoc. xiii. 18 is to be regarded as a
symbol, there is verisimilitude in Dr Briggs’ suggestion that a
number which in every digit falls short by one of the completeness
and perfection of the mystic seven, fitly represents the failure of
Antichrist to reach the goal to which he aspires. But (1) this
conception might have been conveyed with equal effect by 66, or
6666; (2) it leaves the alternative reading (616) wholly un-
explained; and (3) from the time of Irenaeus tradition has fixed
on another and a more natural explanation. The number,
whether we read y&s’, or with some contemporaries of Irenaeus
yus’, is probably a cryptogram, and not a true symbol. It is
possible that the Number of the Beast holds its secret still*.
Although the challenge 6 éywv vovy Wwhdicatw tov apiOyov has
been accepted by the scholars of many generations, no solution
hitherto offered commands general assent.
10. In this chapter a Semitic origin has been claimed for the
symbolism of the Apocalypse.
1 Schipfung u. Chaos, p. 309 ff.
2 My colleague, Prof. Burkitt, sug-
gested as far back as 1896 (Cambridge
University Reporter, 1895-6, p. 625 f.)
that xs’, written as {, was chosen as
the number of the Beast because t is
‘little more than € turned round the
other way.” His attractive conjecture
was based on Beatus in Apoc. ed. Florez,
p- 440 (cf. the Pseudo-Augustinian homi-
lies, Migne, P. L. xxxy. col. 2437), and he
pointed out that the form of the episemon
impliéd in X is “ characteristic of docu-
ments of the first and second centuries.”
But (1) there does not seem to be any
evidence that the £ was a recognized
symbol as early as the reign of Domitian,
and (2) the writer of the Apocalypse does
not use the term dyrlxpicTos.
From another of my colleagues, Dr
Barnes, I have received an explanation
The force of local circumstances is
of xé’ which well deserves to be con-
sidered. He writes: “In 1 K. x. 14
the gold that came to Solomon every
year amounts to 666 talents, This
passage is one of several indications in
the O.T. that the Hebrews took 6 as
a round number,...The Apocalyptist
gives a round number, as round as he
can make it, to the Beast, because he
dare not be more definite, and because
he had no need to be more definite.
The number of the Beast was ‘a man’s
number’ (cf. Isa. viii. 1); there was
nothing mysterious about it, it was
common property to the extent that
any man of sense could interpret it.
The Beast’s name was ‘N or M.’” This
solution, however, leaves the early if not
original xs’ unexplained, and it does
not seem to accord with the mystical
character of the book.
oS a a ee
SYMBOLISM CXXX1Xx
not, indeed, to be overlooked. In the words of Sir W. M. Ramsay’,
“such ideas and symbolic forms were in the atmosphere and in
the minds of men at the time; and the ideas with which he
[St John] was familiar moulded the imagery of his visions,
unconsciously to himself.” But apart from influences of this
kind, it must not be forgotten that it was necessary to provide
the Church with a make-weight against the power which
heathenism exerted over the Asian cities through its abundant
use of symbolism in literature and in art. In art Christianity
could as yet do nothing to counteract this hostile force. The
Apostolic age was necessarily opposed to the Art of the time’,
which was pagan to the core; the Church of the first century
had not either the power or the desire to emulate the splendours
of the heathen temples. She could not erect statues to the
Glorified Christ, or stamp His image and superscription on the
currency, or institute public festivals in His honour. But if she
might not avail herself as yet of the help of Art, there was
abundant precedent in the Hebrew Scriptures for the literary
representation of the unseen world. It was permissible to assist
the faith of the suffering Churches by symbolical visions of the
majesty of their Divine Lord, now walking in their midst, now
standing before the celestial Throne, now riding forth to victory
with the armies of Heaven under His command. It was not less
permissible to paint in glowing colours the moral glory of the
Christian Society, and her magnificent destiny, or to place in
contrast with them the abominable vices, the paltry display, and
the certain doom of Rome. Yet in this legitimate appeal to the
Christian imagination the Apocalyptist is careful to avoid repre-
sentations which could be placed before the eye by the painter's
art. No scene in the great Christian Apocalypse can be success-
fully reproduced upon canvas; “the imagery...is symbolic and
not pictorial®.”
1 Letters to the Seven Churches, p. 59. Art).
2 Westcott, Epp. of St John, p. 339 3 Westcott, op. cit. p. 335.
(App. on the relation of Christianity to
XIII.
USE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
AND OTHER LITERATURE.
1. The Apocalyptist’s use of the Old Testament is by no
means limited to its symbolical imagery and numbers; its thoughts
and its very words appear in every part of his book. It is true
that the Apocalypse is marked by an entire absence of the formal
quotations which are to be found in other parts of the New
Testament’; the nature of the work precluded the author from a
direct appeal to his source. Yet no writer of the Apostolic age
makes larger use of his predecessors. From the list of “quotations
from the Old Testament” with which the appendix to Westcott.
and Hort’s second volume ends, it appears that of the 404 verses
of the Apocalypse there are 278 which contain references to the
Jewish Scriptures. The following table is not exhaustive, but it
will suffice to shew the extent of St John’s debt to the Old
Testament, and his method of using it.
GREEK VERSIONS OF THE OLD
APOCALYPSE, TESTAMENT?,
i. I (iv. 1, xxii. 6) @ det yeverOar. Dan. ii. 28 & det yevér Oar.
HA (11G,,1V.0 8, XI 07, X Vis 5) Ex. iii. 14 6 ov.
< »
O WV.
i. 5 (ii. 13, ili. 14) 6 paprus 6 Ps. Ixxxviil. (ocd seme
4 / > > ~ ,
TLOTOS, BPapTus €V ovpavw TLOTOS.
1. 5° 6 mpwrdtoKos THY veKpav Ps, Ixxxviii, (Ixxxix.) 28 Kayo
Wat + A“ , ~ ~ , 4 3 / c ‘
Kal 6 apxwy Tov Bacirێwv THS ys. TmpwTdToKov OncomaL adrov, tYnov
Tapa Tots Baciiedow THS yHs. (o
dvwrtatov Tov Baoiéwv THs 7S.)
1 See Introduction to the O. I. in tion, o =Symmachus, of = oi Xovzol.
Greek, p. 381 ff. Where the version is not specified it is
9
29 = Lxx., a = Aquila, 6’ = Theodo- _ that of the uxx.
USE OF THE O.T. AND
1. 5° Avoavte nas ek THY apap-
TLOV NOV.
i. 6 (v. 10, xx. 6) éroinoev
cea / ec lal ol a
nas Bacirelav, iepets TO Ged.
i. 7* €pxera peta Twv vehedov.
. »” ‘ ae ‘
i. 7° oerar airov mas 6pbadpos
/ \
kal oiTiwes avrov efexevTyoay, Kal
/ 33 SEaN a € \
KOWovTat er avTov Taga ai pudat
THS YS.
i. 8 6 wavrokpatwp.
i. 13 (Xiv. 14) Gpovoy vidv
avOpwrov.
i. 13> evdedvpevov zodnpy Kal
Teprelwopevoy POS ToOIs [acTots
lwviv xpucar.
i c / \ c »
1. 14 at Tpiyes AevKai ws Eptov
Nevkdv, Ws yiwv}, Kal of 6pOadpot
abrod ws PrOE rupds (cf. ii. 18,
xix. 12).
(xiv. 2, xix. 6) 4 pwr)
aired ws dwv7 toatwv 7ohAdv.
i. 16" (iil. 12) €k Tod ordpartos
adTod popdata dictomos déeia.
i. 16° (cf. x. 1) ws 6 yALos
daive ev tH Suvaper airor.
i. 17° €reca mpds Tois ddas
avrov, Kai €OnKev...\eywv My
eee
i 17” (ii, 8, Xxli. 13) ey eine
6 TpoTos Kal 6 ET XaTOS.
OTHER LITERATURE exli
Isa, xl. 2A€Avtacadrijs 7 apapria.
Ex. xix. 6 tpeis dé éveobe
por Bacireov teparevpa (N32
bran), Cf. Isa. lxi. 6 tmets de
tepets Kupiov kAnOnoecbe.
Dan. vil. 13 emt (0 pera) tov
veeAov.. -NPXETO (9 épxopevos).
Zech. xii. 10 ff. eriBAeWovrar
mpos pe avO” adv KatwpxnoavTo
(O eis dv eLexevrnoay), Kat KoovTat
er avrov...kal Koera 7 yh Kara
dvAdas pvAds...7aoat ai drodeAup-
pevar pvdal.
Am. iv. 13 6 mavToxparwp
Dan. vii. 13 ws vids dvOpusrov.
Ci. Dan. x. 16 & as dpotwors
viod avOpurov. Hz, i. 26 opotwua
ws eldos avOpuirou: Vili. 2 opolwya
avdpos.
Ez. ix. 11 6 évdedukws Tov 7odnpyn
kal eCwopevos TH Cavn tTHv dadov
avrov. Cf. Dan. x. 5 éevdedupeévos
Bicowa Kat thy dodiv repte-
loopévos Buorcive.
Dan. vil. 9g TO Tplxwpa Tis
Kehadjs abrod woe €piov Aeuxdy
Kaapov (OF n Opté r K. a woet
EpLov eipootas x. 6 ot 6fOadpoi
avrod woe Naumades Tupds.
Ez. i. 24 ws wiv wvdaros
mwoX\Xod: xiii. 2 ws Pwvy durda-
cialovrwy (0 "EBp. Kat 6 Xwvpos,
tdatwv = M.T. O%) wodAdv. Cf.
Dan. x. 6 dwvy AaAt&s atrod wel
povn OopiBov (G dxXov).
Isa. xlix. 2 €@nxev TO oropa
Lov Ws paxaipay ofetav.
Jud. v. 31 (B) ws éodos nAvov
ev duvajee avirov.
Dan. x. 9, 12 7enV TeTTWKOS...
Kat idov Xetpa tpornyayé pot...Kal
elev mpos he M2) Hofod.
Isa. xliv. 6 éyw mpdros xat eyo
pera. TavTa (ME) : xlviii. 12 eyo
ely mpOTos Kal €yw ei eis TOV
aidva (])O8; ot Aourol, éoyaros).
1 Both uxx. and Th. have dcet yidva
clothing.
(xuv) just before, in reference to the
exlil
USEC OF THE OT, AND
1, 18 (vi. 8, xx. 13 f.) rod Oava-
nw o
Tov Kal TOU aoov.
i. 19 & padre yiverOar pera
TOUTA.
i, 20 TO puorrypLov.
oy) (xxii. 2, 14, Ig) €k Tov
EvAov Tis Cuffs, 6 é€oTw év TO
Tapadeiow TOV Hod.
ll. 10 €ynte OAtduw ypepadv d€ka.
ii. 14 ed(dackev...payety €idw-
Aobvta Kat ropvetoar (cf. ii. 20),
20 , Ae
il. 177 dvow atTo Tod pavva.
Aye ac 72 (ill. 12) OVOLA KALVOV.
ii. 20 tiv yuvaixa ‘Tela Bed.
li. 23° eyo elye 6
‘\ ‘\ ,
vedpovs Kal Kapdlas.
Epavvav
ii, 23> (xxii. 12) ducw tyty
EKAOTW KATO TA Epya UUOv.
ii. 26 (xii. 5, xix. 15) ducw
aito éfovoiav emt tov eOvar,
Kal Towavel avtovs ev paBdw
oLOnpa, WS TA TKEVN TA KEpapLKa
ovvtpiBerau.
iil. 5 (xii. 8, xvil. 8 cx: 12,
15, xox 27) ov pa) eraNealin TO
ovop.a avtod ex THs BiBAov Tis
Lwns.
ese (art) ‘\ ~ /
lil. 7 6 éxwv Tv KAciv Aaveid,
e > , \ 3 ‘\ , \
0 avolywy Kai ovdels KAEioel, Kal
, ‘\ > \ 5 /
kA€let Kal OvdElS aVOLEEL.
site ¢ ,
ll. g* nfovow Kal tpooKvvy-
, ~ al
COVTW EVWTLOV TOV TOOOV GOV.
OTHER LITERATURE
Hos. xiii. 14 ék yepds adov
pioopat Kal éx Oavarov Avtpurropat
avtovs: 70d 7 OiKn Gov, Oavare ;
Tov TO KeVTpOV Gov, adn;
Isa. xlviii. 6 & pede yiver Bar.
Dan. ii. 29 dvaxaAtrrwr pvo-
Typia eoyAwo€ wor a det yever Gat.
Gen. ii. 9 76 EvAov THS Cwys
év péeow TO Tapadeiow (cf. iil. 22 f.,
IDA OOO 5)
Dan. i, (2)
avTovs NMEpas OEKa.
Num. xxv. 1 f. éBeBydrAwy o
Aaos exropvedoa...Kal Epayev oO
ads tTdv Gvowwy aitav; cf. xxxi.
16 Tots viots “IopanX.
Ps. Ixxvil. (Ixxvili.) 24 €Bpegev
avrois pavva aye, Kal aptov
ovpavod édwkev avrTots.
Isa. Ixii. 2 76 ovopa 7d Kaivov
(ef. laevis)
3 Regn. xx. (xx1.) 25 “IelaPed
7 yvvy avrov.
Jer. xvil. 10 éy® Kvupuos éracwv
Kapdtas Kat doKipmacwy veppovs (cf.
Xi. 20, xx. 12; Ps. vais mogeuas
Gaxvis)2):
Ps. ia: _(Ixii.) 13 aTroowa els
EKAOTW KATA TA Epya QUTOV.
Ps. ii. 8 £. ddcw cor eOvm, TY
KAnpovop.iay wou Tolmavels avTods
év paBdwo odynpa, ws TKEvOS KEpa-
péws ovvtpivers avrovs.
,
er eipac ev
Ex. xxxii. 32 f. efddeufpov pe
ek tis BiBAov cov as eypawas:
Isa. iv. 3 of ypaghevtes eis Cwnv
(cf. Ps. cxxxvill. (Cxsexiae) anos
Mal. iii. 16, Dan. xii. 1).
Isa. xxii. 22 (B) d0c0w rv
ddgav ee a khetda) Aaveid avTo,
Kal apéeu Kal ovk coro 0 avTiéywv
(a’ O dvotEe Kat ovK €. 0 > darox)etwv),
\ ‘\ >
Kat KAeioeL Kal OvK €oTal O
dvolywv.
Isa. xlv. 14 diaByoovrar pos
\ \ la /
ct Kal tpookxuvvycovol co (cf.
> dubemy sey Ibe ii)
SOO PR FP COSTS
USE OF THE 0.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE exlili
wee b > ee] 4, 4
lll. Qo €yw nyaTnOa OE.
iii, 12% 7d dvoua THs TOAEWs.
iii. 14° 9 dpyy THs KTicews TOD
Geod.
iii, 1 17 A€yers Ore TAovords cic
kal werovryKa.
li. 19 éy® doous éav giro
eeyxw Kal radevw.
iii. 20 i80d €oryka emt rH Ovpav
‘\ , 2:2 > 4 X
Kal Kpovw* éay Tis...avol& TV
Ovpav...
i} c X c /
lV. I 7 wv7...ws oadavyyos.
iv. 2 iSod Opovos Exetto ev
ol > eh
T@ ovpavg Kal é€7t tov Opovov
KaOnevos.
iv. 3 ipis kuxAdbev Tod Opdvov.
tne(er, vill. 5, xi, 15, 19,
xvi. 18) é&« tod Opovov éxopei-
ovTat aotparal Kat dwval kal
Bpovrai.
iv. 6* (ef. xv. 2) @dAaooa...dp0/0
,
KpvoTa\Aw.
iv. 6° é&v péow...réecoepa Lda
, > a ™” \
enovta opbadpadv eurpoobev Kai
omuobev (cf. 8).
iv. 7 Spovov Aéovte.. -HOTXY..
mpoowrov ws dvOpurov...oj,0107
deT@.
iv. 88 &v xa” &v aitav exwv ava.
mrépvyas €é.
iv. 8> Néyovtes “Aytos aytos
dywos Kiuptos 6 beds 6 wavroKxpatwp.
iv. 10 76 Gdvte eis Tots aidvas
Seay
TOV alwvwr.
Vv. I émt my deétav...BiBALov
yeypappevov erwbev Kat orev,
Kater payor evor.
V. 5 (xxii. 16) 0 A€wy 6 ek Tijs
gurjijs ‘lovda, 9 pila Aaveid.
Isa, xliii. 4 €yw oe ayamnga.
Ez xlviii. 35 7O dvopa Tis
ToAEws.
Prov. viii. 22 Kupuos éxrurév
He apxynv dddv avrod eis Ta épya
avrov.
Hos, xii. 8 elrev "Edpaip. TIAnv
met AovTHKa. (cf. Zech. xii. 5).
Prov. iii, 12 Ov yap ayana
Kvpwos edXeyxee (8A, rasdever),
pagreyot (oi Nourol, e€yxe) d€
TavTa viov Ov TapadexeTat.
Cant. v. 2 Kpover ert Tyv Ovpav
»” ,
Avo.gov pot.
Ex. xix. 16 dwv7 THs cadteyyos.
3 Regn. xxii. 19 eldov Geov
"Iopanr Kalnpevov eri Opovov avrod
(cf. Isa. vi. 1, Ps. xlvi. (xlvii.) 9).
Ez, i. 28 Ws opacis TOéoU...
ovTws...KuKAober.
Ex. xix, 16 eyivovro pwvat Kal
aotparat. Ez. i. 13 é« Tov mupos
eLerropeveto aotpary.
Ez. i, 22 opolwpa...woe ore-
pewua, ws opacrs KpuoTaddou.
Ez. i. 5 €v 73 pecw ws opolwpa
Tecoapwv Lowy, wb. 18 of varot
avtov tAnpes 6bGarpav Kukd\obev
Tols Téecoapo.
Ez. i. 10 tpoowrov avOpurov...
N€ovTos...ooxov...aetou (ch x.
14, a’),
Isa. vi. 2 €& TTEpuyes TO Evi Kal
ef rrepvyes TO Evi.
ib. 3 €Xeyov “Ayios aywos aytos
Kiptos caBaw0.
Dan. iv. 31 (34) 6 76 Cavre eis
Tov aiwva (cf. vi, 26 (27), xii. 7).
Ez. ii. g f. xelp. Kal év atry
kepaXis BiBriov.. eV avr7 EVP ap
peva Hv Ta eum poo bev Kai Ta oriow.
Isa, xxix. Ir @s of Adyou Tod
BiBXéov TOD eappayiopevov.. ov bv-
vamat avayvavat, eoppayiorat yap.
Gen. xlix. Q oKvjpvos Aéovtos,
*Tovda...0s A€wy. Isa. xi. I, To
efeAcvoerat paBdos éx 77s pas
‘leovat...€otar év TH nepa exeivy
exliv
USE OF THE 0O.T. AND
v. 6* (12, xiii. 8) apviov...ws
copay Levor.
v. 6° 6@Gadrpors énta...eis
TaTav THV YhV.
é Aa ue ;
v. 8 (villi, 3°) Ovptaparwv
o /
at eigw at mpocevxat,
. » AN /,
V. 9 (Xiv.3) adovow wdny Kay.
, / A
Wen LOE pupiades pupiaowy KQL
xrrrades yiArddwr.
. oO , ,
2 ff. twos NevKds...uppos...
péAas eee xAwpos.
5 ~ > e /
8 droktetvar év poudaia...
2 ~ > , ¢ \ a
ev Auo...€v Oavatw...i7d Tov
4
Onpiwv.
vi. 10 €ws 7oTe...00 Kpivers Kal
€xdukels TO aipa nuov ék Tov
KaToukouvTwv ert tTHS yns; (cf.
San eyee)
. Ce srs ,
Vi. 12 0 7ALos éyéveto peas...
Nye r ¢ Sey, ec a
kat 7 ceAnvn OAN eyeveTo ws aia.
vi. 13 of aorépes...€recay eis
Q A c ~ , \
THY ynv, ws avKy BadAe Tors
dXvvOous avTis.
vi. 14 6 ovpavds...ws BiBdéov
€Avoo 0 Levov.
—~ a e r Cal lal ~
Vi. 15% ot Baowels THs yijs.
vi. 15°, 16 éxpuway éavtors eis
Ta o7na.a kal eis Tas TETPAS TOV
dpewv...a7d mpotwmrov Tod Kabn-
pevov...
OTHER LITERATURE
y pila tod “Teooa (cf. Jer. xxiii.
5, Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12).
Ex. xii. 5 f. azd tov apvav
AnpwerOe ...kat odakovaw ato
(cf. Ley. i. 10 f.). Isa. lili. 7 0s
mpoBarov ert opayny 7x9, kal
ws GLVOS. . . Jer. xl. 19 eyo dé ws
apviov (a @ ws ards) akaKov
A aa és ie
ayopevov ToD BiecGar (a o eis
opaynv).
Zech. iv. 10 éxra ovtor 6pbadpot
eiaw ot éemi3derovtes ert Tacav
TV HV.
Ps. exl. (cxli.) 2 9 mpooevyy
pov ws Ovpiapma.
ze : ie :
; Ps: exliti. (cxliv.) 9 wdnv Kawyy
aATopat ToL.
Dan. vii. 10 xiAvae xududdes...
Kal pupiar pupiddes.
Zech. 1. 8 immou auppot Kat
Wapol Kal mopkiAot Kat Aeukoi,
vi. 2 ff. trou wuppol...uéAaves...
Nevkoi...7oukihor Wapol.
Jer. xiv. 12 év payaipa Kat év
Aw@ Kat év Gavatw éyo ovvTeeow
atdrovs. Hz. xiv. 21 pospatav Kai
Aiwov Kat Onpia tovynpa kat Oavatov
(ck. Jer, xxi. 7, Ez) yoemenmnye
XXIX. 5, XXXili. 27, XXXIV.) 28).
Zech, i. 12 €ws tivos od py
éXenons; Deut. xxxii. 43° 76 altua
TOV viMv avTod éxduxata. Hos.
Iv, Kplous Te Kuptp mpos Tos
KATOLKODVTAS THY yinv.
Joel ii. 31 6 Atos Herartpady-
cera eis TKOTOS Kal 4 oeAnVY Eis
atwa.
Isa, xxxiv. 4 tavra Ta aorpa
TETETAL...ws mimtTe. PvdAAa ad
TUKNS.
Isa. Xxxiv. 4 €Atyjoerar ws
BuBXiov 6 ovpaves.
Ps. li. 2 of Baotdreis tis yas
(xlvii. (xlviii.) 5, A’: Esacoxxiv.
21, XXXIVeqme)
Isa. ii. 10, 19 eioeAOere eis Tas
méTpas Kat kpvmreaGe...amd mpoo-
wTov TOU po Bou Kup‘ov.. .cirevey-
Kavres eis TA OTHAQLA (cf. Jer. iv.
29).
USE OF THE 0. T. AND
vi. 17 7 Abev 9 y 7p<pa 0 peyady
THs dpyns avrav, Kat tis Sivaras
oradjvat;
vii. 1 (xx. 8) ert tas Téocapas
yovias THS is.
Wala v(x. 4, Xiv. I, Xxil. 4)
aypt oppayiowmev...€rl TOV MeTW-
Tw.
vii. 14° THs OAtpews THS peya-
Ans.
vii. 14> (xxii. 14) érAvvay Tas
orodds avtav...€v TO aipate Tov
apviov.
vii. 16 f. ov wewacovow Ere ovde
Swycovew Eri, ovde py Téeon er”
avtovs & nALos ovde TAY Kadua...
Sdyyyoe adrovs ert Cons mryyas
tdatwv.
vii. 17> (xxi. 4) ée&adretper
beds wav Saxpvov éx Tov 6p4apav
QuTov.
Vili. 3° éora0y ext tod Ovaua-
ornpiov.
Vill. 5 eiAndev...rov AiBavwror,
kal éyeuurey avtov €k Tov mupos
Tod Ovovactypiov.
viii. 7 éyévero xaAala Kat rip
premeypmeva ev almare.
Viii.
peevov.
viii. 8° (xvi. 3) éyévero 76 tpirov
THs Gataoons alua.
88 »” 4 ‘ /
opos Hey Tupl Kalo-
viii. 10 (ix. 1) éwevev ex rod
ovpavod aaTnp peyas.
ix. 2 avéBy Karvos..
Kap.ivov.
c
-WS KamTrvos
OTHER LITERATURE exlv
Joel ii. 11 peydhy pepe TOU
Kupiov...kal Tis €orar ixavos avry 5
Zeph. i. TA.f,028 eyes 7p-€pa
Kupiov 7 eas 7)pepa Opyns 7
pépa exeivy... ev MEPL opy7s
Kupiov. Nah. i 6 tis avTioTn-
cera; (cf. Ps, eae (Ixxvi.) 8,
Mal. iii. 2).
Ez. vii 2 émt
TrEepvyas THS ys.
Ez. ix. 4 60s onpetov emi ta
perwra.
Tas TéeToapas
Dan. xii. I exelvyn 4 qyepa
Oripews ofa odk eyevn Oy.
Gen. xlix. 11 wAvvel..
Av avrod...ev aipare.
‘
-THV OTO-
Isa. xlix. 10 od wewdoovow
ovde Oufacovow, ovd€ watage av-
Tovs Kavowy ovde 6 HALos...d1a
mnyav bddTwv ager adrovs (cf. Jer.
i. 28).
Isa. xxv. 8 ddeitey (0 é£a-
Neiver) Kipuos 6 Geos wav daxpvov
G70 TavTOs Tpoowrov.
Am. ix. I épecr@ta emt tod
Ovovacrnpiov.
Lev. xvi. 12 Anpwerac 1d wv-
peiov tAnpes avOpaKwy mupds amd
Tov Ova.acrnpiov.
Ex. ix. 24 Hv d& 9 xaAala Kal
TO 7Up proyifov €v a] aia
Ez. XXXViil. 22 Kpw@ avror.
aipare. kal Aious xahacys, kat
Tup.. -Ppsw éx avrov. Joel ii.
30 eri THS ys alua Kal Tip.
Jer. xxviii. (Ji. ) 25 ws dpos
EMTTETUPLO LEVOV.
Ex. vii. 19 f. éyévero alua...
pereBarev wav TO Vdwp TO ev TO
~ > e
TWOTAPLW €isS ata.
Isa. xiv.
otpavov 6 Ewoopos.
Gen. xix. 28 dveBawver prot
(iET., "b’ 2) THS YRS woe arpis
> a
se/
I2 ef€7Tevev EK TOV
CBR) Kapivou. Ex. xix. 18
aveBawev 6 KaTvos ws Karvos
KQ{ALVOU.
k
exlvi
. An A
ix. 3 f. e&7AOov axpides cis THY
WV KTA.
. , ‘\ 4,
ix. 6 Cyt ovew TOV Gavarov
Kai ov ma] etpyrovow avrov.
x. 7 To opowwpara., . O/L0L0 i7-
TOUS.
. a“ ce
ix. 8 of dddvrTes aitadv ws Nedv-
TOV NOV.
° c \ A , c
1X. 9 7 hwvyn TOV TTEPYYV...WS
pwvn appatov irrwv...eis TOAELOV.
7 ChE AN nr ~ a ,
Ix. 14 €TLT@ TOTAL TY peyadrw
Etdpary (cf. xvi. 12).
ix. 207 TOV Epywv THOV xXELpOV
avTov.
3 b? \ ,
1X. 20° tva py TpooKvvyToVoW
X
TO Satpovia.
O CG NN X 10 > XQ A
1X. 20” Kal TA ELOWAQ TA Xpvca
Q X\ > nw .s \ nw oY XN
Kal TA apyupa Kal TA XaAKG Kal TO
/, ‘\ \ vA
Awa Kat ta Evriva.
nd a +” , ,
ix. 207 & ovre Brérew dvvavtac
] al
OUTE AKOVELY OUTE TEpLTaTELY.
1x. 21 Tdv dappaKiov... TAS
Topvelas.
X. 3 worep Newy pvKarat.
XK. 4 (xxii. 10) odpdywov &
éAaXdnoav....
Xie 5 nes Tpev TV XéEtpo. avrov THV
defidv eis TOV ovpavov, Kal poorer
éev TH Covte eis Tos aidvas THv
+7 aA »” \ ) \ A
aiwvev, Os EKTLOEV TOV OUpAaVoY Kal
Ta ev atT@ KTr.
Ome e > , Acie a
X. 7 ws ednyyeAiwev TOUS EavTOD
dovAovs Tovs Tpopyras.
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
Ex. x. 12 ff. dvaByrw axpis éxt
THY ynv KTA,
Job ili. 21 opetpovrat tod Oavd-
TOV Kal OV TYyYaVvoUCLY.
Joel ii. 4 ws Gpacis trrov 7
Opacis avTav.
Joel i. 6 of dd6vres airod dddvres
déovtos.
Joel il. 5 bs wv) dpparerv...
eis 7ONEmLOv.
Gen. xv. 18 é€ws Tod TOTAaMod
TOU peyahou Eidparov (Deut. i. 7,
Jos. 1. 4).
Isa. xvii. 8 rots épyous Tév
aa
XELPOV AUTOV.
Deut. xxxil. 17 €6vcav da-
proviots Kat od Ged.
Dan. v. 23 Yvecate Tavta Ta
cldwra (7 rovs Geods TOUS Xpveovs
Kal dpyvpods Kal oLOnpors Kat EvAL-
vous Kat ABivovs) 5 Cio. ier
Ps. cxiii. 13 ff. xv ipioyeeron
ANadovow...odK« oovrat...odK akov-
TOVTAL...0U TepuTarHo ovo.
4 Regn. ‘ix 22Rtes Topvetat
*TelaGeane TO Pappaka avrAs.
Hos. xi. 10 ws Aewy epevdEerau.
Dan. viii. 26 meppaypevov (@
o ppayirov) TO Gpaya. Xil. 4
odpay.oat (0 odpayirov) 76 BiB-
Aiov.
Gen. xiv. 22 éxtevd tHv xeEipa
fLov mpos Tov Oeov Tov BYoTov ds
EKTLTEV TOV OvpavoY Kal THY yhv.
Dan. xii. 7 6 tWooey thy SeEvav
avTOv...€is TOV ovpavov Kal oporev
ev TO Cadvte (0 Tov Covra <is) TOV
aiava. Deut. XXxil. 40 dpa eis
\ 3
TOV Otpavoy THVv XElpa pov, Kat
Gpmovpar tTHv dekiav pov Kal €pa
Z@ éyo eis Tov aidva. Ex. xx. 11
TOV obpavoy Kal THY yV Kat TavTa
Ta €V AUTOLS (cf. Ps. exlv. (exlvi.)
6, 2 Esdr. xix. 6).
Am. Iii. cov pn arroxadiyyn
Traoetav (7D, O rH Bovhny aro)
mpos Ttovs dovAovs avtod Tors
mpopytas (cf. Dan. ix. 6, Io,
Zech. i. 6).
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
x. 10 €XaBov 75 BiSdapidrov...
\ / > , ve 4 > -
Kal KaTépayov avTo, Kal nV ev TO
oTopmati prov ws meAt yAvkv.
xX. II de oe waAw TpodPyredoat
emt Aaois Kal Overw kai yAwooats
kai Baciredow rodAois.
xi. I KdAapos opotos pafdw...
pétpynoov Tov vaov (cf. xxi. 15 ff).
. cal ‘\ ‘\
xi. 2 €006y tots €Oveow Kat THY
TOAW THY aylav TaTHOOVTW.
xi. 4 at dvo éAata kal ai dvo
Auxviae at évusrioy Tov Kuplov THS
yas éorares.
xi, 5 mip éxropeverat ék Tob
oropartos avTay, Kal katecOier Tovs
€xOpovs airar.
xi. 7 TO Onptov 76 avaBaivov €x
THs aBvooov (xvii. 8, cf, xiii. 1)
TOUTE PET avTaV TOELOV.
xi. 8 xaXetrar rvevpatixds Xo-
dopa.
J > / ‘ “~
xi. I0 evdpaivovta, Kat ddpa
awepovow adrA7jAots.
Xi, 11" mvetpa Cwys ex Tov
aA > aA > > n ‘\ »
Geod cionOev ev aitols Kal Eorn-
gay eri Tovs TOdas aiTav.
xi, 11 doBos péeyas erérecev
> ,
emi...
xi. 12 f. aveBnoav eis Tov ovpa-
vov ev TH veded7...Kkal...eyeveTo
‘\ ,
TET MOS peyas.
Xi. 13 TO Ge@ Tod ovpavor.
xi. 15 eyevero 7) BaciXeia... rod
Kuplov 7LOVv Kal TOD XpLoTOD avrod,
cat Baoiret’oet €is Tovs aidvas TaV
aiwvwr.
xi. 17 f. €BaoiNevoas: Kat Ta
eOvy wpylcOnoar,
exlvil
Ez. iii, 1, 3 elvev mpos pe...
Katapaye THv Kepadida tavrynv...
kal épayov airyv, Kal éyévero ev
TO oTOpaTL Lov ws EAL yAvKalov.
Jer. i. 10 kaféortaka oe o7np-epov
ert €Ovn kcal Baorelas (cf. Dan.
iii. 4, vii. 14).
Ez. xl. 3f. Kaapos pL€rpov.
Zech. i. :x'(5) 22 oxowtov Yeoperpl-
kov. vapeTpyrar THY "Tepovranp..
Zech, xii. 3 Onoopat TV "Tepov-
oahip. AiMov katatatoupevny Tacw
tots €Overw.
Zech. Iv. off, 14 Auxvia Xpro7. a
kat dvo éXatat...ai dvo éAatat...
TapecTHKacW KUpiv TAONS THS YNS-
2 Regn. xxil. g zip é€k Tov
oTopatos avrov katéderar. 4 Regn.
i, 10 KaréByn Tip...kal Katépayev
-_,
auTov.
Dan. vii. 3, réroapa Onpia ave-
Bawov éx tHs Oadacons. tb. 21
TONEMOV TVVLOTaMEVOY pos TOUS
dytous (0° eéroiee mod, peta TOV
ayiwv).
Isa. 1. 10 apxovtes Yodopwv.
Psy civ! (eye)eaa edppavOy At
yurros. 2 Esdr. xvill. 12 dzo-
ore\Xew pepioas Kai Toupoat edpo-
ony.
Ez, xxxvil, 5, 10 ¢épw eis
twas tredtua Lwns...kal eionAOev
eis avtovs TO Tvedpa Kal elnoav,
kal €oTnoav etl TOV TOdwY atTor.
Ps. l.c. éréreorev 5 hoBos abrav
ex’ aitovs.
4 Regn. ii, 11 dvedjppOy
"HAeod ev cvveeioud ws eis Tov
ovpavov.
Dan. ii. 44 6 Geds Tod ovpavod.
Ps, il. 2 Tov Kupiov Kal...TOU
xpirtod avrod (cf. 1 Regn. xii.
3), 1X. 37 (xX. 16) Baoretoe
Kupwos eis Tov aidva «rd. (cf. Ex.
xv. 18).
Ps. xevili. (xcix.) 1 Kvpios
eBacece dpyilérOwoay aol
(of 1 5 atE2):
ke2
exlviil
USE OF THE O.T. AND
xi. 18 Tots poBoupevors TO ovop.d
Gov, TOUS piKpovs Kal TovS peya-
Aovs.
xii, 2, 5 woivovoa...TEKElVv...
» evs uv
ETEKEV VLOV, apoeV.
Xil. 3 €ywv...kepata déka.
xii. 76 MiyayA... rod moAepjoau.
xii. 8 (xx. 11) odd€ Tézos etpeOy
avrov.
xlil, g* 6 ddis 6 dpyxaios...6
waver.
Xli. g? (xx. 12) 6 KaAovpevos
AvafoXos Kai 6 caravas.
xii. 12 edhpaivecOe, ovpavoi.
xii, 14 Katpdv Kal Katpovs Kal
HPLLTV KaLpod.
eee \ a os Lf
xili, 2 76 Oypiov...nv opovov
7 e »” ¢ ,
Tapoare...Ws APKOV...WS..A€OVTOS.
xiii, 4 Tis Gpowos TO Onpiw;
xiii. 5 oropa Aadody peydAa.
eee ~ /
Xlll. 7 mowjoar woAeuov peta
TOV Gylwy, Kal ViKAoaL avTovs.
Xlll. 10 el Tis eis aixyuadwolar,
eis aixpadwotav imaye KTA.
eee ° ov SN N
XI. 15 lva ool €av fy TpPOTKv-
vyowow TH eikove TOD Oypiov aro-
KravOdow.
. ’ A , 2A >
XIV. 5 &v TO oTOpart avTady odx
evpeOy Wevdos.
XIV. 7 T@ Tommoavte TOV ovpavov
Kat THY ynv Kal THY Oddaccar.
xiv. 8 éxecev erecev BaBviov
n peyaAn (XVi. 19, XVii. 5, XViil. 2,
MO;) 211):
. ~ ” aA
X1V. 10% qierat €x TOD OLVOU TOD
OTHER LITERATURE
Ps. cxiii. 21 (exv. 13)\ ous
poBouvpevovs TOY KUpLov, TOUS pLL-
Kpous peta TOV peyahuwv.
Isa. lxvi. 6 f. rpiv rH wdivovcay
TEKELV...ETEKEV APCD.
Dan. vii. 7 lye 8& képara déxa
(f x. 6. aire).
Dan, x. 13 Meya7d...erqdOe
BonOjoai po (ib. 20 6 Tod Tode-
pijoa).
Dan. li. 35 @ Kat Toros ovx
etpéOy atvrots.
Gen, iii. 13 6 dus yratnoey pe.
Job i. 6 (Zech. iii. 1) 6 duaBoros
(RYT, a’ Sarav) O 6 avtixeipevos.
Isa. xliv. 23 edppavOyre (xlix.
13 cippaivecte), ovpavoi.
Dan. vii. 2 5. Ews Kalpod Kal
Kaip@v Kal €ws nploous Kapow (a
Kal ye Toor Kalpov), Xi. i eis
Kaipovy Kal Kalpovs Kal HuLov
KaLpov.
Dan. vii. 6 O@npiov...wce rapda-
Aw. 16 apkov, 4 woei Aéawwa.
Ex. xv. 11 Tis dows co; (Ps.
XXXiv. (xxxv.) 10, lxx. (Ixxi.) 19),
ef. Isa. xive ae
Dan. Vil.
peyada.
Dan. vii. 21 & érolet moXEmov
peta TOV ayiwy, Kal icxdoer Tpds
See
avTovs.
Jer. xv. 2 dco eis paxaipay,
eis payaipav...kat door eis alxpa-
Awoiay, eis aixuwadwoiav.
Dan. ii. 6 7a@s 6s av py Tecov
mpooxvvyoy [77 eikove] KA.
20 oropa Aadodv
Isa. liii. ovde dodov év TO
oropate avtod (Zeph. ill. 13).
Hx. oe eroinoev...Tov
otpavov Kat THY yhv [+Kal THY
Odacoav B*> AF].
Isa. XX1. Q rétTwKey TérTwKeV
BaBvrAwy. Jer. xxviii. (li.) 8 adv
grec B. Dan. iye270 Ban
preyady:
Isa. li. 17 7) muotoa ex yeupos
>
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE — cxlix
Ovpod tod Geod Tod Kexeparpeévov
>
dxparov.
Xiv. 10° év wupi Kai Getw.
XIV. II 0xa7vos TOU Bacavicpovd
a’tav eis aidvas aidvwv avafsaiver
neepas Kal vUKTOS (Cp, XIX. 3, XX.
10).
. /
xiv. 15, 18 weuilov TO dpéravov
‘\ , ov > c ov
gov Kat Oepirov, ote HAPEV 7 wpa
Gepioa...Kal tpvynoov KTA.
~ » 3 ‘\ .
xiv. 19 f. €Badev eis tHv Anvov
Tod Puyod Tod Geov Tov péyav. Kat
ératnOy 7 Anvos.
XV. I mAnyas érra.
XV. 3*adover THY Woy Movoéws
Tov dovAov Tod Geor.
xv. 3° peyada kal Gavpaora ra
épya cov, Kupre.
xv. 3° Sikavar kal adrAnOwal ai
dol wov.
-4 0 Bacels tov eOvav-
ris ob py PoByOy...Kal dofaoer 7d
dvou“d ov;
vy. 8* éyeuioOn 6 vads Karvod
ex THs Sogys Tod Geov.
xv. 8 ovdeis edUvaro ciety
eis TOV Vaov.
XVi. I éxyéere Tas Extd diadas
Tov Gvpod Tod Heod cis Thy yh.
XVi. 2 éyévero EAKos Kaxdv Kal
Trovnpov.
XVl. 3 maca Wyn Lwijs aze-
Oavev, Ta ev TH Gadracon.
Xvi. 4 ef€yeev...€is TOs ToTa-
povs...Kal éyéveto atua.
Xvi. 5 dtkauos €f...6 Ootos.
Kupiov 76 rornpiov Tod Oupot airod
(cf. Ps. Ixxiv. (Ixxv.) 8 aorypiov
év xetpt Kupiov oivov dxparouv
mAHpEs Kepaoparos).
Gen. xix. 24 Getov Kat wdp (Ez.
XXXVill. 22).
ib. 28 aveBawev pr0€ ris y7s.
Isa. XXXIV. 10 vuKTOs Kal nepas,
kal ov oBeoOnoeta eis TOV aidva
xpovov, Kal advaBnoerar 6 Kamvos
avras ave.
Joel iii. (iv.) 13 efaroorethare
dpérava, ort TapEeorrnKev Tpvynros...
dud7e tAHpS 6 Anvos.
Isa. lxiii. 6 xaterarnoa airovs
TH Opyy pov. Thren. i. 15 Anvov
eratnoev Kupwos.
Lev. xxvi, 21 rAnyas érrd.
Ex. xv. 1 tore Hoev Movojs...
THY wdnv Taitnv. Deut. xxxi. 30
eladnoey Mwvogs...7a pyyara TAs
w@ons tavryns. Jos. xiv. 7 M. 6
mats Tov Geod.
Ps. ex. (cxi.) 2 peydda Ta épya
Kupiov. ¢xxxviil. (cxxxix.) 14
Gavudow Ta épya cov.
Deut. xxxii. 4 Geos, dAnOwa ra
€py@ avrov, kal macat al ddot avTod
Kpioes.
Jer. x. 7 (M.T.) & ris od py
poBnOnoetar, Baoired tav Ov OV ;
Pas bemer. _ (xexxvi.) g kat dofa-
gcovew TO ov opal cov.
Isa. vi. 4 6 olkos éverAnoOn
karvov. Ex. xl. 28 (3 4) d0&ys
Kupiov év exdnoy n OKNVY.
Ex. xl. 29 ovK ydvvacOn Mooys
eioe Oey eis THY OKNVHY.
Ps, Ixviii. (Ixix.) 25 €xyeov éx”
avrovs tiv épynv cov (Jer. xX. 25,
Zeph. iii. 8).
Bx. ix. 10 éyévero e\xy. Deut.
XXVlli. 35 év Axel TOVNPG.
Ex. vii. 21 of iyOves of ev 7a
TOTAL® eTEeEUTHTAV,
Ps. Ixxvii. (Ixxviii.) 44 pere-
otpever cis alua Tovs roTapovs ai-
tov (cf, Ex. vii. 20).
Ps. exliv. (exlv.) 17 dixacos
Krpios...xal dovos.
cl
USE OF THE O.T. AND
XVi. 6 aia aitots dedwxas 7retv.
XVi. 7 O(Kavat at Kpio-eus awouv.
= ° , c /
XVl. 10 éyévero 9 Pacrdrcia
avTOU eoKOTWMEVN.
= 2 , ASE: > a
Xvi. 12 €&npavOy 76 Vdwp avrod.
XVi. 13 os Barpaxo..
XV1. 16 eis TOY TOTOV TOV KaXov-
Pevov “Epaiort” Ap Mayedwv.
Xvi. 18 olos ovK eyevero ag’ ov
avOpwros eyéveto emi THS yNs.
oe aw , Sane. ,
XVil. I THs KaOnpEvNs Em DdaTw
ToAAOv.
Xvli. 2 pel Hs exopvevoay ot
Baoireis THs ys, Kal euefvacbnoay
...€K TOU OLVOY THS TopVElas AUTHS.
XVll. 14 (xix. 16) KUpios Kupiwv
eotw Kal Bacireds Bacirewv.
XVlil. 2 KaToukynTypLov daipovioy
KTA.
Xviil. 4 é&€\Oate, 0 ads pov,
e€ avtis.
Be Ay AT ne N
XVill, 6 drodoTte a’Ty ws Kat
QUT amrédwkev.
XVill. 7 év TH Kapdia avTis Neyer
KaGypac Bacirwooa, kat x7pa ovK
cipt.
XVill. 8 icxvpds Kipuos 6 Geos 6
Kpivas avrnv.
XVill. 9—109.
XVill. 21 AiOov...éBadrev...A€ywv
OTHER LITERATURE
Ps. Ixxviii. (lxxix.) 3 ef€xeay
TO aipa aiTav ws Vdwp.
Isa. xlix. 26 qiovrac...7d aipa
avTov.
Ps. exviii. (cxix.) 137 dikatos
el, Kipie: kat evOys 1 Kpiows cov.
Ex. x. 21 yevnOytw oKoros él
ynv Aiyirrov.
Isa. xliv. 27 Tos totapovs cou
émpavo, Jer. xxvii. (l.) 38 (Heb.
Hex.).
Ex, vill. 3 (vil. 28) eéepevéerar
© ToTap.0S Cape os
Zech. xii. 11 év rediw éxKxorTo-
pevov (v.1. Mayed8sv).
an. Xil. I ola ovK every ad’
ov eyernnoay (7 yeyernrae €Ovos
ev TH yn (v.l. éxi THs yys)).
Jer. xxviii. (li.) 13 Katacky-
vovvtas (-votlca Q) ép tdacr
ToAAots: :
Isa. xxiii. 17 €orat éumdpiov
(ANI) wacais tals Bacwrelas THs
oixovumevns. Jer, XXvill. (li.) 7
peOtoKov Tacav THY viv.
Deut. x. 17 eds tav Bedy Kai
KUplos Tov Kupiwy. Dan. i. 47
Geds taév Gedy Kat Kuipios Tov
Baciiéwv (cE iv. 34).
Isa. xiii. 21 f. dvaravcovrat
exel oeELpyveEs, Kal Satpovia eKeEl
opxnoovTat, Kal dvoKevTavpot ékel
Katounoovow (cf, XXXiv, I4).
Jer. ix. 11 Katouxnrypioy dpakov-
TOV.
Jer. xxviii. (li.) 45 & (2) e&€a-
Gere €x pecov aitys, ads pov.
Ps. exxxvi, (cxxxvil.) 8 paxd-
pios Os avTaTodwcel ToL TO avTa-
Todoua cov O ayramédwkas nuiy
(cf. Jer. xxvii. (1.) 29).
Isa, xlvii. 7 f. efras Eis rov
aiava eropat dpxove... a) Kabr-
pevn.. WA€youoa. € ev kapoia aiTys ...
ov Kaba x7p2.
Jer. xxvii. (I.) 34 isxupds, Kv-
plos...Kplowy Kpuvel.
Ez. XXvi. 5 XXVll. passim.
Jer. xxviii, (li.) 63 f. Adov...
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE cli
OUrws...BAnOyocerae Bafvrdwv...
Kal ov py evpeOy Ere.
xvill. 22 por)...
py axovaOy év cot Er.
XVill. 23% gdwvy pvdrov... pds
Avxvov...pwv7 vypdiov kaivyudys.
ovalKoy ov
XVill. 23” of Europol cov joa
ol peytotaves THS YS.
xix. 1 ff. dAAnAovia.
xix. 3 6 kamvos aityns avaBaive
eis TOUS aidvas.
xix. 6 f. ws qwviyv oyAov...
éBacirevoev Kuptos...ayahAdpev.
2 > \ > \ >
XIX. II eidov Tov otpavoy nrvEw-
yeevov, kai idov....
uf f ” 6, 4 A
X1X. 17 I. expagev...A’€ywv Tacw
Tots épveos...Acdre ovvdxOnre eis
70 deimvov TO péya Tod Geod tva
paynre oadpKas.
XiX. 2I wavrTa Ta Opvea €XOp-
tacOnoay ex TOV capkav aiTov.
xx. 4 eldov Opovous kai éxabiurav
>? > , \ , sa7 > A
€ QUTOUS, Kal Kpiua ed00n avrois.
xx. 8 tov Twy kat Maywy,
ovvayayeiv avtous.
XX. 9 érl 1d wAdTos THs yas.
b A ’ ,
Xx. 9? TV HyaTnpEryy.
XX. 9° KateBn tp Ex TOU otpavovd
kal kat épayev avrous.
XX. ts ov dard TOU TpoowmTov
epuyev 9 YH, Kal Toros ovy ebpeOn
avrots.
xx. 12 Bi Bria HvolyOnoav.
XX. 15 €i Tis Ovx edpebn év TH
BiBXw ris Lewis yeypappevos.
Xxi. I otpav dv Kawov Kat ynv
Kaun.
pives...kat épeis Ovtws Kxaradv-
cetat BaBvadv...Kai od py) dvacrn-
Ez. Xxvi. 13 TOV povoikdy cov
7 pwvy ov py akovoby Ere.
Jer. Xxv. 10 dwvyv vupdiov kat
povav viudys, oopyv pvpov (Heb.
pn? Sip, uxx., codd. Syro-hex.,
dwviv pvrov) Kat pds Avxvov.
Isa. xxiii. 8 of Euzropo. adrys
Evdofol, apxovtes THS 7s.
Ps. civ. (cv.), al., tit. dAAnAovid.
Isa. xxxiv. I0 €is TOV aidva. xpo-
vov..avafnoetat 6 KaTVOS AUTHS AV.
Dan. x. 6 0 ws dovy oxhov.
Ps. xevis. (xcyil-)) ee KUptos
€Baciicvoer, dyah\rdoerat 7 yi:
Ez. 1. 1 yvoixOnoav ot otpavot,
Kal €LOOV....
Ez. xxxix. 17 €imov mravtl épvew
..LuvayOnre...ert tHv Ovolav pov
..Ovolav peyadyv...cal payerGe
Kpéa.
ib. 20 éurdnoOnoecGe exit Tis
tparelns mov.
an. Vli. 9, 22 €Oewpovv ews
ote Opovor éreOnoav, Kai madatds
neepav exabynto...Kal tiv Kplow
(7 76 Kpipa) we tots ayiors.
Z. XXXVIii. 4 ert Toy kai
TV ynv ToD Mayuy...xkat ovvacw
oe.
Hab. i. 6 éxt ra wAdrn (A, 70
7Aaros) THs YIs.
Jer. xi. 15 9 nyarnpevy (cf. Ps.
Ixxxvi. (1xxxvii.) 1).
4 Regn. i. 10 xaréBy up eK
TOD OUpavod Kal KaTéhayev avror.
Ps, exiii. (cxiv.) 3, 7 4 GaAaooa
eldev kal Epvyev...d7d mporwrouv
Kupiov écareviéy 7 yj. Dan. ii.
35 0 Kal Toros ovx evpeOn avrois.
Dan. vii. 10 BiBdrou jvew-
xXonoav.
Dan. xii. 1 ds av etpebp eyye
ypappevos ev TO BiBriw (OH yeyp.
ev TH BiBAw) (cf. Ps. lxviil. (Lxix.)
29).
Tsa. lxv. 17 €orae yap 6 ovpavds
Kaos Kal DT yn Kaun (Ixvi. 22).
eli
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
. a \ / \ Lele
Xxl. 2% tTyv moAWw THY ayiav
*TepovoaAnp.
. b.¢ , ,
XX1. 2° ws voppyy KEKOO LY LEVV
TO avdpi aris.
Xxl. 3.9 OKNV TOU Geod pera.
\
tov avOpwrwr, Kal oKnVWGE MET
A“ > 4 > ~
aitav, Kal avtol Aaol avrTov
€oovTat.
. > \ ‘ “ ,
XX1. 5 idov Kawa TOL TaVTa.
. a ~ ,
xxl. 6 7 dwdvre ducw...d0-
peav.
= »” L) “~ , +S
XX1. 7 €TOMAaL AUTW Geos, Kat
aitos éoTat pow vids.
XXl. 1O amynveyxey pe ev Tvev-
NE» ¢ /
poate ert Opos...vynXov.
Xxl. II €yovoav tHv ddgav Tod
Geod.
so a” “~ > QA
xxi. 12 f. €yovoa tuAGvas...a70
°° A > \ ~ > \ /,
avato\ns...amro Boppa...amo voTouv
>; “~
1.470 Ove MOV.
Xxl. 16 Tetpaywvos Ketrat.
. cas , a Zs
xxi. 18 7 evdwpnots TOD TEelxous
abthns lacmis.
A c / 4 ,
XXi. 19 6 Oenedtos...6 devTepos
car detpos.
. ee € / >
XX1. 23 (xxll. 5) 9 moAts ov
xpelay éxer Tod yAlov ovde THs
oednvns KT.
xxi. 24 (26) repuratnoovew Ta
» XN lal \ > “ x .4
€Ovn S14 Tov dwrds avTAs, Kat ot
Baowreis tHS yns Pepovow THY
dogav avtav «is adtyv.
XX. 25 of rvAdves ats ov pi
a e , \ \ >
KretOdow nyépass vrs yap ovK
€oTal €KEl.
s > ‘ > 4 > oN
XX1. 27 ov py eloedOn els avTiv
Wav KOLVOV.
XX. I ToTapOV...€KTOpEVOMEVOV
€x Tov Opovov.
a8 's > A C\ my A
Xxll. 2 évrevOev Kal éxeier
4 “a cal A /
EvAov Cwys rowdy Kaprovs dudexa,
\ a o ‘\ \ ,
kara Ava exkagTov...kal TA PvrAAG
A , > , a > a
Tov évAov eis Gepareiay Tov eOvar.
iO A /, >
XXll. 3 may Karabena ovK EoTat
ert.
Isa. lii. 1 "Iepovaadnp, modus 7
ayia.
Isa. lxi. 10 ws wyudyny KateKo-
opnoey pe.
Ez. Xxxvii. 27 €orat 7) KatacK?-
vwois pov év avTois, Kal Eropau
avtots Oeds, Kal avtot pov EvovTat
Aads (cf. Zech. ii. 10 (14))-
Isa. xliii. 1 9 idod ey Told Kawe.
Isa. lv. 1 of Suparres, Topeverbe
ep vdup...avev a dpyupiou kal TYAS.
2 Regn. vil. 14 eyo Ecopa atte
cis TaTepa, Kal avTos EoTat ol Eis
viev (cf. Ps. Ixxxviil. (1xxxix.)
20 f.):
"i, xi : £. myayev bE ev dpacet
Ocod...€7 dpos vy ov.
Isa. lviii. 8 9 d0fa Tod Ged
mepioteAct oe (cf. lx. 1 f.).
Ez. xlviii. 31 ff avAat apos
Boppav...7a mpos dvarodas...7a
mpos votov...Ta mpos Oaraccayv.
Ez. xliii. 16 rerpaywvov ért Ta
/ / > lal
TETTOEPA LEpy avTOd.
Isa. liv. 12 Ojow tas érad€es
cov tacmi.
ab. 11 Eroupalw...Ta Deeded cov
cametpov.
Isa. lx. 19 ovK €orau cou ert 6
qrvos «is pas KTH.
Isa. lx. 3 ropevoovrat BaowXets
@ hwti cov Kal vn tH AapmporyTi
TO hwTl co 477 Aapmrporyri
cov (cf.-11>). - Ps, Exar (ie
10 Bacrcls...ddpa mpocoicovew.
Isa. lx. 11 avouxOnoovrat ai
mvAa. gov dia TavTos, Nuépas Kal
vuKTos ov KAecOnoovTat
Isa. lit. 1 ovKére tpooreOyoerat
SteAOety 81a ood...axaBapros.
Ez, xlvii. 1 idod vdwp eSeropevero
troxatwlev Tod aidpiov.
Ez. xlvii. 12 &vOev kai evOev wav
Etdov Bpwoysov...ovee py exAitry O
Kap7ros avTov...Kalt dvaBacrs (ney 3
Lxx., al. lect. dvadoo.s) avradv eis
(evav.
Zech, xiv. 11 avadeua ovK eorat
+
ert.
——e ee een
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE cli
Xxli. 4 OWovrar TO mpocwmov Ps. xvi. (xvii.) 15 éfOnoopac
avrov. TO TpocwTw gov. ,
xxii. 5 Baowievoovow eis Tods Dan. vil. 18 xadéfovor tiv
aidvas TOV aiwvwr. BaociXelav ews Todaidvos Tév alwvwr.
xxii. 13 6 probes pov per’ enor. Isa. xl. 10 6 pucbds adtod per
avTov.
xxii. 18 f. éeay tis emiOy én Deut iv. 2 ov zpooOnoerbe
avdta, émiOnoer 0 Oeds...kal eay TIS =mpos TO _Pripa..-wal ovK adedcire
apeXy.. -aeXet... am avrod (xil. 32 = xiii. 1).
Xxil. 19 TOV YEeypappevwv ev TO Deut. xxix. 20 (19) ai yeypap-
BiBrWw TovTw. pevat €v TG BiBAiw TovTw.
2. An examination of this table brings to light some instruc-
tive facts. (a) The writer of the Apocalypse refers to each of the
three great divisions of the Hebrew canon, and to most of the
books. He lays under contribution each of the books of the Law,
the Book of Judges, the four Books of Kingdoms, the Psalms, the
Proverbs, the Song, the Book of Job, all the major and seven of
the minor Prophets. But there are certain books which he uses
with especial frequency ; more than half his references to the Old
Testament belong to the Psalms, the prophecies of Isaiah and
Ezekiel, and the Book of Daniel, and in proportion to its length
the Book of Daniel yields by far the greatest number’. The
preponderance of these four books is easily explained; they are
those which most abound in mystical and apocalyptic elements.
(b) The references are of two kinds. One, which is te be found in
every page of the Apocalypse, consists of Old Testament words
and phrases, used with no special allusion to particular contexts.
If Gop is frequently described as He that sitteth on the throne,
and the saints as they which are written in the book of life, while
the Roman Emperors or their vassals are the kings of the earth,
and the pagan inhabitants of the Empire they that dwell on the
earth, the recurrence of these and similar terms is sufficiently
explained by the writer’s lifelong familiarity with Old Testament
language. But there are other references in which it is clear that
he has in view certain books and passages, and is practically
1The numbers in our list are: Exodus, Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, Joel,
Psalms, 27; Isaiah, 46; Ezekiel, ; and Zechariah. See, however, p. liii;
Daniel, 31; after these come Girkas, and cf. p. cxxxix.
cliv USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
quoting from them, although no formula of quotation is used.
These occur chiefly in the visions of the Apocalypse, which are
based in almost every case on the histories or the prophecies of
the Old Testament. Thus the vision of the Glorified Christ
walking in the midst of the Churches (i. 13—16) rests on Ezekiel
and Daniel; the vision of the Court of Heaven (iv. 2—8) on
Isaiah and Ezekiel and Zechariah; the four horses of c. vi. are
from Zechariah; Isaiah supplies much of the description of the
bliss of the redeemed in ec. vii.; the vision of the seven last plagues
in c. xvi. is suggested by the Plagues of Exodus, and the dirge of
Babylon the Great by the doom pronounced upon Tyre and the
older Babylon; the vision of the New Jerusalem is inspired by the
patriotic hopes of Isaiah and Ezekiel. (c) In many cases, indeed in
most, the Apocalyptist blends two or more Old Testament contexts,
whether from different books or from different parts of the same
book. The result has been described as a ‘ mosaic,’ but the word
is not altogether apt as an illustration of his method. It suggests
the work of a cunning artist who has formed a design out of
the fragments which were at his disposal. But the Apocalyptist’s
use of his Old Testament materials is artless and natural; it 1s
the work of a memory which is so charged with Old Testament
words and thoughts that they arrange themselves in his visions
like the changing patterns of a kaleidoscope, without conscious
effort on his own part. (d) There is nota single instance in which
the Christian prophet of the Apocalypse has contented himseif
with a mere compilation or combination of Old Testament ideas.
His handling of these materials is always original and indepen-
dent, and he does not allow his Old Testament author to carry
him a step beyond the point at which the guidance ceases to lend
itself to the purpose of his book. Thus in the first vision of the
Apocalypse, while nearly every feature is drawn from Ezekiel or
Daniel, and the words éuotov viov avOpemov point beyond doubt
to a direct use of the latter book, the conception of the Glorified
Christ as a whole has no parallel in the Old Testament. If the
vision of c.iv. owes much to Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, no mere
compiler could have produced it; and the same may be said with
ee ee ee eee
se Se es
satin ailed
ea ee
USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE cly
absolute conviction of every other vision throughout the book.
Though in constant relation to the older apocalyptic, St John’s
pictures of the unseen and the future are truly creations, the
work of the Spirit of prophecy upon a mind full of the lore of the
earlier revelation and yet free to carry its reminiscences into new
and wider fields of spiritual illumination.
3. An inspection of the table further shews that the Apo-
ealyptist generally availed himself of the Alexandrian version of
the Old Testament. The familiar phraseology of the Lxx. meets
us everywhere, and here and there we observe its peculiar render-
ings; e.g. in xl. 17 w@pyicOncay is a scarcely doubtful recollection
of the LXX. dpySécPwoar (Heb. 1172, Aq. xkroveicOwoav, Symm.
poBeicbwoay). On the other hand many of the references depart
widely from the LxXx. in particular words, where the writer of the
Apocalypse has either rendered independently, or has used
another version, or possibly a text of the Lxx. different from that
which is found in our MSS.; e.g. 1. 6 Bacirelav, lepets (8 o’)',
1. 17 €oxatos (of i), il. 23 epavvdy (cf. Rom. viii. 27), ii. 7
tov Krety Aaveid (a 6’), vil. I yovias, x. 3 puKaTat, Xil. Q
Travav, Xiv. 5 Wevdos, xv. 8 vads (0 oa’), xviii. 22 hwvr) prov
(so some MSS. of the Lxx.), xxi, 12 f. wudN@ves, xxll. 2 évTedOev
kal exelOev, 1b. Ta piAXA, XXil. 3 KaTdbewa. Now and then
the Apocalyptist seems to adopt a conflation of two versions,
€.g. lll. 19 €A€yyw Kal Taide’, XVI. 2 KaKdY Kal TovNnpoY; More
often he has brought together readings from two separate contexts,
as when in iv. 8 he substitutes raytoxpatwp for the caS8awé of
the Greek Isaiah.
The references in the Apocalypse to Daniel demand separate
notice. Dr Salmon (Introduction to the N.T’, p. 548 ff.) calls
attention to the affinity between these references and the version
of Theodotion. He finds “no clear evidence that St John
had ever seen the so-called LXx. version” of Daniel?; if in two
passages (1. 14 f,, xix. 16), the writer may be thought to follow the
1 On the remarkable rendering of Heidelberger Papyrus-sammlung (Heidel-
Zech. xii. 12 in Apoc.i. 7 see the note berg, 1905), p. 66 ff.
in the commentary ad loc., and ef. * i.e. the version in the unique
Deissmann, Die Septuaginta-papyri der Chigi MS.
elvi USE OF THE O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
LXxX. against Theodotion, there are seven (ix. 20, x. 6, Xil. 7, -
xlll. 7, xix. 6, xx. 4, 11) in which he supports Theodotion
against the Lxx. The evidence at any rate shews that Theodotion
preserved a considerable number of readings which were current
in the first century, and that the Greek text of Daniel known to
the Apocalyptist came nearer to the Theodotionic than to the
Chigi text.
If it be asked whether there are traces in the Apocalypse of a
direct use of the Hebrew Old Testament, the answer must be
that the departures from the LXx. may perhaps in every instance
be otherwise explained. But the forms ’ASaddev (ix. 11) and
“Ap Mayedev (xvi. 16) seem to imply acquaintance on the
writer’s part with Hebrew or Aramaic, and this inference is
supported, as we have seen, by the style and manner of his work.
4. If we accept the later date of the Apocalypse, it may be
assumed that the Churches of Asia were already in possession of
some of the earlier books of the New Testament. Certain of the
Pauline Epistles, and if not one or more of our present Gospels,
some collection or collections of the sayings of the Lord were
probably in their hands, and familiar to our author. Such docu-
ments would not be regarded as possessing canonical authority,
like the writings of the Old Testament, but they could not fail
to influence a Christian writer who was acquainted with them.
If the earlier Epistle of St Peter uses Ephesians and Romans’,
and the contemporary Epistle of Clement of Rome refers to
Hebrews and some evangelical collection®, we may reasonably
look for similar traces of Apostolic writings in the Apocalypse
of John.
This expectation is to some extent borne out by an examination
of the book. (a) The Apocalypse contains distinct reminiscences
of known sayings of Christ. Perhaps the most remarkable
instance is the formula 6 éywy ods axovcatw which recurs toward
the end of each of the messages addressed by the Spirit of Christ
to the Churches. The following parallels also are fairly certain :
1 See Hort, Romans and Ephesians, 2N. T. in the Apostolic Fathers,
p. 168 £. pp. 38, 46, 6rf.
ee eS -
—
USE OF THE 0O.T. AND OTHER LITERATURE
Apoc. iii. 3. eav ovv py yPN-
YPITNSs ge ws Khérrys, | Kal ov
#1) yrds Tolav wpav néw él oe.
Apoc. iii, 5 Opohoynow TO
ovopa adrod évusriov Tov maTpos
pov kal evuriov tov ayyéAwr
> A
avrov.
Apoce. xiii. 10 «i Tis év payalpy
amoktevel, Set aitov év paxaipy
amoxtavOnvat.
Apoc. xxi. 6 éy® 76 dufdvte
ddow ék THS THYHAS TOD VdaTos THs
lwns Swpeav. xxil. 17 0 dupar
epxeoOw: 6 Bdtwv aBéerw Vdwp
Cons dwpear.
elvii
Mt. xxiv. 43 «l noe oO vixodeo-
moTns Told pudany (Le. dpa) r)
kAerrys € EpXETaL, eypiryopnre av.
Mt. x. 32 oporoynow kayo év
aitG éumpooGev Tov matpos pov
(Lic. Eumpoobev tav ayyéAwv Tov
Geod).
Mt. xxvi. 52 wavres yap ol
AaBovres padyaipay ev paxaipy a7ro-
Aovvra.
Jo. iv. 10 ei qdes THv Swpeav
tov Geov Kal Tis éoriy 6 eyov Tou
Ads pot mel, ov dv yrnTas avror,
kat edwxev av cou vowp Cav. Vil.
37 éav tis dua, épxeobw mpos pé,
\ s
KQL 7TLVETW.
The Apocalypse has also a considerable number of probable
allusions to the teaching of Christ, such as 11. 17 6Waw avtT@ Tod
pavva, lll. 14 6 apny, ill. 17 ef...TupAds (in an ethical sense),
lll. 21 évixnoa (cf. v. 5), xil. 10 9 €Eovcia Tov ypiatod avrou,
X1V. 12 7) Urropovn TAY ayiwy, XVil. 14 KANTOl Kai ExAEKTOL, X1X. 9 of
eis TO Setrrvov Tod yapou TOD apviov KEKAHpEVOL.
(b) There are no such close parallels between the Apocalypse
and the Apostolic Epistles’, yet there is much in the Apocalypse
which suggests that its writer was acquainted with some of them.
Bishop Lightfoot has pointed out? that “the message communi-
cated by St John to Laodicea prolongs the note which was struck
by St Paul in the letter to Colossae.” Here and there even the
phraseology of the book reminds us of the Pauline letters to
Asian Churches ; thus Apoe. i. 5 6 rpwrotoxos Tév vexpay recalls
Col. i. 18 mpwtotoKos é€x Tav vexpor, and Apoc. iii. 14 %) apy) Tis
Kticews Tov Oeod has affinities with Col. 1.15 wpwtdtoKos tracns
Ktiaews KTA.; While echoes of Eph. ii. 19 fh cuvroNirar Tdy ayiwr...
érrorkodounbevtes emi TO Oewedio THY aTrooToOAwy Kal TpodyTov...
...eg Gytov vadv év Kupiw may be heard by those who ‘have
an ear’ in Apoc. ill, 12, xxi. 14. Points of contact have also been
1 The saying in Apoc. ii. 14 od
BdadXrAw é’ duds ado Badpos has probably
been suggested by the letter of the
council of Apostles and elders held at
Jerusalem ; ef. Acts xv. 28 dof yap
TQ mvevmare Te aylw kal july uniévy wréov
éritiber dat vuiv Bapos my KTX.
* Colossians, p. 41 ff.
clvii USE OF THE 0O.T,. AND OTHER LITERATURE
found between the Apocalypse and the Epistle of James! and the
first Epistle of Peter?, and it has occasional resemblances to the
Epistle to the Hebrews’. Yet on the whole, except in the case
of our Lord’s sayings, which may or may not have been known to
him in a written form, there is no convincing evidence that our
author was indebted to the Christian writers who preceded him.
5. Cana better case be made out for the Apocalyptist’s use
of non-canonical Jewish writings? Dr Charles pronounces the
“writer or writers” of the Apocalypse to be “steeped in Jewish
apocalyptic literature.” The details may be seen in his editions
of Enoch and other Jewish apocalypses, and most of them are
briefly enumerated in c. ii of this introduction‘ and quoted in
the commentary, where the parallels occur. Here it is enough
to say that while they shew the writer of the Christian Apo-
calypse to have been familiar with the apocalyptic ideas of his
age, they afford little or no clear evidence of his dependence
on Jewish sources other than the books of the Old Testament.
Certainly he does not use these sources with anything like the
distinctness with which he refers to Isaiah, Ezekiel, or Daniel,
or to sayings of Christ which are in our present Gospels. The
most that can be safely affirmed is that he shared with the
Jewish apocalyptists the stock of apocalyptic imagery and
mystical and eschatological thought which was the common
property of an age nurtured in the Old Testament and hard
pressed by the troubles and dangers of the times.
This consideration does not encourage the view which regards
the Apocalypse of John as a composite work largely made up
of extracts from unknown non-Christian apocalypses. If it cannot
be shewn that the author availed himself to any extent of sources
still extant, including the well-known Book of Enoch, it is certainly
precarious to build theories upon the hypothesis that he was
indebted to lost works of which not a trace remains.
1 Mayor, St James, p. cii. author of the other.”
2 Bigg, 1 Peter, p. 22. He adds 3 Cf. e.g. Apoc. xxi. with Heb. xii. 22.
however: ‘‘ There is nothing to show # IPOS parasite
that the one book was known to the
a
ee a a ee
XIV.
DOCTRINE.
1. No one who comes to the Apocalypse fresh from the
study of the Gospels and Epistles can fail to recognize that he
has passed into another atmosphere. The great objects of faith
are the same, but they are seen in new lights, and the general
impression differs from that which is left on the mind by the
teaching of our Lord or of St Paul. Nor is it only in the region
of eschatology that the book takes its own course ; its views of
the Person of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, of Redemption, and of
the Church, are its own; even its doctrine of God has no exact
parallel in the rest of the New Testament,
2. The Apocalypse takes its stand on a monotheism which is
Jewish in the sharpness of its opposition to polytheistic systems
of every kind. Its God is the God of the Old Testament, the
LI am of Exodus, the Holy, Holy, Holy of Isaiah, the Lord God of
Ezekiel, the God of heaven of Daniel’. The writer adopts the
titles which the Greek translators found to express the glories of
the God of Israel: God is 6 o@v, 6 fav, 6 Tavtoxpatwp: He is
aytos, boos, aXnOuvds, iayupds, 0 TpaTos Kal 6 éxyatos*, while
later Jewish use contributes a designation for His unique
eternity: He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and
the Hnd*. The God of the Church is the Supreme King Whose
Throne is in heaven, the Master and Lord of all‘; He is the
Seleeeneiy.) &; 1.8, xxii. 5; xi. 13, 8, i.
ZVI. Ti. aj
Sulsay1Y. Of. ; i. 8, Vi. r0, XV. 4, XViii. -
17.
196, XX1 6:
IV. 2,, Vie IO, XL 4, 15) KV. 3:
clx DOCTRINE
Creator of earth and sea and sky, and of all that is in them!, the
Judge of mankind, the Avenger of the wrongs that are done on
the earth; He is to be feared and worshipped by all*. But of His
love no express mention is made, although there is frequent refer-
ence to His wrath*. He is nowhere represented as the Father
of men, even of the righteous; His righteousness and truth are
magnified, but there is no proportionate exhibition of His good-
ness and beneficence. The picture inspires awe, but it wants the
magnetic power of our Lord’s doctrine of the Divine Fatherhood.
In fact it serves another purpose. Like the solemn descriptions of
Godhead in the Hebrew prophets, it is an answer to the inanities
of heathenism rather than a call to fellowship with the Living
God. <A revelation of the “severity of God” was needed by
Churches which were hard pressed by the laxity of pagan life and
the claims to Divine honours made by the masters of the Empire.
The Apocalyptist meets the immoralities and blasphemies of
heathendom by a fresh setting forth of the majesty of the One
God and a restatement of His sole right to the worship of men.
Thus he represents a view of the Divine Character which, apart
from his book, would be nearly wanting in the New Testament,
and supplies a necessary complement to the gentler teaching of
the Gospels and Epistles.
3. The doctrine of God maintained in the Apocalypse cannot
be rightly understood apart from its Christology. Our author’s
revelation of the Father is supplemented by his revelation of the
Son. The Christ of the Apocalypse is the Christ of the Gospels,
but a change has passed over Him which is beyond words. He
is still like unto a son of man*, but the weaknesses and limitations
of His humanity have finally passed away. He was dead, but
now He is alive for evermore®>. He was slain as a victim, but
only the splendid results of His Sacrifice remain®, The Woman's
Son has been caught up unto God, and unto His Throne’; He sits
and reigns with His Father®. All this had been taught by
LV MTAL, Xo Os nls etek
2 xiv. 7, XV. 43 Vi. Io, xix. 2. Sv. 6 ws eodaypevor.
5 xiv. 10, Ig, XV. I, ete. C5aty Be
= io 1s Sahay ae 8 ili. 21.
DOCTRINE celxi
St Peter, St Paul, and the writer to the Hebrews; but it was left
for the Apocalyptist to describe the glorified life. In the Apoca-
lypse the veil is lifted, and we see the extent of the change
wrought by the Resurrection and Ascension. Even the Lord’s
human form is idealized ; the face shines as the noonday sun, the
eyes flash, the hair is white as snow, the feet glow like metal in a
furnace, the voice is like the thunder of the waterfall; at the
sight of the glorified humanity the Seer swoons, as Daniel before
the angel’. Other appearances of the ascended Christ are not
less overwhelming; whether He sits on the white cloud, crowned,
and carrying the sharp sickle with which He will presently reap
the harvest of the world’, or comes forth from the open heavens
as the Warrior-King, followed by the armies of Heaven, His head
encircled by the diadems of many empires, His paludamentum
inscribed with the title King of kings and lord of lords, all is
transcendental and on a scale which surpasses human imagina-
tion’. But these three great symbolical visions do not by any
means exhaust the wealth of St John’s conception of the glorified
Christ. He depicts with great fulness His relations to the
Church, to the world, and to God. (a) To the members of His
Church the ascended Christ is all in all. He loves them, He
redeemed them, and He has made them what they are, a new
Israel, a kingdom of priests‘. His ascension has not separated
Him from them; He is in their midst, regulating all the affairs
of the Churches’; removing, punishing, guarding, giving victory,
as He sees fit’. From Him are to be obtained all spiritual gifts
and helps’; from Him are to be expected the final rewards.
The martyrs are His witnesses, the saints His servants’. He
penetrates the inner life of the faithful; He leads them on, and
they follow Him”. They keep the faith of Jesus, as they keep the
commandments of God; they share His sufferings, and expect His
-kingdom™. (0) In the creation Jesus Christ holds the foremost
1 i, 14—17. 7 iii. 18.
2 xiv. 14 ff. 8 ii. 7 etc., 23.
Berix, 11 fi. 2 lige, a0} Siu TS)
4 i. 5, 6 (Exod. xix. 6), 10 Hil. 20, ViL 17, ZivVs 4,
Saieens, 11.1, XIV. 1. Th RIV. TAS 15°.
Pale 5) 25 f1., lii. 9, 10.
a R. l
elxil DOCTRINE
place. He is its beginning and its goal'; He receives its tribute
of praise. In human history He is supreme: He alone is able
to open, one after another, all the seals of the Book of Destiny?;
He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth; He was born to rule
the nations with the iron-tipped rod of the universal Pastor
of men®; the greatest of Emperors is His vassal®, and the day
will come when the Augustus and the meanest slave in his
empire will tremble alike before His victorious wrath’. The
Apocalyptist foresees an empire more truly oecumenical than
that of Rome, in which Christ shall reign with God* (c) What
is the relation of Christ, in His glorified state, to God? (a) He
has the prerogatives of God. He searches men’s hearts’; He can
kill and restore to life; He receives a worship which is rendered
without distinction to God"; His priests are also priests of
God"; He occupies one throne with God"™, and shares one
sovereignty, (ii) Christ receives the titles of God. He is the
Living One”, the Holy and the True”, the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End”, (aii) Pas-
sages which in the Old Testament relate to God are without
hesitation applied to Christ, e.g. Deut. x. 17 (Apoc. xvi. 14),
Prov. ill. 12 (Apoc. ii. 19), Dan. vii. 9 (Apoe. 1. 14), Zech. iv. 10
(Apoc. v. 6). Thus the writer seems either to coordinate or to
identify Christ with God. Yet he is certainly not conscious of
any tendency to ditheism, for his book, as has been said, is rigidly
monotheistic ; nor, on the other hand, is he guilty of confusing
the two Persons. The name of God is nowhere given to Christ in
the Apocalypse; He is the Son of God®, the Word of God®; but
the Apocalyptist does not add, with the fourth Evangelist, “the
Word was God,” nor does he say that the Father and the Son are
Shi aiy Savy Ey 3 Vso).
Bi hay B66 (0
Save Ua eeWaey We OS Silily Thy Sp
4j 14 yj -
i. 5. , 1. 15:
Danis ie meaty itty
SEXVilweli4. 2651107).
Yevilee Tiscits 7 Xxil. 13.
paxdeeD seh Cl. xi: iTO; 187-18.
2 Al. 23 HP 8b. TiS),
HO Ths SS ahi ee
DOCTRINE elxili
one. He is careful to identify the ascended Christ with the
Christ of the humiliation; He is the firstborn of the dead’, the
root and the offspring of David*, the Lion of the tribe of Judah’;
He can call God His God‘. The enigma meets us everywhere in
the New Testament, but in no book is it so perplexing to those
who reject the Catholic doctrine of our Lord’s Person as in the
Apocalypse of John. It has been urged that “the point of view
of the Seer is continually changing. He conceives of Jesus now
as the highest of the creatures, now as the eternal beginning and
end of all things...to us each of these is a definite and separate
conception, while to him such definiteness and separation did not
exist’.” But this explanation is doubly unsatisfactory. The
Seer’s consciousness of the gulf which parts the creature from the
Unereated was far from indefinite ; twice he represents an angel
as flatly refusing divine honours—see thou do it not...worship God*;
the assumption or acceptance of divine names by the Roman
Emperors was in his judgement the damning sin of the Empire.
Nor is it quite fair to charge him with shifting his ground from
time to time; from the first his Christ is a complex conception in
which human and Divine characteristics coexist. On the other
hand we should doubtless err if we read into the Seer’s visions
the precision of the Nicene or the Chalcedonian Christology. An
intuitive faith carries him beyond the point reached by the
understanding ; he knows that the identification of the ascended
Christ with the Almighty Father is not inconsistent with strict
monotheism, but he does not stop to ask himself how this can be.
Some of his words point to the preexistence of the Son, others
represent His exalted condition as the reward of victory. The
reconciliation of these points of view is not necessary to the
purpose of the book; it is enough that the Head of the Church
is master of the situation which had arisen in Asia and of every
similar situation that can arise to the world’s end. The John of
the Apocalypse is less of the theologian than St Paul, and less of
ah 5, 18. . * F. Palmer, Drama of the Apocalypse,
Mauss XS11. 16, Pp. 105.
\ eae 6 XIX. Io, XXii. g.
4 iii. 8
l2
elxiv DOCTRINE
the mystic than the author of the fourth Gospel, but he surpasses
both in his revelation of the unbounded power of the exalted
Christ. Nowhere else in the New Testament are the personal
activities of Jesus Christ present in His Church, the glories of
His heavenly life, or the possibilities of His future manifestation
so magnificently set forth. The Christology of the Apocalypse
may evade analysis, but it meets the need of the Church in times
of storm and stress. It is the New Testament counterpart of the
Old Testament hymns of anticipated triumph: God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will we not
fear.... God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be moved. How-
ever the fact may be explained, Christ is in the Apocalypse the
power of God and the wisdom of God present with the Church,
while in His exalted life He is in the midst of the Throne.
4. Of the Spirit we expect to hear much in the one pro-
phetical book of the New Testament, and we are not altogether
disappointed, though there is less on the surface of the book than
we might have looked for. It is im the Spirit that the Seer
receives his first and second visions’; in the Spirit, again, he is
carried into the wilderness where he sees the harlot Babylon, and
to the mountain from whence can be descried the new Jerusalem?;
and doubtless we are to understand that the same condition of
spiritual exaltation accompanied the other visions of the Apoca-
lypse. The Spirit of prophecy speaks everywhere, bearing witness
to Jesus’, exhorting the Churches in His Name‘, conveying the
revelation of Jesus Christ to the Seer, and through him to the
readers and hearers. It is the Spirit of prophecy who answers to
the voice from heaven®; who identifies Himself with the Church
in her call for the Lord to come®. But the book recognizes other
and wider manifestations of the Spirit of God. When the writer
desires grace and peace for the Churches of Asia from the seven
Spirits which are before His Throne it is probable that he is
thinking of the One Spirit in the variety and completeness of
1 j, 10, iv. 2. 4 ii. 1, 7 ete.
BPSVilen3 5 XX15 10. So xivs o03'
J Sab toy Wiseatl, i.
a ee ee
PTA IE OTF ae FOS a le OY
DOCTRINE clxv
His gifts. The phrase might in itself mean only the seven
Angels of the Presence’, and this interpretation receives some
support from c. iv. 5, but it does not accord either with the
trinitarian character of c. i. 4 f°, or with cv. 6. The seven
Spirits which blaze like torches before the Throne, are in the last
passage the eyes of the sacrificed Lamb, 1.e. they are the organs
of supernatural vision which illuminate the humanity of our
Lord, and which He sends forth into the world. It is impossible
not to recognize here the mission of the Paraclete, Who is at once
the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit sent by Him from the Father
to the Church. And on looking back to c. 1. 4 we see the fitness
of the number seven; each of the seven Churches has its own
bepiopos of the Spirit; only to the Christ and to the whole body
of the Church considered in its unity belongs the fulness of
spiritual powers and gifts, the septiformis Spiritus Who is in His
essence indivisible. Thus the Apocalypse extends the teaching
of the Epistles. Diversities of gifts mark the work of the Spirit
in the Churches as in their individual members; to each is given
the manifestation of the Spirit. Yet the individual is not over-
looked. ‘The action of the Spirit on the personal life is shewn in
the symbolism which points to the water of life. The Lamb...
shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life. I will give unto
him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He
shewed me a river of water of life,...proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb. He that is athirst, let him come; he that
will, let him take the water of life freely’. These passages are
remarkable for the width of their outlook: they carry us from the
beginnings of the spiritual life to its maturity, from the first gift
of the water of life to the state in which access is given to the
fountain-head. There is no stage in the progressive development
of the new life at which the human spirit is not dependent on the
Divine; the water of life which satisfies the first thirst, is not
less necessary to the ultimate perfection of the Saints. On
the essential nature of the Spirit the Apocalypse has nothing
1 viii. 2. 2 Cor. xiii. 14, Eph. iv. 4 ff.
2 Cf. such contexts as 1 Cor. xii. 4 ff., B Vi. 17, XXis 6) REM. Th Ey,
elxvi DOCTRINE
to add to the teaching of other New Testament books. But in
its symbolism we catch glimpses of His relation to the Father and
the Son. Jesus Christ hath the seven Spirits of God; they are
the eyes of the Lamb, sent forth by Him into all the earth. The
River of the water of life issues from the Throne of God and
of the Lamb’. There are echoes here of the teaching both of
Christ and of St Paul. The Spirit of God is also the Spirit of
Christ, and the outpouring of the Spirit which began on the day
of Pentecost was a direct consequence of the Ascension; the
Paraclete was sent by the Ascended Lord from the Father, and
by the Father in the name of the Son. The temporal mission of
the Spirit is here in view, but behind it there may also be the
eternal procession from the Father through the Son of which the
Creed speaks. But the latter does not come within the express
scope of the Apocalyptist’s words.
5. His treatment of the doctrine of the Church is not less
interesting. Like St Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians and perhaps
also the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apocalypse is addressed to
a plurality of Churches; seven are named, but after the first
chapter the number is dropped, and the writer speaks simply of
al éxxAnoiat’, or once of madcat ai éxxdAnoia®. The singular 7
éxxAnota is used of each of the local Christian societies, but not
of the Churches in the aggregate, or of the ideal unity of the
Christian body. Each society is symbolized by a separate Avyvia,
and each has its own presiding spirit, its star or angel. There is
no spiritual counterpart to the cody THs ’Acias, no provincial
Church or representative council, though the seven Churches may
be taken as in a sense representative of the Churches of Asia in
general. Yet, as the book proceeds, the conception of an universal
Christian society, a catholic Church, appears under more than
one symbolical figure. We have first the 144,000 sealed out of
every tribe of the children of Israel‘, changing, as the Seer
watches, into an innumerable company before the Divine Throne,
and afterwards seen again as 144,000, surrounding the Lamb on
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2 ith Gp lip 1G, COR Ula Oy ey OB 4 ¢c. Vil., Xiv.
Ostls 5s
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DOCTRINE clxvil
Mount Zion. Then a great sign appears in heaven, a woman
arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her
head a crown of twelve stars, who becomes the Mother of the
Christ and His Saints’. Lastly, in sharp contrast with the Harlot
Babylon, we see the Bride of Christ arrayed for her marriage day,
and presently transfigured into a new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God*. In the first of these visions the Church
appears as a collection of units, making up the whole number of
the elect; in the second and third she is seen in the unity of her
common life, first as militant against the evil of the world, her
life hid in God, herself imperishable but suffering in the persons
of her members; and then, in the final picture, as reaching her
ideal in the presence of God and of Christ. There are side-lights,
also, in this great series of pictures which deserve attention ; in
the first, the reconciliation of Divine foreknowledge with the
freedom of the human will; in the second, the relation of the
Church of the Old Testament to the Church of the New, and of
both to the individual; in the third, the social aspect of the
Christian life, as set forth in the order and beauty of the City of
God.
On the local ministry in the Churches the Apocalyptist
preserves a complete silence; he speaks of the itinerant, charis-
matic, ministry of Apostles and Prophets, but not of the bishops
or presbyters and deacons who were doubtless to be found in the
Christian communities of Asia. The prophetic order, from his
point of view, eclipses the officers of the Church. But it does
not take from the lustre of the Church herself. She is a kingdom
and a priesthood; all her members have been made by the
sacrifice of the Cross kings and priests unto God and to the
Lamb*. The Augustus and the Caesars, the Asiarchs and high-
priests of the Augustea, are of little account in comparison with the
despised and persecuted members of the Christian brotherhoods.
6. The soteriology of the Apocalypse demands attention.
Thrice in the book‘ “Salvation” () cwrnpia) is ascribed to God,
1 ¢, xii, 31.6, Vv. 10, Xx. 6.
2 ¢. xxi. € vii. 10, xii. I0, Xix. I.
Se DOCTRINE
or to God and Christ. The phrase is perhaps suggested by the
free use of ow7yp on coins and in inscriptions in reference to
certain of the heathen deities (e.g. Zeus, Asklepios), and to the
Emperors. John recalls the word from these unworthy uses and
claims it for the Ultimate Source of health and life. But in this
attribution he includes Jesus Christ; Salvation unto our God...
and unto the Lamb*. It is by the Sacrifice of the Lamb that the
salvation of men has become possible: thow wast slain and didst
purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe; unto him
that loved us and loosed us from our sins by his blood...to him be
the glory ; the Saints washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb: they overcame the accuser because of the
blood of the Lamb*. Whatever may be the exact meaning of these
words, it is clear from them that the writer attached the greatest
importance to the death of Christ; His sacrificed life was the
price of man’s redemption from sin to the service of God. - The
idea is St Paul’s, who twice in one epistle writes: “ye were
bought with a price’,” and lays emphasis on the virtue of the
sacrificial blood*; and the latter point was present to the mind of
our Lord Himself when He spoke of His Blood as “ shed for many
53
unto remission of sins®.” The writer of the Apocalypse took over
the familiar figures by which the Churches had long expressed
But there are new features in
Redemption is a liberation from the sins of the
past life, which have hitherto “tied and bound” the sinner with
their chains; it is a purchase for God, its purpose being to
transfer the sinner from the service of sin to the service of God*,
But its end is not attained without the concurrence of the human
will. The redeemed cooperate with the Redeemer; they wash
their robes and make them white, they fight and overcome.
the mystery of the Atonement.
his use of them.
Neither action would have been possible without our Lord’s
sacrifice, but the sacrifice would have been ineffectual without
1 vii! Io.
9
1) 25,105) tO ley
Seineerve Oy sVil. C45 Xl. TT.
3 1 Cor. vi. 20 WyopdcOnre yap TiWAs,
Vil. 23 TLuAs WyopacOnrTe.
a Acts xx. 28; Rom. iii. 25, v. <9;
Eph. i. 7, ii. 13; Col. i. 20. Cf. x Pet.
5 Mt. xxvi. 28; Me. xiv. 24; 1 Cor.
XL 25.
6 There is a partial parallel in Rom.
vi. 15 ff.
DOCTRINE elxix
repentance and faith on their part. The Apocalyptist dwells
more frequently on “works” than on “faith’.” To represent this
as a return to a Jewish standpoint is arbitrary*, but it cannot be
denied that it is a distinguishing note of the Apocalypse. Faith
is rarely named in the book’, and when it is, it does not appear as
the primary necessity of the Christian life; the decisive place is
given to works; the fair linen which decks the Saints is woven
out of their righteous acts‘. Salvation is the fruit of the Lord’s
victory, but the faith which appropriates it overcomes the world
as He overcame it.
7. The Angelology of the Apocalypse is abundant. Beyond
any other book either in the Old Testament or in the New, it
_ occupies itself with the inhabitants of the unseen order; even of
apocalyptic writings the Enoch literature alone perhaps is more
fruitful in revelations of this kind. The Apocalypse of John,
however, is singularly free from the wild speculations of Jewish
angelology. If angels frequently appear in its visions, they belong
to the scenes which the visions reveal, and are there because the
supermundane events which are in progress demand their inter-
vention. They are seen engaged in the activities of their manifold
ministries, now as worshipping before the Throne’, now as bearing
messages to the world’, or as stationed in some place of trust,
restraining elemental forces’, or themselves under restraint until
the moment for action has arrived®, or as presiding over great
departments of Nature®. Sometimes their ministries are cosmic;
they are entrusted with the execution of worldwide judgements”,
or they form the rank and file of the armies of heaven, who fight
God’s battles with evil, whether diabolical or human”; the Abyss
is under their custody. Sometimes an angel is employed in
the service of the Church, offering the prayers of the Saints, or
1 See ii. 2, 5, 19, 23, iii. rf, 8, 15, 5 vii. 11.
Meee i., XXTl. 12. 1 1x 6
2 The present writer is unable to dis- 7 vii. 1.
_ cover here or elsewhere in the Apoca- 8 ix. 15.
lypse the ‘‘unadulterated Judaism” ® xvi. 1 ff.
which has been ascribed to it (Charles, 0 vill. 6ff., xix. 14.
Eschatology, p. 347). oe Se ee a
* Only in ii. 13, 19, xiii. 10, xiv. 12. 12 3x, 3x, EX. 5.
a xix. 8.
celxx DOCTRINE
presiding over the destinies of a local brotherhood or ministering
to an individual brother, e.g. to the Seer himself. No charge
seems to be too great for an angel to undertake, and none too
ordinary; throughout the book the angels are represented as
ready to fill any place and do any work to which they may be
sent. Little light 1s thrown on such a speculative topic as the
distribution of the angelic host into orders or ranks, The greater
angels are distinguished by their superior strength or more splendid
surroundings. Only one angel receives a name, and it is borrowed
from the Book of Daniel?; there is but a passing allusion to the
seven angels of the Presence, of whom Enoch has so much to
say*,
The Apocalypse is comparatively silent as to fallen angels and
evil spirits. ‘The Dragon of c. xii. is identified with Satan or the
Devil of the Old Testament; in the celestial war of xii. 7 ff. he
is followed by his “angels” who fight his battles‘, Idolatry is
regarded as demonolatry’: heathen magic is due to spirits of
demons, working signs. Babylon becomes a habitation of demons,
and a hold of every unclean spirit’. The Seer is able to foresee
the course of Satanic activity from his own age to the end.
Failing to dethrone the ascended Christ, Satan turns his attention
to the Church which is left on earth’. He finds ready allies in
the persecuting Emperors and the heathen priesthood’, backed by
the power of the new Babylon on the Tiber®. Babylon falls at
last”, and for a long period Satan is bound, and the Church
dominant™ Then a reaction follows, and the whole world is
persuaded to attack the Church® But her hour of greatest peril
ushers in the final victory. Fire falls from heaven upon the
enemy, and Satan himself is consigned to the burning morass
from which there is no escape. The fate of his “angels” is
not described, but it may be assumed that they perish with
HAT tC, Vill.) 34., XVil, 44, XX1, 9: UG Guy piling Seg stei,
Sexaiey Clann ki o 1. SXiiisen dieses
3 vill. 2; cf. Enoch xx, 96. XVII.
Tat OS 10 ¢, xviii.
5 ix, 20. TU xo rat
§ xviii. 2. 12, Tb. 8 ff.
DOCTRINE elxxi
their leader’, for from this point all superhuman forces of evil
disappear.
8. Eschatology, in the widest sense, forms one of the main
subjects of this book, which from c. iv. deals chiefly with the things
which must come to pass hereafter*. Here our discussion of the
- subject must be limited to the “last things” in the narrower use
_ of the phrase, i.e. to the Coming of the Lord, the Judgement,
_ and the new world beyond them. No mention is made of the
mapovoia® or exipavera* of the Lord, and though épyouase and
_ the response épyov are watchwords in this book, the “coming”
intended, in some instances at least, is not the final Advent, but
the visitation of a Church or an individual’. Moreover, there is
no one vision which answers altogether to the conception of the
Return, as it is presented in our Lord’s teaching and in the
Epistles. We look for such an appearance immediately before the
general resurrection and judgement (xx. 11 ff), or in connexion
with the descent of the Bride, but it is absent. Perhaps the
Reaper on the white cloud*, and the crowned Warrior on the white
horse’, may describe, each in its own way, the Last Coming, but
neither of these visions exhausts the conception, or occupies the
_ position which the Parousia might have been expected to fill.
_ Yet the book starts with a clear reference to the Advent, which
‘is represented as visible to the whole world: behold, he cometh
with the clouds, and every eye shall see him*; and it ends with
the solemn witness, Yea, J come quickly. The hope of a visible
Coming, and that a speedy one, has not vanished, though it is
clear that tay’ must be interpreted relatively, in the light of a
prophecy which interposes between the Seer’s time and the
Return an age of persecution of unknown length and a subsequent
millennium of dominant Christianity. The Lord’s quickly is His
final answer to the rising impatience of the Church*, now on the
Cf. Mt. xxv. 41. 5 E.g. ii. 5, 16, and perhaps also iii,
2 iv. 13 ef. i. 19. It, XVi. 15.
* Mt. xxiv. 3 ff.; 1 Cor. xv. 23; 1 Th. § xiv. 14.
ii. 19, ill. 13, IV. 15, V. 23; Jac. v. 7 f.; xix. 21.
2 Pet. iii. 43.1 Jo. ii, 28. Si. 7.
ee tte 2 Tem. 20, iv. 1, 8; ® Cf. 2 Pet. iii. 9.
clxxll DOCTRINE
verge of the second century; measured by the standard of His
endless life, the time is at hand.
The final Reign of Christ and of His Saints is connected
with the hope of His return. His own Reign began with the
Ascension, and it is spiritually shared by the Church even in an
age of persecution; the Saints reign upon the earth', though a
Nero or a Domitian may be on the throne. The Apocalyptist
dimly foresees the conversion of the Empire, when the kingdom
of the world became the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
and the Church entered on a long period of triumph, reigning
with Christ for a thousand years?» But he also anticipates a
future kingdom of the Saints which will fulfil its ideal, and to
which no period can be put: they shall reign for ever and ever’.
The General Resurrection and the Judgement belong to the
same series of events. If the interpretation of the Thousand
Years which is given in this commentary‘ is correct, the “first
resurrection” of c. xx. 5 is, like the resurrection of the Two
Witnesses in ¢. xi.,a symbol of the revival and extension of the
Church which would follow the age of persecution. No “second
resurrection” is mentioned, but a resurrection of the body is
implied in ¢. xx. 12 and the glory of the risen Saints is perhaps
symbolized in c, xxi. 11. The former of these passages clearly
teaches the doctrine of a general Judgement. But the Judge.
seems to be not the Incarnate Son, but the Almighty Father:
the Apocalyptist does not appear to recognize with the Evangelist
that all judgement has been given to the Son’,
The vision of the Last Judgement is followed by a vision of
the new world and the new City of God. Perhaps it will always
be a matter of dispute whether the final vision of the Apocalypse
is an idealistic picture of the Church as she now is, or a realistic
picture of the Church as she will be hereafter. There is in fact
an element of truth in each of these views, for the best ideals
ly. ro, reading Bacevovow. may be noted that St Paul speaks in-
2 sols TLRS o-en (Oy differently of the Byua rod Geod (Rom.
SeXKT 5. xiv. 10) and the B. rod xpiorod (2 Cor.
4P. 264 ff v. 10); the Father judges in the person
° Jo. v. 22; cf. Mt. xxy. 3iff. It of the Son.
ae ee Srl
DOCTRINE elxxili
of the present are the realities of the future. The position of
the vision points to the future, for though the succession of the
Apocalyptic visions is not chronological, there is in it a certain
sequence which accords with the orderly development of the
Divine purpose. And no stretch of the imagination can discover
in any period of the Church’s lengthening history the full counter-
part of the glories described by St John. The Bride of Christ has
not yet made herself ready; the City of God is not free from the
presence of the unclean and the false: night still falls upon her
streets, alternating with periods of daylight’. But the future
holds the perfection of the present; in the imperfect life of the
Asian brotherhoods the Seer can find the earnest of a maturity
which, when extended to the race, will leave no part of God’s
great plan for the reconstruction of human society unrealized.
g. It is not the purpose of the Apocalypse to teach Christian
doctrine, but to inspire Christian hope. But incidentally it
instructs, and its teaching, so far as it goes, is fresh, strenuous,
and suggestive. While it has points of contact with the sayings
of our Lord in the Synoptic Gospels, with the doctrine of St Paul
and his school, and with the Gospel and the First Epistle of
St John, there are features in the doctrine of the Apocalypse
which are peculiar to itself; nor is the proportion in which it
presents the aspects of Christian truth quite that which is to be
found in other books of the New Testament. Without the
Apocalypse, so far as we can judge, our knowledge of the teaching
of the Apostolic age would have been imperfect; in this respect
the book is complementary to the Gospels and Epistles, and
fulfils the important work of preserving the balance of truth.
This is not the least of the reasons for which St John’s great
vision deserves careful study, and may in itself be held to justify
the felicitation: blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the
words of the prophecy.
1 xxi. 2, 25, 37, XXil. 5.
XY.
AUTHORSHIP.
1. At the beginning of the book, and again at the end‘, the
Apocalypse professes to be the work of John. The author further
states that he is a servant of Jesus Christ, a brother of the
Churches of Asia, and a partaker in their sufferings, and that at
the time when he received the revelation he was in the island of
Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. By the
“testimony of Jesus” he appears to mean the witness which he had
borne to our Lord in his capacity as a member of a brotherhood of
Christian prophets’. The intimate knowledge which he shews of
the circumstances of the Churches in Asia, and the unhesitating
tone of authority in which he addresses them, leave no doubt that
he had resided in the province, and had exercised his office in the
Christian societies there.
It is scarcely possible that the book can be pseudonymous. The
Jewish pseudepigrapha bear the names of Old Testament patriarchs,
kings, or prophets; and a Christian apocalypse, if pseudonymous,
would naturally have been attributed to an Apostle. But in that
case the writer would assuredly have proclaimed his identity with
the son of Zebedee. The apocryphal apocalypse of Paul begins:
arokaAwfis Tov ayiov aroatédov IlavAov, and the apocryphal apo-
calypse of John: aroxddvyus Tod aylov ‘lwavvov Tod Oeo\oyou*. These
are later documents, but even in a first century apocryphon we
should have expected some such note of identification as 6 rod
AY, Tots) 0) XXUs- 8. Apocalypse of Peter has not been re-
=O, covered, but in the Petrine Gospel the
SPRUKs AO, EX XU Os identification is explicit: § 14 éyw dé
4 Tischendorf, Apocalypses apocryphae, Ziuwy Ilérpos kat’ Avdpéas 6 ddedpds pov.
pp- 34, 70. The opening of the earlier
EE
AUTHORSHIP clxxv
ZeBedaiov, 6 ext 7d orHGos, or at least 6 pabyrijs Tod Kupiov or 6
mperBitepos. But not only is there an entire absence of such
appellatives ; the indications, so far as they go, are unfavourable to
the hypothesis that the writer meant to pose as an Apostle. The
John of the Apocalypse is simply a “brother,” and the only office
which he claims is that of prophet This does not indeed disprove
his identity with the Apostle’, but it is not what might have been
expected from a writer whe wished to pass as one of the Twelve.
2. The name Johanan? was by no means uncommon in
Jewish history from the time of the Captivity onwards. Some
fifteen persons of this name are mentioned in the books of
Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, and five more in the books of
the Maccabees. Josephus refers to seventeen Johns*; in the New
Testament there are at least five—the son of Zacharias, and the
son of Zebedee, the father of St Peter*, John whose surname was
Mark, and a John who was of the kindred of the High Priest®. Of
these, John the son of Zebedee was from an early time identified
with the author of the Apocalypse.
The witness of Justin has been given already®. Irenaeus calls the
author of the fourth Gospel and the Apocalypse 6 paOyrijs Kupiov,
Domini discipulus (iii, 11. 1 ff., iv. 20. 11), but the title, as he uses
it, does not exclude Apostleship ; ef. ii. 22. 5, where, immediately
after mentioning “John, the disciple of the Lord,” he proceeds:
“non solum Ioannem, sed et alios apostolos.” Hippolytus expressly
calls the writer of the Apocalypse “Apostle” as well as “disciple’,”
and Tertullian is no less explicit®. Origen, again, entertains no
doubt that both the Gospel and the Apocalypse proceeded from the
son of Zebedee*®. The earliest suggestion that the Apocalypse was
the work of a second John, not of apostolic rank, came from
Alexandria after Origen’s death”; earlier opponents of the apostolic
authorship regarded the book as pseudonymous”.
3. As an alternative to John the son of Zebedee, Dionysius
of Alexandria mentions the name of John Mark, but he dismisses it
on the ground that Mark did not accompany St Paul to Asia.
1 Even in 2 Peter St Paul is 6 ayarn- 4 Jo. xxi. 15 ff. Diuwv "Iway[v]ov.
ros Nudy adePpds (ili. 15). 5 Acts iv. 6 "Iwavvns...xal b00 Foay
2 "Twavyns, or Iwdvns as WH., follow- éx yévous dpxieparixod.
ing cod. N, write the name inc. i,, is a 8 Pi ovis
Hellenized form of ‘Iwavdy (=j2MN}, 7 P. oxi.
or }2M}.) which occurs in the LXX. and ® P. cix.
in Le. iii. 27. As to the doubled » see a exiil.
Dalman, Gr. p. 142. eS a
3 See Niese’s index, p. 46.
elxxvl AUTHORSHIP
Apart from this objection, the hypothesis of Marcan authorship
has little to recommend it; the style of the second Gospel has no
marked affinity with that of the Apocalypse, and its author shews
none of the characteristics of the prophet or the mystic: he
is graphic and can draw a telling picture, but he is not a
visionary and has no eye for the transcendental. The John of
the Apocalypse, if not the son of Zebedee, must be, Dionysius
concludes, some otherwise unknown John who visited Asia?; and
he finds some support for this view in the story he has heard
(dacir) that there were at Ephesus two monuments which passed
as the tomb of John. To this Eusebius adds that Papias also seems
to speak of two Johns who were both disciples of the Lord, and
putting the facts together he infers that if the Apocalypse is
not to be ascribed to the Apostle, it was probably the work of the
second John who is known to Papias as the Elder?.
The following are the words of Papias as reported by Eusebius :
Tovs Tov TpeaButépwy avexpivov oyous: Ti Avdpéas 7 Ti Hérpos eirev...
} to lwdvvns } Mataios 7% tis erepos Tav ToD Kupiov pabyTav" a TE
’Apiotiov Kat 6 tpeaBitepos “Iwavvys of Tov Kupiov peOytal éyovow.
Eusebius’ comment is: @@a kal émurrpoar akiov dis KatapiOpovvte
ait 76 “Iwavvov dvopa...eixos yap Tov devrepor (i.e. the Elder), ei wy
tis €OéXou TOV TpPATov, Ty ex dvopatos hepopevnv ‘Iwavvov Arroxaduypw
Ewpakeva.
4. Perhaps no conjecture hazarded by an ancient writer has
been so widely adopted in modern times. A conjecture it still
remains, for no fresh light has been thrown on the enigmatic
figure of John the Elder. But this circumstance has not pre-
vented scholars from confidently attributing to him one or more
of the Johannine group of writings. Even in Jerome’s time it
was usual to identify the Elder of 2 and 3 John with the second
John of Papias.
Hieron. de virr. il. g “Tohannis presbyteri adseruntur, cuius
hodie alterum sepulcrum apud Ephesum ostenditur.” Ine. 18 he
speaks of the “opinionem qua a plerisque rettulimus traditum duas
posteriores epistulas Iohannis non apostoli esse sed presbyteri.” On
the other hand he holds that both the Gospel and the Apocalypse
were written by the Apostle (c. 9).
1 ap. Kus. H. E. vii. 25. 2 i. ioe
eo
“9
XXUVLE
To face p. el
“SOIIJEOZI tT OL, Se ROO esr ee ee ee
‘SSONLVd
ae Ahaha i
AUTHORSHIP elxxvil
The Apocalypse is now ascribed to the Elder by perhaps
a majority of critics. But recent criticism goes further, and
transfers to the Elder nearly all that has been hitherto given to
the Apostle. There were two Johns in the Apostolic age, but
only one of them was a resident in Asia, and he was the Elder
and not the son of Zebedee. It was the Elder, it is said, and not
the Apostle who was the disciple that Jesus loved, who gave his
name to the Johannine books of the New Testament, and claims
to be the writer of the Apocalypse.
At this point it will be convenient to collect the traditions which
relate to the residence of John in Asia and his exile to Patmos,
(1) Residence in Asia. Iren. ii, 22. Ee (ap. Eus. H.£, iii. 23):
mavres ot rperBvrepor paptupotow, ot Kata tH “Aciav “lwavvy Td Tot
kuptov pane orpPeBAnxores, Tmapadeduxevat [ratra| rov on vnv' Tape-
ewe yap avrois MEXpL Tov Tpaiavod xpover. Ib. ili. 3. 4 (ap. Eus.
HT, E. iv. 14): : kal eioiv of dixnKoores abrod [sc. Tod Tate dona Ore
‘Iwavvys 6 Tod Kupiov pabytis év TH Edéow mopevde’s xtr. Lb. (ap.
Eus. H. £. iii. 23): GAAG Kat y ev "Edéow éxxdyoia id Lavrov pev
TeOeneAwpevn, “Iwavvov d€ tapapeivavtos avtois péxpe Tov Tpaiavod
xpovwv, paprus addnOys cote THS TOV aToaTO\wY rapaddcews. Lb. Ep,
ad Florin. (ap. Eus. H. £. v. 20): eldov yap oe, Tats av et, ev TH
Kare Agia rapa TO Toduxdpry.. OTE LE dvvac Oat eizety Kal Tov TOTO
év o xableCopevos duedéyero 6 6 paKaptos TloAvxapzros.. -kal Tas diareLers
as émoveiro ™pos 70 ijGos, kal THY pera *Twdvvov cvvavactpopiy ws
arnyyeA\e, Kat tH peta TOV NouTGY Tov Ewpaxorov TOV KUplov. Poly-
crates (ap. Eus. H. Z. iii. 31, v. 24): ere d¢ kal ‘Iwavuns 6 émt 75
a77Gos Tod Kupiov avareruv, Os eyevnOn icpev’s, TO wétaov TedhopeKus,
Kal paptus Kat dudacKados, ovtos év Edeow xexoiunta. Of Apollonius
(A.D. 196- 7 Harnack) Eusebius writes (H. £. v. 18): KéxpyTat O€ Kal
Haprupiais aro THS “Iwavvov “AroxaAtWews* Kal vexpov dé duvaper Geta
m™pos avtov “Iwavvov év TH "Edeow eyryepbae i ioropel. (2) Haile to
Patmos. Clem. Al. quis dives 42 akougov pibov, ov pdbov aAX\a 6 Orr
Aoyov, Tepi “Iwavvov Tod arootoAov...Tod Tupavvov TeevTYTavTOs ad
THs Latpov tis vnoou pernAGev ext tHv “Edeoov. Origen, in Matt.
XVi. 6 6 dé “Pwpaiwy Bacire’s, ws 7 Tapadocis didacKe, Katedixkace TOY
‘Iwavvny paptupotvta dia tov THs GAnOelas Adyov eis latpov THy Vicor.
Tertullian, praeser. 36: ‘“habes Romam...ubi apostolus Ioannes,
posteaquam in oleum igneum | demersus nihil passus est, in insulam
relegatur.” Act. Johann. 14 arérievcer 6 ‘Twavyys eis Sirol Orov
Kat 7&wwOn Tv THS cuvTe\clas idetv droxaduWwy, tb, 88 Epyerar Tpos pe
Kal Tov adeXdov pov “IaxwBov. Eus, H. £, iii. 18 év tovtw Karéyet
Aoyos Tov admdcTo\ov apa Kar elayyeduotyVv “lwdvyny ere 7d Biw
evduatpiBovra, THs «is Tov Oetoy Aoyov Evexev papTupias, TLatpor oixety
KatadicacOyvat THY vnoor (cf. ib. 20, 23). Victorinus in Apoc. x. 11
“quando haec Ioannes vidit erat in insula Patmos, in metallum
S. R. m
elxxvill AUTHORSHIP
damnatus' a Domitiano Caesare. ibi ergo vidit Apocalypsin...et
cum lam senior putaret se per passionem accepturum receptionem,
interfecto Domitiano, omnia eius iudicia soluta sunt, et Ioannes de
metallo dimissus sic postea tradidit hanc eandem quam acceperat
a Deo Apocalypsin.”’
6, Read cursorily, this evidence may seem to establish the
identity of John the Apostle with the resident in Asia and
the exile of Patmos. But a more careful examination suggests
caution. The witness of Irenaeus shews beyond a doubt that
a John who had been a disciple of the Lord resided in Asia
within the lifetime of Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna, who was born
(Harnack) in 4.D. 69. <A bishop of Ephesus at the end of the
second century asserts that the John who lay on the Lord’s breast
was buried at Ephesus; and another Asian writer of the same
period speaks of a miracle which John the author of the Apoca-
lypse performed in that city. But no second century testimony,
except that of the Leucian Acts, excludes the hypothesis that the
John who lived in Asia and wrote the Apocalypse was the Elder,
or compels us to believe that John the Apostle ever resided in
Asia. Moreover it is certainly remarkable that in so many of the
earliest references to him John of Asia is called “the disciple,”
and not, expressly at least, the Apostle’. Nor is the evidence
for the Apostle’s exile to Patmos quite conclusive. It begins
with Clement of Alexandria, and it is chiefly western; Irenaeus
does not mention the exile; from residents in Asia, where the
event would have made the deepest impression, no reference to
it is forthcoming. We cannot overlook the possibility that the
tradition rests ultimately on Apoc. 1. 9, though against this we
must set the apparent independence of the witnesses, and certain
amplifications of the traditional story, for which the Apocalypse
offers no support.
1 «Down the middle of the island chiefly volcanic.” T. C. Fitzpatrick,
run a succession of hills; in one of A visit to Patmos (in Christ’s College
them, in the northern half of theisland, Magazine, 1887).
there are quarries. This, perhaps, is 2 On the source of the statement in
the explanation of the statement that Eus. H. E. iii. 18 see an article by
St John was ‘damnatus in metallum,’ Prof. Lawlor in J. T. S. for April, 1907.
as there do not appear to have been any 3 See Bousset, Die Offenbarung, p. 41f.,
mines, properly so called. The rock is and in Encycl, Bibl., i., col. 198.
AUTHORSHIP clxxix
On the whole it may be said that if early Christian tradition
favours the identification of John of Ephesus with the Apostle,
it does not exclude the opposite hypothesis, whether in the
Eusebian form or in that which is now advocated.
7. It would materially assist us in arriving at a decision if
we could ascertain the length of the Apostle’s life. Irenaeus, as
we have seen, represents John, the disciple of the Lord, as having
lived to the time of Trajan, i.e. to the year 98 at least. That the
Apostle lived to old age is assumed by ancient writers, e.g. by
Clement of Alexandria in his Quis dives!, and by Jerome in his
commentary on Galatians. There is, however, some evidence to
be set on the other side. A MS. of Georgius Hamartolus (cent.
Tx.) alleges the authority of Papias, in the second book of his
work, for the statement that John the son of Zebedee was
martyred by the Jews’, and the reference to Papias is now
supported by an extract printed by Dr C. De Boor from an
Oxford MS. of the 7th or 8th century*, an epitome probably
based upon the Chronicle of Philip of Side (cent. vV.).
The Coislin MS. of Georgius adds at Chron. iii. 134: [Twdvvys]
pLapTupiou Karnziwrat ies yap 6 ‘TeparroXews €TLTKOTOS, abrorrys
TovToV yevomevos, ev TO Sevtéepw Oyw TOV Kupiaxdv | Noylov pacer ort
w70 “lovdaiwy dvypen, mAnpwoas Snrabdy peta TOV adeApod THY Tod
Xperrov rept avTov Tpoppyow. De Boor’s fragment runs: Ilavias é€ €v
TO devtépw oyw Eyer 6 ote Iwavyns 6 Geooyos* Kal ‘TaxwBos 6 6 adeAdds
avTov b7d “lovdaiwy avypebnoar.
With this testimony before us it is not easy to doubt that
Papias made some such statement, for the suggestion of a lacuna,
offered by Bishop Lightfoot in 1875°, is now scarcely tenable,
though it has been lately revived by Harnack®. But if Papias
made it, the question remains whether he made it under some
misapprehension, or merely by way of expressing his conviction
1 Ap. Eus. H.E. iii. 24, 6 mpeoBvrns... fragmentist.”
Tov yépovra. > Supernatural Religion, p. 212: ‘*the
2 See Nolte in Th. Quartalschrift,1862, | sentence may have run in the original
p- 406. somewhat in this way, Ilamias...ddcxet
3 In Texte u. Untersuchungen (v. 2, rt Iwdvyns [nev bd Tod ‘Pwualwy Ba-
p- eo? 1888). aiéws KaredikdcOn, "IdxwBos dé] wad
- Oo Geodoyos, as Dr Sanday ee. out “lovdalwy dvnpébn.”
(Criticism of the Fourth Gospel, p. 251), ® Chronologie, i. p. 665 f.
**may quite well have been due os the
m 2
elxxx AUTHORSHIP
that the prophecy of Mc. x. 39 had found a literal fulfilment.
Neither explanation is very probable in view of the early date
He does not, however, affirm that the brothers
suffered at the same time: the martyrdom of John at the hand of
of Papias?.
the Jews might have taken place at any date before the last days
of Jerusalem. But even if we postpone it to the year 69, and
accept the earlier date of the Apocalypse, the book can hardly
have come from the hand of the son of Zebedee.
8. Thus, if the statement of Papias is to be allowed to enter
into our calculations, it becomes a very important factor, for it
If we
believe it, we shall be compelled to attribute the book to an
disposes of the Apostolic authorship of the Apocalypse’.
unknown John, who will probably be the second of the two who
To John the
Elder we shall then ascribe the residence in Ephesus and the
exile to Patmos which from the time of Clement of Alexandria
The Elder will
also be, as it seems, the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” and whose
personality is felt throughout the Johannine literature. If an
unverifiable reference to a lost book seems too narrow a basis for
are named in the Eusebian fragment of Papias.
it has been usual to ascribe to John the Apostle.
so large a superstructure, there is still the chance of a primary
error, a confusion between the Apostle and the Elder, which may
have existed even in the mind of Irenaeus, and have perpetuated
itself in the writings of his successors. On this supposition, again,
the Apocalypse is not the work of the son of Zebedee and probably
comes from the disciple who was not of the Twelve.
g. But there is something to be said on the other side.
The Synoptists have preserved some characteristic recollections of
John the son of Zebedee, from which the reader of the Gospels
may gain an impression of the man. He was one of the three
who formed the inner circle of the Apostolic college, and had
1 Dr Sanday (Criticism, p. 251) writes:
‘The natural date for the extracts in
this chapter [Eus. H.H. iii. 39] seems to
me to be circa Ico.”
2 Prof. Burkitt (Gospel History and
its transmission, p. 252 ff.) adds an
interesting confirmation of Papias’s
statement from the place of St John’s
Day in early Church Calendars.
3 Unless we follow Epiphanius, who
places the exile and the visions of the
Apocalypse under Claudius ; see above,
pes
AUTHORSHIP elxxx1
shared with Peter and James opportunities which were denied to
the other nine. He was one of the two brethren who received
from the Lord the great name of Boanerges, a word which, what-
ever its exact history, seems to indicate a strenuous nature’.
It was John the son of Zebedee who confessed that he forbade
one who did not follow our Lord in the company of His disciples
to use His name for the working of miracles. It was John and
his brother who would have called down fire from heaven upon
the Samaritan villages which refused to receive the Master on
His way to Jerusalem. It was for John and his brother that
their mother sought the nearest places to the Messiah in the
glory of His Kingdom. In all these respects the Apocalyptist
shews some affinity to the John of the Synoptic Gospels. He is
a son of thunder; he calls down fire from heaven; his aversion
to the enemies of the Christ and His Church is whole-hearted.
The hostile Jews of Smyrna and Philadelphia are the synagogue
of Satan; Nero, Domitian, the Empire itself so far as it adopts
their policy, is the Beast; Rome is Babylon, the mother of the
harlots and of the abominations of the earth. The tone of the book
when it lashes the persecutor, the idolater, the unclean, is almost
truculent; the Seer’s righteous wrath reaches a white heat. The
conception of the Christ is one which might seem impossible for
the émictOt0s, though not for the son of Zebedee as he appears
in the Synoptists. The Christ of the Apocalypse is infinitely
majestic and august, but His predominant characteristic is un-
bounded power, shewing itself in a just severity. As the Shepherd,
He rules with a rod of iron; as the Lamb, He is terrible in His
anger; as the King, He treads the winepress of the wrath of God.
Only once or twice does the tenderness of our Lord’s compassion,
or the intimacy of His fellowship with men make itself felt in
this book. There are few echoes in the Apocalypse of the intense
sympathy for the suffering and for sinners which the Gospels
associate with the human life of our Lord. The Ascension and
Exaltation account for the power and glory with which He is
invested by the Apocalyptist, but they do not wholly explain the
1 St Mark?, p. 60.
elxxxil AUTHORSHIP
changed point of view; we feel that the Revelation of Jesus Christ
has passed through a mind which has coloured it with its own
severity, and the colouring is not unlike that which the John of
the Synoptic Gospels might have been expected to impart. This
fact, though far from being decisive’, may well lead us to hesitate
before we definitely reject the attribution of the Apocalypse to
the Apostle John.
10, The subject must not be dismissed without an attempt
to consider, however briefly, the literary relation between the Apo-
calypse and the fourth Gospel. Some of the evidence has been
collected in an earlier chapter of this introduction?, It appears
to shew that there is an affinity between the two books, extend-
ing occasionally to minute resemblances, but counterbalanced by
differences so profound that the doubt raised by Dionysius
remains unsolved.
(a) ‘The difference of style and language has been explained as
due in part to a ‘‘difference in the scope of the books*,” and in part
to their relative dates. (i) Dr Lightfoot calls attention to the
peculiar style of the apocalyptic passages in the Epistles to the
Thessalonians and in 2 Peter; “we seem,” he writes, “to have
stumbled on a passage out of the Hebrew prophets,” adding that
this “explains also to a great extent the marked difference in style
between the Revelation of St John and his other writings*.” But
the analogy of apocalyptic passages in other books of the New
Testament goes only a little way towards explaining the stylistic
eccentricities of the author of the Apocalypse. Even the ixx.
version of the Prophets, uncouth and unintelligible as it often is,
can shew no succession of anomalies comparable to those of the
Revelation of St John. The argument from analogy would be
convincing if the style of the Revelation differed from the style of
the Gospel in the same or nearly the same degree as the apocalyptic
passages in St Paul ditfer from the rest of his writings. But in the
former case the difference is in truth not one of degree, but of kind.
It is incredible that the writer of the Gospel could have written the
Apocalypse without a conscious effort savouring of literary artifice.
(ii) Is this difficulty removed if we suppose that the Apocalypse
was written twenty or five-and-twenty years before the Gospel?
Dr Westcott (/.c.), arguing for the priority of the Apocalypse, says
that it is “very difficult to suppose that the language of the writer
of the Gospel could pass at a later time in a Greek-speaking country
1 Witness the severity of John the 2 OC. xi.; see especially p. exxv ff.
Elder in 2 Jo. iof., and the attitude of ° Westcott, St John, p. lxxxvi.
the Fourth Gospel towards ‘ the Jews.” 4 Notes on the Epp. of St Paul, p. 72 f.
<a
a Dee
AUTHORSHIP elxxx1ll
into the language of the Apocalypse,” but on the other hand he
thinks that “intercourse with a Greek-speaking people would in a
short time naturally reduce the style of the author of the Apocalypse
to that of the author of the Gospel.” To the present writer the
latter hypothesis is at least as difficult as the former. The writer
of the Apocalypse may not have been either more or less of a Greek
scholar than the writer of the Gospel; but in their general attitude
towards the use of language they differ fundamentally. The diffe-
rence is due to personal character rather than to relative familiarity
with Greek. And when style expresses individual character it
undergoes little material change even in a long life of literary
activity, especially after the age which St John must have reached
in A.D. 69 or 70.
(b) The differences of thought which distinguish the two
books have never been more successfully delineated than by
Dr Westcott in his introduction to the Gospel of St John. Of
these, too, he finds a suflicient explanation in the priority of the
Apocalypse*: ‘the differences,” in conception as in language,
“answer to differences in situation, and are not inconsistent with
identity of authorship.” “Of the two books the Apocalypse is the
earlier. It is less developed both in thought and style...to go back
from the teaching of the Gospel to that of the Apocalypse...to
reduce the full expression of truth to its rudimentary beginnings,
seems to involve a moral miracle.” But, even conceding the priority
of the Apocalypse, can we explain the difference of standpoint by
development ? Is the relation of the Apocalyptic to the Evangelic
teaching that which exists between rudimentary knowledge and
the maturity of thought? And is it to be maintained that St John’s
conceptions of Christian truths were still rudimentary forty years
after the Ascension, and reached maturity only in extreme old
age?
11. But how are we to explain the affinities of the two
books—the characteristic phrases and ideas which they have in
common? It is usual to account for these by saying that all
the Johannine books proceed from the same school, the school of
John of Ephesus, whether the Apostle or the Presbyter. Perhaps
it is possible to advance a step further. While the Apocalypse
definitely claims to be the work of John, no such claim is put
forth in the Gospel; for such passages as Jo. xix. 35, xx. 30 f., do
not assert more than that the book contains the testimony of
Jobn, and Jo. xxi. 24 odtos éotw 6 wabntns...0 ypawas TadTa is
an editorial note which must not be pressed too closely. On the
other hand early tradition explicitly states that the Gospel was
Pew XXX Vt. 2 On this question see c. ix. of this introduction.
clxxx1v AUTHORSHIP
written from dictation, and underwent some kind of revision at
the hands of those who received it.
The Muratorian fragment thus describes the genesis of the fourth
Gospel: “quartum! euangeliorum Johannis ex discipulis. cohor-
tantibus condiscipulis et episcopis suis dixit: Conieiunate mihi
hodie triduo et quid cuique fuerit reuelatum alterutrum nobis enar-
remus. eadem nocte reuelatum Andreae ex apostolis ut recognos-
centibus cunctis Iohannes suo nomine cuncta describeret.” With
this should be compared the singular statement of a Latin prologue
to the Gospel, printed in Wordsworth- White (¥. 7. Latine, i.
490 f.): “hoe igitur evangelium post apocalypsin scriptum? mani-
festum, et datum est ecclesiis in Asia a Johanne adhuc in corpore
constituto, sicut Papias nomine Hierapolitanus episcopus, discipulus
Iohannis et carus, in exotericis® suis, id est, in extremis quinque
libris, retulit, qui hoc evangelium Johanne sub dictante con-
scripsit*.”. An anonymous Greek writer in the catena of Corderius
tells the same story: ‘lwavvys...rdvy yypadéov abrod yevouevov, ws
Tapedocav ypiv 6 te Hipnvatos kal EioéBios wat GAOL TioTOl Kata
duadoxnv ‘yeyovores toropiKkol,...bmnydpevoe TO edayyéALtov TO EavTod
padytn Ilaria.
The first of these statements deserves especial attention. It
belongs to the second century, and proceeds from the Church of
Rome, which was in frequent communication with the Churches
of Asia Minor, and had recently been visited by Polycarp: it may
even have originated with Polycarp. If its main points are
true, the fourth Gospel was not written by the hand of John,
but dictated—a word which may be interpreted with some
laxity ; and it underwent much editorial revision (recognoscentibus
cunctis). In these circumstances it is possible to conceive of the
writer of the Apocalypse being the author of the Gospel, in
the sense of having supplied the materials from which it was
written.
12. But the question of the authorship of the Apocalypse
must not be complicated by considerations connected with the
still more vexed question of the authorship of the fourth Gospel.
1 Cod. quarti. The MSS. have been Essays, p. 69, n. 5; Supernatural Re-
tacitly corrected in this extract and the _ ligion, p. 210 ff.
next., 4 So Cod. Toletanus; Cod. reg. Suet.
2 This is the order usually alleged; ends: descripsit vero evangelium, dictante
see e.g. the passages collected by Cors- Johanne recte. (The spelling of the
sen, Monarch, Prologe, p. 801 (in IT. u. MSS. has been conformed to the usual
EEN 1) orthography.)
3 On this word see Lightfoot, Biblical
"=
AUTHORSHIP clxxxv
The issue which lies before the student of the Apocalypse is in
fact independent of the decision at which the critics of the
Gospel may ultimately arrive. Was the John who wrote the
Apocalypse the Synoptic son of Zebedee? Was it John the son
of Zebedee who lived in Asia, and was exiled to Patmos, or was it
the mysterious Elder, who is distinguished by Papias from the
Apostle of the same name? A fair case may be made for either
view. On the one hand the general character of the book accords
with what the Synoptists relate with regard to the Apostle
John, and the main current of Christian tradition favours this
conclusion, On the other hand, there is some uncertainty as
to the length of the Apostle’s life, and some reason to suspect
that the Apostle and a disciple who was not of the Twelve are
confused in our earliest authorities. While inclining to the
traditional view which holds that the author of the Apocalypse
was the Apostle John, the present writer desires to keep an open
mind upon the question. Fresh evidence may at any time be
produced which will turn the scale in favour of the Elder. There
are those whom this indecision will disappoint, but it is best
frankly to confess the uncertainty which besets the present state
of our knowledge. We cannot yet with safety go far beyond the
dictum of Dionysius: 67 pév ody ‘lwavyns éotiv 0 tadta ypador,
= A , / tal \ @ ”
QUT@ NEyovTL TLsTEUTEOV* Trotos bé OvTOS, adndoOV.
I.
XVI.
TEXT.
The following Uncial MSS. contain the Greek text of the
Apocalypse, or a part of it.
X.
A.
C.
QG
at
2.
Cod. Sinaiticus (1v.). Ed. Tischendorf, 1862.
Cod. Alexandrinus (v.). Ed. E. M. Thompson, 1879.
Cod. Ephraemi Parisiensis (v.). Ed. Tischendorf, 1843.
Contains Apoc. i. I—lil. 19, V. I4—Vll. 14, Vil. 17—
Vili. 5, 1X. 16—x. Io, Xl. 3—xvi. 13, XVlll. 2—xix. 5.
Cod. Porfirianus Chiavensis (1x.). Ed. Tischendorf (in
mon. sacra ined. vi.), 1869; cf. Gregory, Prolegomena,
p- 417. Contains Apoc. i. I—xvi. 12, xvil. I—xix, 21,
XX. Q—XXIiL. 6,
B,). Cod. Vaticanus Gr. 2066, olim Basiliensis 105 (viii.).
Ed. Tischendorf (in app. V. T. Vatic.), 1867; cf. Gregory,
Prolegomena, p. 435.
Cod. Kosinitsanus (1x.): see Scrivener-Miller, i, p. 3773
Gregory, Texthritik des N. T.,1., p.96; Kenyon, Hand-
book to the textual criticism of the N. T., p. 104. Yon Soden,
Die Schriften des N. T., 1. i. p. 104, locates it at Drama.
Not yet edited or collated. This MS. contains the whole
of the N. T., in the order Ev. Acts Cath. Apoc, Paul.
Thus at present there are available only three complete
and two imperfect uncials of the Apocalypse. The minuscules
also are comparatively few; while we have 1725 MSS. of the
Gospels, 520 of the Acts and Catholic Epistles, and 619 of Paul,
those of the Apocalypse do not reach 230% The following list
is based on Dr C. R. Gregory’s Prolegomena to Tischendorf and
Textkritik.
1 The numbers are yon Soden’s (1902).
6 te onl =e 6 etre se 7
TEXT celxxxvli
Maihingen, Libr. of the Prince of Ottingen-Wallerstein
(xu. or x1m1.). The only MS. used by Erasmus in 1516 for
the Apocalypse’. Rediscovered by Delitzsch in 1861:
collated by Tregelles in 1862.
Paris, Bibl. Nat. Gr. 237 (x.) = Acts 10, Paul 12.
A MS. cited by Stephen : otherwise unknown. |
Paris, Bibl. Nat. Gr. 219 (x1.) = Acts 12, Paul 16.
Readings cited by Laurentius Valla a. 1440.]
Oxford, Bodl. Baroce. 3 (x1.) = Acts 23, Paul 28.
London, Brit. Mus. Harl. 5537 (a.p. 1087) = Acte 25,
Paul 31.
London, Brit. Mus. Harl. 5778 (xu.) = Acts 28, Paul 34.
Oxford, Bodl. Misc. Gr. 74 (x1.) = Acts 30, Paul 36.
Cambridge, Univ. Dd. ix. 69 (xv.) = Ev. 60.
Petavius 2 = Acts 39, Paul 45, has disappeared. |
Rome, Vat. Reg. Gr. 179 (xv.) = Acts 4o, Paul 46.
Frankfort on Oder, Lyceum (x1.) = Paul 48.
Leicester, Libr. of the Town Council (xv.) = Ev. 69, Acts 31,
Paul 37.
Basle, Univ. A.N. iii. 12 (?): annexed to Cod. E of the
Gospels, but in a later hand; contains only Apoc.
iii. 3—iv. 8.
Hamburg, City Libr. (xv.) = Acts 45, Paul 52.
Paris, Bibl. Nat., Coisl. Gr. 199 (xI.) = Ev. 35, Acts 14,
Paul 18.
Paris, Bibl. Nat., Coisl. Gr. 202 (xm.) = Acts 18, Paul 22.
Paris, Bibl. Nat., Coisl. Gr. 205 (x.) = Acts 17, Paul a1.
Rome, Vat. Libr., Gr. 2080 (x. or x1.) = Ev. 175, Acts 41,
Paul 194.
Rome, Vallicelli D. 20 (xv.).
Rome, Vallicelli B. 86 (xtv.) = Acts 166, Paul 204.
Florence, Laur. Conv. Soppr. 53 (A.D. 1331) = Ev. 367,
Acts 146, Paul 182.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 2062 (x. or x1.) = Acts 160, Paul 193.
Rome, Vat. Palat. Gr. 171 (xv.) = Ev. 149, Acts 77,
Paul 88.
Oxford, Christ Ch. Wake 12 (xI. or xu.) = Ev. 506,
Acts 199, Paul 256.
Oxford, Christ Ch. Wake 34 (xI. or xu.) = Ev. 517,
Acts 190, Paul 244.
Oxford, Bodl. Baroce. 48 (xv.): ends at xvii. 5.
1 On the text of Erasmus see Hort, introd. to WH., § 346.
celxxxvill
29.
WwW nmwW Ww W
se
CIES ISON Ca
TEXT
London, Brit. Mus. Harl. 5613 (a.p. 1407) = Acts 60,
Paul 63.
Wolfenbiittel, xvi. 7 (xIv.) = Acts 60.
London, Brit. Mus. Harl. 5678 (xv.)
Dresden, Reg. A 124 (XV.).
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 23 (x11.) = Ev. 218, Acts 65, Paul 57:
wants xill, 5—xlv. 8, XV. 7—XVll. 2, XV1ll. IO—xix. 15,
XX. 7—Xxii. 21.
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 302 (x1.) = Acts 66, Paul 67; wants
XV. 6—XVil. 3, XVill. Io—xix. 9, Xx. 8—xxil. 21.
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 307 (XIv.).
Vienna, Imp. Libr. suppl. Gr. 93 (x11).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 366 (xv.) = Acts 72, Paul 79.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 579 (XV.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1136 a (xiv.) = Paul 85 ; wants i. 1—3, 17;
vi. 18—xiil. II.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1160 (xIIl. or xiv.) = Ev. 141, Acts 75,
Paul 86.
Rome, Vat. Reg. Gr. 68 (xv.).
Rome, Vat. Pius II Gr. 50 (x11.) = Acts 80, Paul gt.
Rome, Barb. iv. 56 (xiv.). Contains Apoc. xiv. 17—
XVili. 20,
Rome, Propag. L. vi. 19 (xiv.)= Ev. 180, Acts 82,
Paul gz.
Florence, Laur. iv. 32 (A.D. 1092) = Acts 89, Paul 99.
Venice, St Mark’s 10 (xv.) = Ev. 209, Acts 95, Paul 108.
Dresden, Reg. A 172 (x1.) = Ev. 241, Acts 104, Paul 120.
Moscow, Syn. 380 (xu.) = Ey. 242, Acts 105, Paul 121.
Moscow, Syn. 67 (xv.).
Moscow, Syn. 206 (Xv.).
Paris, Nat. Gr. 47 (A.D. 1364) = Ev. 18, Acts 113, Paul 132.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 56 (x11.) = Acts 51, Paul 133.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 59 (xv.) = Acts 116, Paul 136.
Vacant. |
Paris, Nat. Gr. ror (xu1.) = Acts 118, Paul 138.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 1ro2 (xml. or xIv.) = Acts 119, Paul 139.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 124 (xvi.) = Ev. 296, Acts 124, Paul 149.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 19 (XV. or XVI.).
Paris, Nat. Suppl. Gr. 99 (xv. or xv1.).
Vacant. |
Paris, Nat. Gr. 491 (xl. or xIv.); contains i. I—xxii. 8.
Paris, Nat. Gr. 239 (A.D. 1422).
i ~ aoe
Trt clxxxix
Paris, Nat. Gr. 241 (XVI).
Paris, Nat. Gr. 224 (x1.) = Paul 159.
Moscow, Univ. 25 (xi1.); contains xvi. 20—xxil. 21.
Vacant. |
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1743 (A.D. 1301).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1994 (XI. or x11.). Contains Apoe. i. 11—
ii. 20, iii, 16—v1. 9, vil. 17—ix. 5, xxi. 18—xxil. 21.
Rome, Vat. Ottob. 258 (x1v.) = Acts 161, Paul 198; a
Graeco-Latin text. Wants xviii. 22—xxii 21.
Rome, Vat. Ottob. 66 (x1v.) = Ev. 386, Acts 151, Paul 199.
Vacant. |
Rome, Chigi R. iv. 8 (XvI.).
Rome, Corsini 41 E. 37 (Xv.).
Venice, St Mark’s 546 (x1.) = Acts 140, Paul 215.
Florence, Laur. iv. 30 (x.) = Acts 86, Paul 96.
Vacant ; = 75. |
. Florence, Laur. vii. 9 (XvI.).
Rome, Vat. Ottob. Gr. 176 (xv.) = Paul 197.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 656 (XIVv.).
. Munich, Reg. Gr. 248 (xvi.).
Munich, Reg. Gr. 544 (XIV.).
Munich, Reg. Gr. 23 (XvVI.).
Munich, Reg. 211 (xI.) = Acts 179, Paul 12
Turin, Univ. B. v. 8 (302) (xul.) = Ev. 3
Paul 170.
Florence, Riccardi 84 (xv.) = Ev. 368, Acts 150.
Jerusalem, Holy Sep. 9 (xur.) = Acts 184, Paul 232.
St Saba ro (xiv.) = Ev. 462, Acts 187, Paul 235.
Berlin, Reg. Phillipps 1461 (x1v. and xv.) = Acts 178,
Paul 242; wants xiv. 4—14, xXxXi. 12—xxil. 21.
Venice, St Mark’s 5 (xv.) = Ev. 205, Acts 93, Paul 106.
St Saba 20 (x1.) = Ev. 466, Acts 189, Paul 237.
Dresden, Reg. A. 95 (XII.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1209 (xv.) = Paul 293 [the supplement of
Cod. B, to be found in Vercellone and Cozza’s edition
(1868), and in the recent photographic reproduction of
the Vatican Codex (N. T.)].
Dublin, Trin. A. 4. 21 (xvi.) = Ev. 61, Acts 34, Paul
40.
London, Lambeth 1186 (x1.) = Paul 2900; wants xiv. 16—
XV. 73 XIX. 4—XXil. 21.
London, Brit. Mus. Add. 11837 (a.D. 1357) = Ev. 201,
Acts 91, Paul roq.
Parham, Curzon 82. 17 (XI. or XII).
8
_
3
9, Acts 135,
CXG
96.
97-
98.
99:
100.
Tol.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
iB iti
U2.
T12.
oA
D5.
116.
Re fe
118.
119g.
120.
Lol lal Lon) Lan |
bb NH N N
Oo- N
I25-
126,
TEXT
Parham, Curzon 93. 28 ? (XxIV.).
London, Brit. Mus. Add. 17469 (x1v.) = Ev. 498, Acts 198,
Paul 255.
Oxford, “Bodl; Canon. gr. 34 (4-D.. 15 55))— hives
Acts 200, Paul 257; wants il. 11—23.
Naples, Nat. ii. Aa. 7 (x11.) = Acts 83, Paul 93.
Naples, Nat. ii. Aa. ro (XIV. or xV.).
Petersburg, Muralt 129 (xv.).
Paris, Nat. Armen. 9 (xI.) = Acts 301, Paul 259; wants
xix. I6—xXXIL 21.
Ferrara, Univ. 188 NA. 7 (a.D. 1334) = Ev. 582, Acts 206,
Paul 262.
St Saba 20 (x1.) = Acts 243, Paul 287.
Athens, Nat. (43), Sakk. 94 (xu.) = Acts 307, Paul 469;
Ap. xxi. 27—xxil. 21 in a later hand.
Zittau, Town Libr. A. 1 (xv.)= Ev. 664, Acts 253,
Paul 303.
Cheltenham, 7682 (x1.) = Ev. 680, Acts 255, Paul 305.
Highgate, Burdett-Coutts ii. 4 (x1.) = Ev. 699, Acts 256,
Paul 306.
Venice, St Mark’s 6 (xv. or xvi.) = Ev. 206, Acts 94,
Paul 107.
Athens, Nat. th. 12, Sakk. 150 (xi. or xiv.) = Ev. 757,
Acts 260, Paul 309.
Athens, Nat. 67™, Sakk. 107 (x111.) = Ev. 792.
Athens, Mamouka (xu1.) = Ev. 808, Acts 265, Paul 314.
Grottaferrata A’. a’. 1 (xiv.)= Ev. 824, Acts 267, Paul 316.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1882 (xiv.) = Ev. 866. Contains Apoc.
vi. 17—xili. 2 in Greek and Latin.
Rome, Vat. Reg. Gr. 6 (A.D. 1454) = Ev. 886, Acts 268,
Paul 317.
Athos, Greg. 3 (a.D. 1116) = Ev. 922, Acts 270, Paul 320.
Athos, Esphigm. 186 ae Ev. 986, Acts 277, Paul 326.
Athos, Laur. (x1v.) = Ev. 1072, Acts 284, Paul 333.
Athos, Laur. (xtv.) = Ev. 1075, Acts 286, Paul 334.
Athos, Panteleem. xxix. (xiv.) = Ev. 1094, Acts 287,
Paul 335.
Paris, Nat. Coisl. 224 (x1.)= Acts 250, Paul 299.
Athens, Nat. th. 217, Sakk. 490 (xiv.) = Acts 251, Paul zor.
Paris, Nat. Suppl. Gr. 159 (xiv.) = Ev. 743, Acts 259.
Athens, Nat. (64), Sakk. 91 (xu.) = Acts 309, Paul 300;
wants Xvill. 22—xxXil. 21.
Escurial, W. iii. 6 (x1.) = Acts 235
Escurial, W. iii. 18 (x.) = Acts 236.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133:
134.
T3a5-
136.
137:
138.
139.
140,
I4I.
142.
143-
144.
145-
146.
147-
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.
153-
154.
155.
156.
sy a
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
TEXT excl
Lesbos, rod Aepdvos 55 (IX. or X.) = Acts 323, Paul 429.
Venice, St Mark’s ii. 114 (A.D. 1069) = Acts 332, Paul 434.
Linképing, Dioc. Libr. 14. 35 (x. or x1.) = Acts 334,
Paul 436.
Athos, Iveron 25 (x1.) = Acts 359, Paul 452 [see p. excvi.].
Athos, Iveron 60 (x1u1.) = Acts 362, Paul 455.
Athos, Paul 2 (1x.) = Acts 374, Paul 463.
Chalcis, schol. 26 (x.) = Acts 384, Paul 355.
Chalcis, schol. 96 (xu1.) = Acts 386, Paul 357.
Sinai, 279 (xv.) = Acts 399, Paul 367 ; contains i. 1—xiii. 8,
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 69 (A.D. 1507).
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 163 (xv.).
Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 220 (xv.).
Paris, Nat. Gr. 240 (A.D. 1543).
Paris, Nat. Coisl. Gr. 256 (x1. or x11).
Athens, rs BovAjs (XVI.).
KEscurial, T. iii. 17 (x.).
Escurial, X. iii. 6 (A.D, 1107).
Madrid, O. 19, no. 7 (xvI.).
Florence, Laur. vii. 29 (Xv1.) ; contains i. I—vii. 5.
Messina, Univ. gg (XII).
Modena, Este iii. E. 1 (xv. or xv1.).
Modena, Este iii. F, 12 (xv.).
Rome, Angel. A. 4. I (XIV. or xv.).
Rome, Angel. B. 5. 15 (xv.).
Rome, Chigi R.V. 33 (xIv.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 370 (XI.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 542 (A.D. 1331).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1190 (Xv. or XVI.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1426 (x11).
Milan, Ambr. H. 104. sup. (A.D. 1434) = Acts 139,
Paul 174.
Rome, Vat. Gr. 1976 (xv1.).
Rome, Vat. Gr. 2129 (xvI.).
Rome, Vat. Ottob, Gr. 154 (xv.).
Rome, Vat. Ottob. Gr. 283 (A.D. 1574).
Rome, Vat. Palat. Gr. 346 (xv.).
Venice, St Mark’s i. 40 (xvt.).
Venice, St Mark’s ii. 54 (xv. or xvi.)
Athos, Anna rr (A.D. 1356).
Athos, Vatoped. go.
excl
166.
167.
168.
169.
LO:
T7971.
72s
172.
174.
176.
176.
UPA
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
Igo.
IQI.
1Q2-
193.
194.
1g5.
TEXT
Athos, Vatoped. go (2) (?).
Athos, Dionys. 163 (A.D. 1622) = Evst. 642, Apost. 170.
Athos, Docheiar. 81 (A.D. 1798).
Athos, Iveron 34 (XIV.).
Athos, Iveron 379 (x.).
Athos, Iveron 546 (XIV.).
Athos, Iveron 594 (XVII.).
Athos, Iveron 605 (A.D. 1601).
Athos, Iveron 644 (A.D. 1685).
Athos, Iveron 661 (A.D. 1562).
Athos, Konstamon. 29 (XVI.).
Athos, Konstamon. 107 (XIII.).
Patmos, St John 12 (xiv.) = Apost. 161.
Patmos, St John 64 (XI1.).
Florence, Laur. Conv. Soppr. 150 (x11.)=Acts 149, Baal 349:
Graeco-Latin.
London, Brit. Mus. Add. 28816 (A.D. 1111) = Acts 205,
Paul 477.
Dresden, Reg. A. 187 (XVI).
Saloniki, €AAnviKod yupvaciov Io (x.) = Apost. 163.
Leyden, Univ. Isaac Voss Gr. 48 (A.D. 1560).
Cambridge, Univ. (xi. or x1I.) = Ev. 1277, Acts 418,
Paul 484.
a
Athos, Pantocr. 44 (x.); contains xii. 4—xxii. 21 [see
p> “eXeVA. |.
[Greg. 495.] Jerusalem, Patr. 38 (x1.) = Acts (Paul) 495.
[Greg. 500.] Jerusalem, Patr. Saba 665 (x1.) = Acts (Paul)
500.
[Greg. 501.] Jerusalem, Patr. Saba 676 (xu1.) = Acts (Paul)
50l.
Greg. 504.| Jerusalem, Patr. Staur. XII.—XIII.) =
[Greg. 504 57
Acts 504, Evl. ggi b.
[Greg. 506.] Constantinople, Holy Sep. 303. 2 (XIv.).
[Greg. 511.] Athens, Nat. Sakk. 142 (xv.).
[Greg. 1328.] Jerusalem, Patr. Saba ror (x1v.)= Ev. 1328.
[Greg. 1380.] Athos, Greg. 3 (A.D. 1112) = Ev. (Acts, Paul)
1380.
[Greg. oul Andros, Ilavaxypavrov 13 (XI.) = Ey. (Acts,
Paul) 13
Von Soden (Die Schriften des N.T. 1. i. p. 289) raises the
number of Apocalypse MSS. to 220, of which 223 are cursives.
iar exclll
Of the cursive texts, so far as they are known, the following
are perhaps specially noteworthy: 1, 6, 7, 12, 14, 31, 36, 38, OI,
92, 93, 95, 130, 152, 170, 186. An appreciation of the available
uncials is given by Dr Hort in his introduction to The .V.T. in
the original Greek, § 344.
3. The ancient Versions of the Apocalypse are as follows:
I. Latin (latt.).
(a) Old Latin (lat*')’.
g. Cod. Holmiensis (x1.), known as Gigas, from its size; a
Bohemian MS. now at Stockholm. Ed. Belsheim, 1878.
The text of the Apocalypse is “late European” (WH..,
Intr. § 116); ‘scheint italienischer Art zu sein” (Gregory,
Tk. p. 608).
h (or reg). Cod. Floriacensis (v11.), formerly at Fleury, now
at Paris. Ed. Berger, 1889. Offers, according to WH..,
l.c., “a purely African text.” Contains only Apoc. i. 1—24,
viii, 7—ix. 12, Xi. 16—xii. 5, Xll, 6—14, xiv. 15—-xXVi. 5°.
m. Text of the Apocalypse in the Speculum (a Pseudo-
Augustinian treatise de divinis scripturis). The book is
edited by Weihrich in the Vienna Corpus ser. eccl. lat.,
vol, xii. p. 296 ff (1887). The fragments of the N. T.
text are collected by Belsheim (1899). Hort (Gregery,
Tk. p. 606) was disposed to regard the N. T. text of the
Speculum as Spanish, or a recension parallel to the European
text.
Prim. Text of the Apocalypse in the commentary of Primasius
(v1.). Ed. Haussleiter, 1891 (in Zahn’s Vorschungen, Iv.).
(B) Vulgate (Jat**).
am. Cod. Amiatinus (c. A.D. 700).
demid. Cod. Demidovianus (x11).
fuld. Cod. Fuldensis (v1.).
harl. Cod. Harleianus (1x.).
lipss.*** Codd. Lipsienses (XIv., Xv.).
tol. Cod. Toletanus (v1u.).
vg. Edition of the Vulgate issued by Clement VIII. in
1592 (Vercellone, biblia sacra vulgatae editionis Sixti V. et
Clementis VIII. iussu recognita atque edita. Romae, 1861).
II. Syriac (syrr).
(a) Supplement to the Vulgate Syriac or Peshitta (syr., Gwynn’s
>). Ed. Leusden and Schaaf, Leyden 1708, 1717. The
canon of the true Peshitta did not contain the Apocalypse
(above, p. exv.), and the version of this book printed in
Schaaf’s edition and originally published by De Dieu in
1 On the Old Latin version (or ver- 2—12, xi. 18—xii. rr, xv. 4—xvi. 5 is
sions) of the Apocalypse see H. Linke, given in J.7'.S. viii. 29 (Oct. 1906),
Studien zur Itala, i. ; Breslau, 1889. p. 96 ff., but it adds little of importance
2° A fresh reading of h in Apoc. ix. for our purpose.
Ss. R. nr
CXCl1V is Dab
1629 is that of Thomas of Harkel (4.p. 616), as has been
placed beyond doubt by notes appended to a Florentine MS.
(8) <A version printed in 1897 by Dr Gwynn’, Regius Professor
of Divinity in the University of Dublin (syr*™-, Gwynn’s 8),
from a MS. (x11.) in the library of the Earl of Crawford and
Balcarres. As Dr Gwynn shews’*, syr&: is prior to syr.,
and is probably ‘‘ the work-of Polycarpus, and belongs to
his version of the whole New Testament into Syriac, the
Philoxenian proper of A.D. 508.”
Thus our extant Syriac texts of the Apocalypse corre-
spond in character with the Philoxenian and Harkleian
versions respectively. The book was not included in the
canon of the Peshitta.
III. Armenian (arm).
On the editions of the Armenian N. T. see S¢ Mark, p. ci.
Zohrab held that the Apocalypse was not translated into Armenian
before the eighth century, and Goussen (Studia theologica, ii.), while
printing a version of the Apocalypse which he calls antequissima
and regards as based on a copy of extraordinary age (mirae vetus-
tatis exemplar habuisse videtur fontem), pronounces the ordinary
Armenian Apocalypse to be a work of cent. x11.4
Since the publication of the first edition of this commentary,
Mr F. C. Conybeare has issued his promised edition of the Armenian
Apocalypse, under the auspices of the Text and Translation Society.
Besides the Armenian text and an English translation the book
contains a critical introduction, in which Mr Conybeare shews (1)
that the Apocalypse was admitted into the Armenian canon through
the influence of Nerses of Lambron in the twelfth century ; and (2)
that Nerses produced a recension in which he revised an older
version traceable to the first years of the fifth century. Mr Conybeare
has used four MSS. which give pre-Nersesian texts, viz., a Bodleian
MS. dated a.p. 1307 (1), a British Museum MS. (2), a MS. of the
Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris (3), and a Jerusalem MS. dated
A.D. 1191 (4). His collations have been employed in this edition to
correct and, to some extent, supplement Tischendorf’s references to
the Armenian version.
IV. Lgyptian (aegg).
(a2) Memphitic or Bohairic (me). Ed. D. Wilkins, 1717;
G. Horner, 1898—1905. Mr Horner prints the text of
the Apocalypse from the Curzon MS, 128, with the variants
of ten other MSS. In the present edition of this com-
mentary the readings of me have been corrected with
the help of Mr Horner’s translation of his text.
(8) Thebaic or Sahidic (the). Large fragments of the Sahidic
Apocalypse are known to have survived, including ce. 1.
1 See a paper contributed to Herma- memoir in the Transactions of the
thena (x., no, xxiv., 1898) by Dr Gwynn, Royal Irish Academy for 1891.
to whose kindness lowe this information. 3 Gwynn, Apocalypse, pp. XCiil., Xevli.
* His edition was preceded by a * Gregory, Tk. li. p. 368.
TEXT CXCV
13—ix. 21, X. 6—xvi, 18, xvii. 2—xvili. 2, xvili, 12-23,
XViii, 25—xix. 2, xix. 7—xxi. 9, xxi. 25—-xxii. 21’. Some
of these have been collected by Amélineau (Zeitschrift f.
Aeg. Sprache, xxvi. 1888), and Goussen (Apocalypsis 8.
Iohannis Apostoli, Leipzig, 1895)’.
The Apocalypse seems to have formed no part of the original
Bohairic or Sahidic N. T., or at any rate it was held to be of
inferior authority ; for with few exceptions it is written separately
from the rest of the N. T., and it is not represented in the Copto-
arabic vocabularies’.
V. Ethiopic (aeth).
Roman edition, 1548—g. Ed. Platt, 1826—1830 (1874). Cf.
Dr Charles in Hastings, D. B. i. p. 791.
VI. Arabic (ar).
Ed. Erpe, Leyden, 1616; Paris polyglott, 1645 ; Roman edition
of 1703. Cf. Prof. Burkitt in Hastings, D. B.i. p. 136 ff.
The Arabic versions of the Apocalypse are said to “vary greatly,”
and to shew the influence of the Coptic and Syriac’.
In their L’ Apocalypse en Frangais, MM. Paul Meyer and Delisle
have printed a twelfth century version of which the earliest MSS.
are written in the Anglo-Norman dialect. English versions of the
French Apocalypse were current in the fourteenth century, and on
one of these the later Wycliffite version was based. An interesting
account of the early English Apocalypse is given by Miss A. C. Paues,
late Fellow of Newnham College, Ph. D., Upsala, in her degree
thesis: A fourteenth century English Biblical Version (Cambridge,
1902, 1904). Miss Paues, to whom this information is due, is pre-
paring for publication a fuller description of these versions.
4. The patristic evidence for the text of the Apocalypse, if not
so extensive as in the case of some of the other books of the New
Testament, is both early and important. The book is cited,
sometimes in large contexts, by Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, and
Methodius, and, among Latin fathers of the Ante-Nicene period, by
Tertullian and Cyprian, and by Augustine. But the most important
witness under this head is Primasius, whose commentary retains its
original text, and has secured for the Apocalypse “the unique ad-
vantage of having been preserved in a Latin text at once continuous
and purely African®.” The African text of Tyconius also is repre-
1 This information is due to the kind- 3 Scrivener-Miller, ii. p. 123; Gregory,
ness of Mr Horner. Cf. Gregory, pro- prolegg. 861, 864, Tk. ii. pp. 531, 5343
_legg. p. 865; Tk. ii. p.337- Aspecimen Horner, ili. p. x. See above, p. eXxvil.
id a british Museum fragment is given * Burkitt, Uc. Scrivener-Miller, ii.
by Dr Kenyon (p. 160). p. 162f.; Gregory, prolegg. p. 929 f.
__ 2 F. Robinson in Hastings; D. B., p. 5 Hort (introduction to WH., § 117).
; Gregory, Tk. ii. p. 537.
nm 2
exevl AN) OD.G9 0
sented, probably with fair accuracy, in the pseudo-Augustinian
homilies? which embody much of his commentary. On the com-
mentary of Victorinus some doubt still rests, and his text, as printed,
is largely Vulgate in character. In the MSS. of the commentary
of Andreas the Greek text of the Apocalypse varies considerably? ;
its evidence has been used in the apparatus of this edition only
where the MSS. agree.
5. The grouping of the authorities for the text of the
Apocalypse is a task of more than ordinary difficulty, for, as
Dr Hort remarks, “historical landmarks are obscure, and familiar
documents assume anew position®.” Since Dr Hort’s Introduction
was written, much has been done to bring the problem nearer to
a solution, and the student of the text will find help im various
directions from the following writers: Weiss, Die Johannes-
Apokalypse (in Texte und Untersuchungen Vil. 1, 1891); Bousset,
Zur Textkritik der A pokalypse (in T. u. U. Xi. 4, 1894); Bousset, Die
Offenbarung Johannis, 1896; Haussleiter, Die lateinische A pokalypse
der alten afrikanischen Kirche (in Zahn’s Forschungen iv., 1891);
Gwynn, The Apocalypse of St John, in a Syriac Version (1897).
The text of the present edition will be found to differ only in
a few places‘ from that of Westcott and Hort, although the editor
has held himself free in each case to follow to the best of his own
judgement the leading of the evidence. In the apparatus he has
used the materials collected in Tischendorf’s editio octava critica
maior (1872), as amended in Gregory’s prolegomena iii. (1894)',
and he has added to them the evidence of Dr Gwynn’s Syriac,
and of two early Athos minuscules (130, 186°), which were
kindly photographed for his use by Professor Lake, of Oxford
and Leyden. It is hoped that an apparatus thus constructed, though
far from complete, will be sufficient to provide the student of the
Apocalypse with opportunities of testing for himself the principles
of criticism which the works enumerated above will suggest.
1 Migne P. L.xxxy. Cf. the citations discussed in the commentary.
in the Regulae of Tyconius (ed. Bur- 5 Pp. 1298—1302.
kitt, pp. 3, 50, 59, 60 f., 71, 82). 6 On these MSS. see Lambros, Cata-
* For those used by Tischendorf see logue of the Greek MSS. on Mt Athos, 1.
Gregory prolegg. p. 1160. p-97, ii. p. 3. It may be added that a
3 Introduction to WH., § 344. fresh collation has been made of cod.
4 The more important of these are | A, from the London photograph.
an
XVIL
COMMENTARIES’.
The literature of the Apocalypse is immense, but it is un-
equally distributed in regard both to time and to place of origin.
From the Greek-speaking East, which produced the book, no
_ exposition has reached us which is earlier than the sixth century,
| The
West, on the other hand, began to comment upon St John’s
and none of any importance which is later than the tenth.
prophecy in the time of Diocletian, and has occupied itself with
Apocalyptic problems from the days of Irenaeus to our own.
The following list is fairly complete so far as regards the
patristic period, but from the age of Charlemagne to the end of
the Middle Ages it has been thought sufficient to notice the more
important commentaries. Since the invention of printing the
output of books upon the Apocalypse has steadily increased, and
a bare enumeration of them would occupy more space than we
can afford. Only those have been mentioned which possess some
permanent value, or may be regarded as representative of the
several schools of Apocalyptic interpretation.
A. Greek commentaries.
Meuiro, Bishop of Sardis,
Aurelius, wrote, according to
who flourished under Marcus
Eusebius, H.#. iv. 26, wepi rod
1 For a detailed account of commen-
_ taries on the Apocalypse see Liicke,
Versuch einer vollstiindigen Finleitung
in die Offenbarung des Iohannes (Bonn,
1852), pp. 951—1070; and Bousset, Die
Offenbarung TIohannis neu bearbeitet
_ (Géttingen, 1896), pp. st—141r. Liicke
_Yefers to Stosch, Catalogus rariorum in
_ Apoc. Ioannis commentariorum, a book
which I have not been able to consult.
Elliott (Horae Apocalypticae, iv. pp. 275
—528) is especially full on the post-
Reformation period, but must be used
with caution; his zeal for the anti-
papal interpretation leads him at times
to do scant justice to writers, whether
Roman Catholic or Protestant, who take
another view.
exevill COMMENTARIES
diaBoArov Kal Tis aroxadiWews ‘Iwavvov—probably a treatise on the
Devil in which certain passages in the Apocalypse (e.g. cc. xii., xx.)
came under discussion, A fragment of this work may survive! in
Origen, im Ps. iii. tit.: Meditwv yody 6 & 1H Acla dyno atrov
[sc. rov “ABeooahapu] etvar tirov rod biaBdXov éravactayros
TH Xptotod BaciXeia, Kat Tovrov povov pyyobels ovk ereLepydoaro
tov torov. On a Pseudo-Melito super Apocalypsin see Harnack,
Gesch. 1. p. 254.
TrenAgus (il). A MS. found at Altenberg by Marténe and
Durand* bore the title Herenet Lugdunensis episcopt in Apocalypsin,
but it proved to contain extracts from later writers as well as
from Irenaeus. The statement of Jerome, de virr. illustr. ii. 9,
‘‘ Apocalypsin, quam interpretantur Iustinus martyr et Hirenaeus,”
is satisfied by the expositions of certain Apocalyptic passages which
are found in their works (cf. Harnack, Gesch. i. p. 272).
Hrppotytus (ii.—iii.). Jerome (op. cit. 61) says of this profuse
writer: “scripsit nonnullos in scripturas commentarios, e quibus
haec repperi...De Apocalypsi.” The exact title of this work is given
on the back of the Chair as yrrep Toy Kata !wWANHN €[ya]rreAloy Kal
aTroKadyyewc, on which Lightfoot (Clement ii. p. 374; cf. p. 420)
remarks: ‘from the preposition (vmép, not zepi), and from the
association of the two words together, it is a safe inference that
this was an apologetic work directed against those persons who
objected to both works alike,” i.e. the so-called Alogi. Harnack,
on the other hand, writes (Gesch. ii. p. 642): “De Apocalypsi ist
wahrscheinlich...als besonderes Werk zu betrachten...welches wahr-
scheinlich auch Andreas fiir seinen Commentar benutzt hat (zu ¢. 13.
Ende d7./ LO)...
Cuement of Alexandria (ii.—iii.), according to Eusebius, H.Z. vi.
14, commented in his ‘Yrorurwces on all the canonical books not
excepting the antilegomena*.
ORIGEN (iii.), it is known, intended to expound the Apocalypse ;
cf. in Matt. § 49 (Lommatzsch): “omnia haec exponere singillatim
-.-non est temporis huius; exponentur autem tempore suo in
Revelatione Ioannis...horum autem principales expositiones atque
probationes oportet fieri cum ipse liber propositus fuerit nobis ad
exponendum.” But the commentary on Matthew was probably one
of his later works, belonging to his sixtieth year (a.p. 2464), and, as
his death followed in 253, it must be feared that he did not succeed
in reaching the Apocalypse; certainly no fragments of homilies or
a commentary on that book from his pen have been produced.
OECUMENIUS (vi.), Bishop of Tricca in Thessaly. A complete
commentary under this name has been discovered in a Messina MS.
(cod. 8. Salvatore 99, xii.)° by Dr F. Diekamp, who described it in
‘! Harnack, Geschichte, i. p. 248. DiGeBs ANan Daatatele
* See their Voyages Litteraires, ii. ° The work is also found, but in a
p- 260, cited by Harnack, Gesch. i. shorter form, in a Turin MS, (cod. gr.
Pp; 264. 84) and the Roman MSS. Vat. gr. 1426,
° Cf. Zahn, Forschungen, iii. p. 154 ff. Ottob. gr. 126—8.
Westcott in Smith and Wace’s
g1—f1 ‘atx ‘oody uo svaipuy jo AreyuswUt0d
(by YOLVUYOOLNVd ‘SOHLV) 981 ‘D0dv ‘dod
8
8
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= (vo ihm anaan. fais escraee Ap 7h 8 Bt oy ‘ oe ONG iit ceed
(pia. Oy Vo: po. jay au 1)
pp 200 pm 4 dg. yoo Qao\ygM os.
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+
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1.21133 31 waInnadan Noy) NOVI IY
woedu iy yore 1eay 49 vhegn Noamaa UU neeg 8) i awy! Sano ndya NG Bm pL aN WA.
dye Manornyats by atta ean aiyadin nNyuidymLaonanie PA RENE a + 7
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grap ipl * ony [97 4p 9 KD \égae oO
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dodwgsnna iD bp! Arie mw nh WE ND u
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sro@mmnanprm perennnd osm. : qp?
AO Vio Naa. mOM AL. Mads yo 2 imnoin 6 @ pyr)
on mys yim 3) yon mn saundn audao
4.0. {3 pwr ealedere 910Th shir 190,010 yo
a ma 10499971) loo epnm. naga joo ig wa.
Ae
30 Ug. 20 IPN HNO HL. Nao fag Yrop loaimayt
Apo dnobayg.Vao b yiwt 2o1.0 Toten
BA ponte foonys sores uate 1aL A a toda.
2B VOT AAD ; Ju dpnnby pgm iavriyon iy
dunanato da, va) smuiahg, Mmganihg oodm,
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COMMENTARIES exclx
the Berlin Sitzwngsberichte der kin. preuss. Akademie der Wissen-
schaften for 1gor (p. 1046 ff.)!. The commentary is entitled “Epyy-
vela THs “Arroxalivews tod Oeoreciov Kal ebayyedurtod Kat Geoddyou
"Iwdvvov 7 ovyypapeioa rapa Oixovpeviov. It claims to have been
written more than 500 years after the Apocalypse (cf. i. 2 dy
aheiatov SedpapnKdros xpovov...érav tewvov 7 Tevtaxogiwv), but
there are indications which mark the work as not much if at all
laterthan A.D. 600. The discoverer proceeds to shew that Oecumenius
has been used by Andreas, and must therefore in future take
precedence of him and stand first in the short list of extant Greek
commentators upon the Apocalypse.
Anpreas’, metropolitan of Cappadocian Caesarea has left us
a “Eppnveta cis tyv “Aroxd\uw which may be assigned to the
second half of the sixth century. He quotes patristic authorities
from Papias to Cyril of Alexandria, and refers (on xx. 7 f.) to the
invasion of the Empire by barbaric hordes @ xadotpev Ovrvvixd, and
to Dionysius the Areopagite, who is styled 6 paxdépws. While the
work of Andreas takes account of earlier writers and occasionally
quotes them, yet, as the preface leads the reader to expect, it is in
no sense a catena, but an independent effort to interpret the book.
The interpretation is on Origenistic lines, but though it allegorizes
to some extent, an attempt is made from time to time to find his-
torical fulfilments of the Apocalyptic visions. Such a work naturally
attracted attention in the Greek-speaking East, and from the ninth
century onwards the commentary of Andreas was widely tran-
scribed: nearly a third of the known minuscule MSS. of the
Apocalypse contain it, viz. codd. 1, 18, 21, 35, 36, 43, 49, 59, 62,
63, 67, 68, 704, 72, 73, 77; 79) 79 4 80, 81, 100, IOI, 123, 136, 137,
138, 139, 144, 145, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 159, 160,
Serenos, 164, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 174, 175, 179, 184, 186",
192, and seven more which have not received a number.
The editio princeps of Andreas is that of Sylburg (1596). The
commentary was also printed in the Bibliothecae Patrum of 1589,
1618, 1644 and 16774; in the present volume it is quoted from
Migne, P. G. evi.
ARETHAS, a successor of Andreas in the see of Caesarea (ix.—x.),
occupied himself with a compilation in which his predecessor holds
a large place; the title is SvAdoy) e&nyjoews ek Siaddpwv ayiwv
avdpay, or, according to another MS., ’Ex rév “Avdpéa...rerovnévov
ctvolis cxoXiKy, Taparebeioa Vd ApéGa. His date is now given as
c. A.D. goo’.
1TI owe this reference to Mr C. H.
Turner’s article Patristic Commentaries,
3 Of this MS. a photograph is shewn
opposite. Cod, 186 = Athos, Pantocra-
in Hastings’ D.B. v. p. 523.
2 On Andreas (Andrew) of Caesarea
see Fabricius-Harles, viii. p. 696 ff. ;
Smith and Wace, D.C.B. i. p. rs4f.;
Herzog-Hauck, i. p. 514 ff.; Bousset,
Die Offenbarung, p. 68 f.; Gregory, pro-
legg. p. 1159; von Soden, pp. 284 ff.,
yoaf. -
tor 44, was photographed for the writer
by Mr (now Professor) Lake in 1go1-2,
and a collation of its text of the Apoca-
lypse has been made for this edition.
4 Ittig, De bibliothecis et catenis pa-
trum, pp. 52, 109, 426, 492.
5 See Harnack in 7. u. U.i.1, pp. 39ff.,
43 f.
CC
1
2
3
COMMENTARIES
Arethas is printed in the Cologne and Lyons Bibliothecae Patrum’,
in Cramer’s Catena, vill. pp. 181—496, and in Migne P. G. evi.; the
quotations in the notes of this volume are from Migne. A critical
edition of Andreas and Arethas is still a desideratum.
Besides the commentary of Andreas and the compilation of
Arethas we have in print (Cramer, viil. pp. 497—582, from MS.
Coisl. 224, f. 333 V., sqq.) a briefer exposition of which Diekamp
truly says that it is “nichts Anderes als der etwas verktirzte Com-
mentar des Andreas*®.” Cramer himself represents it as Oecume-
nian (ib. p. vi.), for what reason it does not appear; Montfaucon
(Biblioth. Coislin., p. 275) mentions no name in connexion with it,
though Oecumenius is named in the heading to the previous item
(p. 33° V-)-
B. Syriac commentaries.
“The chief Nestorian commentator, Isho‘-dad of Merw (fl. a.p.
850), covers both Testaments in his exegetical works, but passes
over the four shorter Catholic Epistles and the Apocalypse, which
were not included in the canon of the Peshitta. The Jacobite
Barhebraeus (} A.D. 1286) in his Ausar Razé has the same range
and the same exceptions as Isho-dad. The known Syriac commen-
taries on the Apocalypse seem to be no more than three, and they
are unpublished. (1) An anonymous commentary of unknown
date accompanies the text in Brit. Mus. Add. 17127; an extract
from the comment on ¢. ili. is given in Wright’s Catalogue of Syriac
MSS., part ii. p. 1020 f. (2) The second commentary is that of
Jacos (Dionysius) BarsaList (} A.D, 1171), preserved in Brit. Mus.
Rich. 7185 ; extracts are given by Dr Gwynn in Hermathena v1., vil.
(3) The third is found in Cambr. Univ. Lib. Add. 1970, a Nestorian
MS. of the eighteenth century. An extract from it is given in the
Catalogue of Syriac MSS. in the Library of the University of
Cambridge, vol. i. p. 44 f. It is apparently a recent production,
not much earlier in date than the MS.°”
C. Latin commentaries from the third century to the sixteenth.
Vicrorinus, Bishop‘ of Pettau, in Pannonia (iii.)’. Of this earliest
of Latin interpreters of the Apocalypse Jerome, himself a Pan-
nonian, writes (de virr. il. 74): “ Victorinus, Pitabionensis episco-
pus, non aeque Latine ut Graece noverat. unde opera eius grandia
sensibus viliora videntur compositione verborum. sunt autem haec:
commentarii in Genesim, in Exodum...in Apocalypsim Iohannis.”
Elsewhere he says of Victorinus (ep. 58): “ quod intellegit eloqui
non potest,” and again (ep. 70): “licet desit eruditio, non tamen
deest eruditionis voluntas.” According to the same authority,
Ittig, op. cit. pp. 438, 504. 4 “Ex oratore episcopus,”’ according
Similarly Bousset, Comm. p. 70. to Cassiodorius (De inst. div. libr. 5).
I owe this account of the Syriac > On Victorinus ana his commentary
commentaries on the Apocalypse to the on the Apocalypse see Harnack, Gesch.
kindness of my colleague, Dr W. Emery i. p. 371 ff., and Kattenbusch, Der
Barnes, Hulsean Professor of Divinity. Apost. Symbol, p. 212.
COMMENTARIES CCl
Victorinus was a chiliast (de virr. ill. 18: ‘‘Tertullianus...et Vic-
torinus Pitabionensis et Lactantius hac opinione ducuntur”), and
in his expository methods a follower of Origen (ep. 62: “taceo de
Victorino Pitabionensi et ceteris qui Origenem in explanatione
dumtaxat scripturarum secuti sunt”). His exact date is not
known, but he suffered martyrdom (de virr. ill. 74: “ad extremum
martyrio coronatus est”), probably during the last persecution—an
epoch when the Apocalypse may well have recovered in the eyes of
Christians much of the freshness of its original interest.
A commentary on the Apocalypse bearing the name of Victorinus
is extant in two forms—a shorter form printed in De la Bigne’s
Bibliotheca Patrum, t. vi. (Paris, 1575)!, and a longer which appears
in Gallandi, t. iv., and in Migne, P. Z. v. In the Zeitschrift f.
kirchl. Wissenschaft wu. kirchl. Leben for 1886 Haussleiter maintained
that neither form represents the original work as it came from the
pen of Victorinus. The shorter form is a revision of Victorinus by
Jerome, who used also the commentary of Tyconius, and the longer
is based on a later recension of the shorter. Since this theory was
broached Haussleiter has been engaged in preparing an edition of
Victorinus for the Vienna Corpus, and his researches have con-
vinced him that the text presented by Cod. Vat, Ottob. Lat. 3288 4
approaches more nearly to the original than either of the printed
texts, and in particular that it contains the chiliastic end of the
commentary, which Jerome removed’. In the notes of the present
volume ‘ Victorinus’ stands for the longer form of the Jerome-
Victorinus commentary, which is quoted from Migne’s reprint.
Tycontus (7 Tichonius, Ticonius*), African and Donatist, followed
Victorinus after an interval of about a century; his florwit is
usually given as c. A.D. 390. According to Gennadius of Marseilles
he was “in Divinis litteris eruditus iuxta historiam suflicienter, in
saecularibus non ignarus.” His exposition differed widely from his
predecessor’s : “‘exposuit et Apocalypsin Iohannis ex integro, nihil
in ea carnale sed totum intellegens spiritale...mille quoque annorum
regni in terra iustorum post resurrectionem futuri suspicionem
tulit...neque duas in carne resurrectiones mortuorwn futuras, unam
justorum et alteram iniustorum, sed unam et tune semel omnium.”
Donatist as he was, Tyconius wins high praise for his exposition
of the Apocalypse from one who was no mean judge of the inter-
preter’s art. Bede writes of him: ‘“‘{Apocalypsin] et vivaciter
intellexit, et veridice satisque catholice disseruit, praeter ea dun-
taxat loca in quibus suae partis...schisma defendere nisus, perse-
1 Ittig, p. 52. It had been previously p. 103. On Tyconius himself and his
edited in an appendix to Theophylact commentary see D.C.B. iv. 1025 ff.,
on St Paul by Jo. Lornicerus in 1543. Haussleiter in
2 See Yh. Litteraturblatt, Apr. 26,
1895; and cf. J. R. Harris, in Expositor,
vy. 1. p. 448, and A. Ehrard, Die altchr.
Litteratur, von 1884-1900, i. p. 484 ff.
3 On the spelling of this name see
Burkitt. in Texts and Studies, iii. 1.
Zeitschrift f. kirchl.
Wissenschaft etc., vii. (1886), p. 239 ff., and
in Zahn’s Forschungen, iv. (1891); Tr.
Hahn, Tyconius-Studien in Bonwetsch
and Seeberg’s Studien, vi. 2 (1g00); and
Prof. Burkitt’s edition of the Regulae,
already named.
ecll
H
COMMENTARIES
cutiones quas ipsi...pertulerunt...in eadem gloriatur Apocalypsi
fuisse praedictas'.” That this judgement is just is shewn bythe free
use which was made of Tyconius not only by Bede himself, but by a
succession of Catholic writers—Primasius, Beatus, the author of
the homilies on the Apocalypse printed in the appendix to the
third volume of the Benedictine Augustine and in Migne, P. L.
xxxv.*, and the commentary published by Dom Amelli in the
Spicilegium Casinense (iii. pp. 263—331)°*. The work of Tyconius
as a whole is perhaps no longer extant, but it can be largely recon-
structed from those Catholic expositors who followed in his steps.
Primasius, of Hadrumetum in Byzacena*, another African, but a
Catholic Bishop, wrote on the Apocalypse before 543-4, when his
commentary is mentioned by Cassiodorius (de inst. div. hibr. 9:
“nostris quoque temporibus Apocalypsis...Primasii antistitis Afri-
cani studio...quinque libris exposita est”). It was thus an early
work, completed before Primasius was embroiled in the controversy
raised in Africa by the ‘Three Chapters.’ With regard to its
character it possesses, as Haussleiter remarks, only a secondary
value, being largely nade up of Tyconius and Augustine. Augus-
tine is in places (e.g. in the comment on Apoc. xx.) transferred
almost bodily to the pages of Primasius; Tyconius is a “ preciosa
in stercore gemma,” which the Bishop picks out of the mire to
adorn his pages.
The commentary of Primasius has come down to us entire. The
editio princeps was that of Cervicornus (Hirschhorn), Cologne, 1535.
This was followed by editions in the Cologne, Paris, and Lyons
bibliothecae of 1618, 1644, and 1677°; the Paris edition is followed
generally in Migne, P. L. \xviii., whose reprint is quoted in the
present volume. The African Latin text of the Apocalypse, which
happily has been preserved in the commentary of Primasius, is cited
from Haussleiter’s admirable edition in Zahn’s Forschungen. It is
in this text that the value of Primasius to the modern student
chiefly lies: see above, p. exev.
APRINGIUS (vi.) Bishop of Pax (whether Pax Julia = Béja, in
Portugal, or P. Augusta = Badajoz, in Spain), under Theudis, King
of the Visigoths (A.D. 531548), was working upon the Apocalypse
nearly about the time when Primasius wrote his cones So
we learn from Isidore of Seville (de virr. il]. 30: “ Apringius, eccle-
siae Pacensis Hispaniarum episcopus...claruit temporibus Theudis
principis Gothorum”). The commentary of Apringius was published
Migne, P. L. xciii. col. 132 f.
See Haussleiter, Zeitschrift, p. 240.
The pseudo-Augustinian homilies are
represented in the apparatus to the text
of this commentary by the symbol
anon, used by Tischendorf. In a
St John’s (Cambridge) MS. this com-
mentary is entitled: ‘‘tractatus Gennadii
presbiteri Massiliae de mille annis et de
Apocalypsi”; see Dr M. R. James in
2
Class. Review, iii. p. 222.
> See H. L. Ramsay, Commentaire de
V Apocalypse par Beatus, p. 17 f.
4 On Primasius see Haussleiter in
Zahn, and in Herzog-Hauck, xvi. Pp.
55 ff., as well as his earlier ‘ programm,’
Leben u. Werke des Bischofs Primasius
(Erlangen, 1887); and ef. Kihn, Theo-
dor v. Mopsuestia, p. 248 ff.
> Ittig, pp. 109, 439, 505.
COMMENTARIES ceelli
at Paris in 1900 by Dom Féroten from a MS. belonging to the
University of Copenhagen. Unfortunately the MS. gives the work
of Apringius only so far as regards Apoe. i. 1—y. 7, and xviii. 6—
xxii. 21, the lacuna v. 8—xviii. 5 being filled with scholia from
Jerome-Victorinus.
According to Isidore, Apringius expounded the Apocalypse
“subtili sensu atque illustri sermone, melius pene quam veteres
ecclesiastici viri exposuisse videntur.” A few specimens from
M. Féroten’s edition have been given in the notes of this com-
mentary.
Cassioporius, probably after his retirement to Viviers (A.D. 540),
wrote brief notes (complewiones) on the Acts, Epistles, and Apoca-
lypse, which were first published by Maffei in 1721, and are re-
printed in Migne, P. Z. lxx. In the Apocalypse he refers his
readers to Tyconius, and shews also the influence of Victorinus
and Augustine.
Baepa of Wearmouth and Jarrow (A.D. 672—735) comes next
in order of time among Latin commentators on the Apocalypse.
In his explanatio Apocalypsis, as in his other expository works, Bede
freely recognizes the secondary character of his expositions; in
the Apocalypse, while drawing on the Fathers generally, he makes
especial use of earlier Western commentators on the book, especially
of Primasius and Tyconius; the latter is not seldom quoted by
name, Yet Bede is no mere compiler, and not the least valuable
of his remarks are those where the personality of the Northumbrian
saint reveals itself. Bede’s work on the Apocalypse is quoted in
this volume from Migne, P. Z. xcv.
Amprosius ANSBERTUS (or Autpertus)', a Benedictine monk of
French origin who died as Abbot of an Italian monastery, composed
his commentarti in Apocalypsim during the pontificate of Paul I.
(A.D. 757—767), and dedicated them to Paul’s successor, Stephen IV.
(A.D. 768—772). He makes use of Jerome-Victorinus, Tyconius,
and even of Bede, but especially of Primasius, who supplies the
staple of his expositions. The work is printed in the Cologne and
Lyons Bibliothecae Patrum, but does not appear in Migne’s Latin
Patrology.
Beatus of Liebana (Libana), the Spanish Benedictine who in
A.D. 785 joined Etherius Bishop of Osma in a work against Eli-
pandus of Toledo on the Adoptianist question. His commentary
on the Apocalypse*, which is dedicated to Etherius, is, like Bede's,
professedly based to a great extent on the works of his predecessors,
among whom he specifies Jerome (i.e. Victorinus in Jerome’s recen-
sion), Augustine, Tyconius, and Apringius. Tyconius, in particular,
has been largely used, although it is possible to exaggerate the debt
1 See Fabricius-Harles, Bibl. Lat. i. Ramsay, of Downside Abbey, reprinted
P- 77; Smith and Wace, D. C. B. i. fromthe Revue d'histoire et de littérature
p- 232 ; Herzog-Hauck, ii. p. 308 f. religieuses, t. vil. (1902), kindly com-
2 On the Commentary of Beatus and municatedtomebyDomE.C. Butler, and
its MSS. see two articles by Dom H. L. Haussleiter’s article already mentioned.
Cclv COMMENTARIES
which Beatus owes to him, The conclusion at which Dom Ramsay
arrives is probably not far from the truth: “je crois que partout
ot Beatus, Primasius, et le Pseudo-Augustine exploitent un fonds
commun, ce fonds est celui de Tyconius (sinon de Victorinus)*.”
The MSS. of Beatus have long been famous for their illumina-
tions, which supply rich materials for the study of early Spanish
art*, But there is only one printed text’, and the book is so rare
that no copy is to be found at the British Museum or in the Cam-
bridge University Library+.
Of Latin writers on the Apocalypse from the beginning of the
ninth century to the sixteenth the following deserve to be specially
mentioned :
Cent. ix. Ancurn (Migne P. L. c.), Brrencaupus (Migne xvii.).
Haymo (Migne exviii.). Watarrip Srrazo (?) (Migne exiv.).
Cent. xii, Ansetm of Havilberg (D’Achéry, Spicilegiwm, i.).
AwnsELM of Laon (Migne clxiii.), Bruno of Asti (Migne clxv.),
Joacuim of Calabria (Venice, 1519 and 1527). RicHarD of St
Victor (Migne xcvi.). Rupert of Deutz (Migne clxix.).
Cent. xiii, ALBerTUus Maanus (Opera, t. xii, Lyons, 1651).
Hueco bE 8. Caro (postilla vii., Cologne, 1620). Prrer Jon OLtva
(postilla in Apocalypsin). Pseupo-Aquinas (Opera S. Thomae Aq.,
t. xxi, Parma, 1869).
Cent. xiv. Nicotas pE GorHam (Antwerp, 1617—20). Nrconas
or Lyra (Rome, 1471—2).
Cent. xv. Dionysius Carruustianus (Paris, 1530).
Most of these mediaeval expositors follow their predecessors more
or less closely, and satisfy themselves with a spiritualizing exegesis.
But there are exceptions, especially Berengaud, Rupert of Deutz,
and Joachim; the last-named has left a work which is a landmark
in the history of Apocalyptic interpretation,
D. Commentaries, and other books bearing upon the interpre-
tation of the Apocalypse, from the beginning of the sixteenth
century to the present time.
D, Erasmus. <Annotationes in N. 7. Basle, 1516.
F. Lambertus, Hwegeseos in Apoe. libri vii, Marburg, 1528.
H. Bullinger. Jn Apoc. conciones c. Basle, 1557.
T. Bibliander. Commentarius in Apoc. Basle, 1569.
J. Foxe, Meditations on the Apoc. London, 1587.
J. Winckelmann. Comimentarius in Apoc. Frankfort, 1590.
F. Ribeira. Commentarius in sacram b. Ioannis Apoc. Salamanca,
1591.
J. Napier. A plain discovery of the whole Revelation. Edin-
‘burgh, 1593.
1 Le Commentaire de Beatus, p. 18. my quotations to the kindness of Prof.
2H. L. Ramsay, The MSS. of Beatus, Burkitt, who left in my hands for some
[D5 Tei weeks a copy which had come into his
* The edition of Florez (Madrid, 1770). possession.
* Burkitt, Tyconius, p. xiii. I owe
eg ee ee ae ae ee
COMMENTARIES ccyv
L. ab Aleasar. Vestigatio arcani sensusin Apoc. Antwerp, 1614.
A. Salmeron. Jn Lohannis Apoc. praeludia. Cologne, 1614.
T. Brightman. The Revelation of St John illustrated. London,
1616,
D, Paraeus. Commentarius in Apoc. Heidelberg, 1618.
Cornelius a Lapide. Commentaria in...Apoc. Antwerp and
Lyons, 1627.
J. Mede. Clavis Apocalypseos...una cum Commentario. Cam-
bridge, 1627.
J. Gerhard. Annotationes in Apoc. Jena, 1643.
H. Grotius. Annotationes in Apoc. Paris, 1644.
L. de Dieu. Animadversiones in Apoc. Leyden, 1646.
H. Hammond. Paraphrase and Annotations upon the N. T.
London, 1653.
J. B. Bossuet. L’ Apocalypse avec une explication. Paris, 1660.
J. Cocceius. Cogitationes in Apoc. Amsterdam, 1673.
D. Hervé. Apocalypsis explicatio historica. Lyons, 168 4.
P. Jurien. L’accomplissement des prophéties. Rotterdam, 1686.
C. Vitringa. “Avdkpiors Apocalypsios. Franeker, 1705.
W. Whiston. Zssay on the Revelation of St John. Cambridge,
1706.
J.J. Schlurmann. Die Offenbarung Iohannis. Lippstadt, 1722.
F..Abauzit. LZssai sur ?Apocalypse. Geneva, 1730.
I. Newton. Observations upon the prophecies of Daniel and the
Apoc. London, 1732.
J. A. Bengel. Lrkldrte Offenbarung Johannis. Stuttgart, 1740.
J.J. Wetstein. WV. 7. Graecum (ii.). Amsterdam, 1752.
J. Gill. Exposition of the Revelation. London, 1776.
J.G. von Herder. Mapav ada. Riga, 1779.
J. 8. Herrenschneider. Ventamen Apocalypseos. Strassburg, 1786.
I. G. Eichhorn. Commentarius in Apoc. Gottingen, 1791.
P. J. 8. Vogel. Commentationes vii. de Apocalypsi. Erlangen,
1811—16.
G. H. A. Ewald. Commentarius in Apoc. Géttingen, 1828.
A. L. Matthai. Die Offenbarung Johannis. Gottingen, 1828.
Edw. Irving. Lectures on the Book of Revelation. London, 1829.
J. Croly. The Apocalypse of John. London, 1838.
C.F. J. Zillig. Die Ofenbarung Johannis erklart. Stuttgart,
1834—40.
W. De Burgh. An Laposition of the Book of Revelation.
Dublin, 1845.
M. Stuart. Commentary on the Apocalypse. London, 1845.
W. M. L. de Wette. Aurze Erkldrung der Offenbarung. Leipzig,
1848.
E. W. Hengstenberg. Die Offenbarung...erldutert. Berlin,
1849—51I.
E. H. Elliott. JZorae Apocalypticae. London, 1851.
F. Diisterdieck. Handbuch ii. d. Offenbarung. Gottingen, 1852.
I. Williams. Zhe Apocalypse. London, 1852.
ecvl COMMENTARIES
. H. E. Ebrard. Die Ofenbarung Johannis. Kéonigsberg, 1853.
. A. Auberlen. Der Prophet Daniel u. die Offenbarung. Basle,
Stern: Commentar ti. die Offenbarung. Schaffhausen, 1854.
. Bleek. Vorlesungen ti. die Apocalypse. Berlin, 1859.
H. Alford. The Greek Testament, vol. iv. Cambridge, 1861.
H. Ewald. Die Johanneischen Scprafea erklart. Gottingen,
F. D. Maurice. Lectures on the Apocalypse. Cambridge, 1861.
R. C. Trench. Commentary on the Epistles to the Seven Churches.
London, 1861.
G. Volkmar. Commentar zur Offenbarung. Ziirich, 1862.
C. Wordsworth. The New Testament, vol. ii. London, 1864.
A. Cerese. L’apocalysse o Revelatione, 1869—71.
C.J. Vaughan. The Revelation of St John. London, 1870.
E. Renan. JL’Antechrist. Paris, 1871.
J.C. A. Hofmann. Die Offenbarung Johannis. 1874.
A. Bisping. Lrkldérung der Apocalypse. Minster, 1876.
C. H. A. Burger. Die Offenbarung Johannis. 1877.
E. Reuss. JL’ Apocalypse. Paris, 1878.
W. Lee. The Revelation of St John. Wondon, 1881.
Th. Zahn. Apokalyptische Studien (in Z. f. kirchl. Wissenschaft
wu. k. Leben), 1885—6; Einleitung, ii. 1899.
H. J. Holtzmann. Die Offenbarung Johannis. Freiburg i. B.,
18oI.
W. Milligan. The Book of Revelation. London, 1889.
T. L. Scott. The visions of the Apocalypse and their lessons.
London, 1893.
W.H. Simcox. Zhe Revelation of St John, Cambridge, 1893.
W. Bousset. Die Offenbarung Johannis. Gottingen, 1896. i
E. W. Benson. The Apocalypse: an introductory study. London, |
1900.
L. Prager. Die Offenbarung Johannis. Leipzig, 1901.
C. Anderson Scott. Revelation (in the Century Bible). Edinburgh
ma. cl:));
F. o. Porter. Messages of the Apocalypticul writers. London,
1905.
F. J. A. Hort. The Apocalypse of St John i—iii. Wondon,
1908.
A volume on the Apocalypse by Dr R. H. Charles is announced
by Messrs T. and T. Clark, in connexion with the International ;
Critical Commentary.
XVIII.
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION.
1. More than once’ the Apocalypse appeals to the intelli-
gence of the Christian student, inviting him to unravel its
meaning if he can. Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding,
let him count the number of the Beast. Here is the mind which
hath wisdom. The challenge was accepted almost from the first,
but with results which shew by their wide divergence the diffi-
culties of the task. Schools of Apocalyptic interpretation have
arisen, varying not only in detail, but in principle. It is the
purpose of the present chapter to sketch* the progress of this
movement from the second century to our own time, and then
to indicate the limes which have been followed in the present
exposition.
2. The Ante-Nicene Church, although she seems to have
produced but one exposition of the book, was certainly not in-
different to the chief problems which it raises. Two of these, in
particular—the questions connected with the coming of Antichrist
and the hope of the Thousand Years—excited the liveliest interest
during the age of persecution. Justin, as we have seen, found
support for his chiliastic views in Apoc. xx. Irenaeus* bases upon
Apoce. xxi., amongst other prophecies, his expectation of a terrestrial
kingdom and a restored Jerusalem. He identifies the first of
‘St John’s Wild Beasts with St Paul’s Man of Sin, and gives as one
_ reading of the Number of the Beast the word ‘Aatevvs, adding :
1 Apoc. xiii. 18, xvii. g. 3 Haer..v. 35. 2 (ef. Eus. H.E, iii.
2 Details must be sought in Liicke 39).
and Bousset.
Cevlli HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
“ Latini enim sunt qui nunc regnant?.” From Apoc. xvii. 12 ff. he
gathers that the Empire would be broken up into ten kingdomsy
and Babylon (? Rome) be reduced to ashes®. Hippolytus, especially
in his tract On Christ and Antichrist, carries the imterpretation
of Irenaeus some steps further. The first Beast is the Empire,
which will be wounded to death, but restored by Antichrist; the
Second Beast represents the ten kingdoms that are to take the place
of the Empire*. The Woman with child is the Church‘; Babylon is
Rome*; the Two Witnesses are Enoch and Elijah, the wpodpouos
of the Second Coming*®. In common with Justin and Irenaeus,
Hippolytus entertains millennarian hopes, which he grounds on
Apoc. xx.’
In Justin and Irenaeus—probably also in Hippolytus—we
seem to catch a glimpse of the interpretation which prevailed in
Asia in the early decades of the second century. The Alex-
andrians, who were without such guidance, interpreted the
Apocalypse spiritually. Thus Clement sees in the four and
twenty Elders a symbol of the equality of Jew and Gentile within
the Christian Church®; in the tails of the locusts of the Abyss,
the mischievous influence of immoral teachers®: in the many-
coloured foundation stones of the City of God, the manifold grace
of Apostolic teaching”. Origen repudiates as “Jewish™” the literal
interpretation which the chiliasts gave to the closing chapters of
the book; and his incidental references to the Apocalypse savour
of an arbitrary though often noble and helpful mysticism. Thus
he takes the sealed roll to be Scripture, to which Christ alone has
the key”: the vision of the open heaven, from which the Word of
God issues forth on a white horse, suggests to him the opening of
heaven by the Divine Word through the white light of knowledge
which He imparts to believers®. Methodius must on the whole
LEVEN? Oe 13503 Os kat eikav THs pe\Novons Bacirelas Tay
are Oe) Te aylav, ws lwavyns év TH dmoxadvwet Oin-
Z : 5
* Ed. Lagarde, p. 24 ff. ryetrat.
4 ag. p. 31f. rhv perv otv yuvatka 8 strom. vi. 13, § 107.
cadpécrara THy éxkAnolav €d7j\waoev. ® strom. ill. 18, § 106.
: ® Lag. Pp. 17 Kal yap airy ce (e.g. TOV 10 paed. ii. 12, § 109.
Iwavyny] é&dpicer. ll de princ. li. If. 12.
® Lag. p. 26. 12 philoc. Vv. 5.
7 Lag. p. 153 7d cdBBarov tUmos earl 13 in Ioann. t. ll. 6.
ee
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION cclx
be ranked with the Alexandrians, in regard to his method of in-
terpreting the Apocalypse. In his exposition of Apoc. x1." he finds
in the Woman’s cbild not Christ Himself but the baptized soul
in which Christ is born. The seven heads of the Dragon are the
greater sins’; his ten horns are contrasted with the Ten Command-
ments of the Decalogue. The Beast appears to be regarded as a
symbol of fleshly lust’.
The Latin fathers of the first three centuries, on the other
hand, carry on the line of interpretation started by Irenaeus and
Hippolytus. Thus Tertullian regards Babylon as an image of
Rome, “ut proinde magnae et regno superbae et sanctorum Dei
debellatricis‘.” The Beast from the sea is Antichrist, who with his
False Prophet will wage war against the Church®, A kingdom of
the Saints is expected which will have its seat on earth, though it
belongs to another order, and will be preceded by a resurrection of
the body®. An orderly plan runs through St John’s work, though the
order must not be pressed so far as to include chronological details’.
Of the commentary of Victorinus in general it is impossible to
speak with confidence until it is before us in a form nearer to that
in which it came from his pen*. But the extract published by
Haussleiter® from what appears to be the original work confirms
the statement that Victorinus held firmly by the chiliastic inter-
pretation of Apoc. xx.
A few sentences will sutiiciently illustrate his attitude. ‘In hac
eadem prima resurrectione et civitas futura et sponsa per hanc
scripturam expressa est...quotquot ergo non anticipaverint surgere
in prima resurrectione et regnare cum Christo super orbem...sur-
gent in novissima tuba post annos mille...In regno ergo et in
prima resurrectione exhibetur civitas sancta, quam vidit descensuram
de caelo quadratam, differentem a vice mortuositatis et doloris et
genesis,..ostendit scriptura adferri ibi munera regum serviturorum
novissimorum.,.et civitatum.”
3. A new stage of Apocalyptic interpretation is reached at
the end of the fourth century, when Tyconius wrote his epoch-
1 Symp. viii. 4 fi. 7 de res., l.c. “ in Apocalypsi Ioannis
2 Cf. Origen, in Mt. xxiv. 29. ordo temporum sternitur.”’
a 20. 13. 8 See c. xvii., p. cci.
* adv. Mare. iii. 13. ®° In Theologisches Literaturblatt, 26
5 de resurr. carnis, 25. Apr. 1905, col. 192 ff.
6 adv. Mare. iii. 24.
Ss. R. 1]
ccx HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
making commentary. Though the work has not survived as a
whole, its line of interpretation and many of its details can be
recovered from later expositions’, It is abundantly clear that
Tyconius trod in the steps of Origen rather than of Victorinus;
he inclined to a mystical exegesis, even if he did not altogether
exclude literal or historical fulfilments. - But his method was
largely new, and his own, as may be gathered from his liber
regularum. His fourth ‘rule’ reveals the principle with which
he approached his task: “loquimur secundum mysteria caelestis
sapientiae magisterio Sancti Spiritus, qui cum veritatis pretium
fidem constituerit mysteriis narravit in speciem genus ab-
scondens...dum enim speciem narrat, Ita in genus transit ut
transitus non statim liquido appareat®.” The expositor of the
Apocalypse, on this principle, would pass insensibly from a name
which suggested a particular object to the universal fact which it
symbolized ; e.g. from Jerusalem to the Church, or from Babylon
to the hostile world®. By this means Tyconius was enabled to pass
lightly over the references to Rome and the persecuting Emperors,
which since the conversion of the Empire had ceased to be of
special interest, and to fix the attention of the reader upon the
world-long struggle between. good and evil; while on the other
hand his ‘rule’ did not prevent him from finding a crucial
instance of that struggle in the fight which his own party
were making at the time in Africa against the Catholic Church,
identified in his judgement with the evil of the world.
So far as his principle of interpretation is concerned Tyconius
had many Catholic followers, who made no secret of their
indebtedness to the great Donatist. In his interpretation of
Apoc. xx.t Augustine agrees in the main with Tyconius. Primasius,
Cassiodorius, Apringius, Bede, Beatus, and most of the writers on
the Apocalypse who followed them in the earlier centuries of the
Middle Ages, were content with a mystical exegesis which varied
in its details according to the fancy of the individual expositor
or the needs or ideas of his time.
ARS eo 3 Burkitt, pp. 31, 50.
2 Burkitt, pp. xv., 31. * de civitate, xx. 7 ff.
Pe ee ee ee ee
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION cexl
4. While Primasius and others were popularizing the method
of Tyconius in the Latin West, the Greek East made its first and
only serious attempt to expound the Apocalypse. Of Oecumenius
nothing can be said until his commentary finds an editor. But
Andreas is perhaps the best known of ancient expositors of the
Apocalypse, and certainly none of them is more edifying or, in
his own way, more attractive. Entering on his work with the
conviction that Scripture holds a threefold sense’, he agrees with
the Alexandrians in attaching especial importance to the spiritual
interpretation of a book, which beyond other books in the New
Testament lends itself to such treatment. But he does not depart
so entirely from the earlier school of Irenaeus and Hippolytus
as his Western contemporaries did; side by side with mystical
exposition he places suggestions of a historical fulfilment. If he
regards Babylon as the World considered as the standing enemy
of the Church, in the seven kings he sees successive embodiments
of the World-power, of which the sixth was Rome and the seventh
Constantinople. On the other hand the millennium is explained as
it is by Augustine and the other followers of Tyconius, Thus the
greatest of the Greek commentaries on the Apocalypse is a syn-
cretism, blending the methods of Irenaeus, Origen, and Tyconius,
while at the same time the writer feels his way towards the later
system of interpretation which discovers in St John’s prophecy
anticipations of the course of history.
5. In the West at long intervals one or two expositors suc-
ceeded in breaking loose from the tradition started by Tyconius.
Berengaud, a ninth century writer whose commentary has found
a place in the appendix to the works of St Ambrose, combines
the mystical with the historical interpretation, and endeavours to
make the Apocalypse cover the whole course of human events,
The first six seals carry the history of the world from Adam to the
fall of Jerusalem; the first six trumpets represent the preaching
of the word from the age of the patriarchs to the age of the
Christian martyrs. The Two Witnesses are Enoch and Elijah,
1 prol.: mwaca Oedmvevaros ypady, dre ex THs Oelas Sedwpnrar yapiros.
Tpimeped TH avOpsry drdpxovTi, Tpimephs
ccxil HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
whose coming will precede the second Coming of the Lord. The
first Beast is Antichrist, and his seven heads are the seven deadly
sins!; the second Beast is a follower of Antichrist, or those who
preach him taken collectively ; as for the number of the Beast,
Berengaud is afraid to inquire into it, lest 1t may correspond with
the letters of his own name. Babylon is Pagan Rome, but Rome
regarded as representing the “civitas Diaboli”; the ten horns
of the Beast on which she sits are the successive incursions of
barbarians which broke up the Roman Empire. The Thousand
Years reach from the Ascension to the end of the world; the
first resurrection is the condition of the Saints in the present
life. A more remarkable departure from the older interpreta-
tions 1s made in the Enchiridion in Apocalypsim of Joachim
(+ 1202), founder of the Ordo Florensis*» Joachim’s work is
an attempt to find correspondences between the Apocalypse
and the events and expectations of the twelfth century. The
Beast from the sea is Islam, wounded to the death by the
Crusades ; the False Prophet is identified with the heretical sects
of the age; Babylon is Rome, no longer pagan, but worldly and
vice-ridden nevertheless. Of the seven heads of the Beast the fifth
is the Emperor Frederick I., and the sixth Saladin; the seventh is
Antichrist ; the destruction of Antichrist will be followed by the
millennium, which thus recovers its place as a hope of the future.
Of Joachim’s personal loyalty to the Roman Church there can
be no doubt. But his method was speedily turned against the
Church by less discreet followers. Under the year 1257 Matthew
Paris relates that certain Franciscans of Paris “quaedam nova
praedicabant...deliramenta quae de libro Joachim Abbatis...ex-
traxerunt, et quendam librum composuerunt quem sic eis intitulare
complacuit Incipit Hvangelium aeternum*”; the Pope, he adds,
commanded the book to be burnt, “et alia quae de Joachim
corruptela dicuntur emanasse.” But the movement continued,
and early in the fourteenth century the fate of the Hvangelium
1 See p. ccix. num Evangelium was a friar named
2 Cf. C.Q.R. for Oct. 1907 (p. 17 ff.). Gerhard; see Giesler (E. Tr.), iii.
3 See note on Apoc. xiv. 6. The p. 257n.
author of the Jntroductorius in Aeter-
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION ccxili
aeternum was shared by the postilla super Apocalypsim of Peter
John Oliva, another Franciscan ; nor can we wonder, when among
the scanty extracts of Oliva’s work which escaped the flames we
7 read: “ Per sedem bestiae principaliter designatus carnalis clerus
. ...1n quo quidem bestialis vita...regnat...longe plus quam in
k laicis.”...“ Mulier stat hic pro Romana gente et imperio, tam
»
f prout fuit quondam in statu paganismi quam prout postmodum
fuit in fide Christi.”...“Quidam putant quod tam Antichristus
mysticus quam proprius et magnus erit pseudo-papa.” When
such things were written within the Church, it is not matter
for surprise that the sects took the further step of identifying
Antichrist with the Papacy or the occupants of the Papal See, or
that this became a commonplace of Apocalyptic interpretation
among reforming sects and Churches.
On the papal side a counter-attempt to interpret the Apoca-
lypse in the light of history was made by Nicolas of Lyra (+1340).
He finds in it a forecast of the course of events from the time
i ae
of Domitian to his own. In Lyra’s judgement the millennium
began with the founding of the Mendicant orders, which had
bound Satan, as he thinks, for a considerable period of time.
6. With the Reformation of the sixteenth century a new
era of Apocalyptic exegesis begins. Each side in the great
controversy found inspiration in this book. The reforming party
inherited the method of Joachim and the Franciscans: the
equation ‘the Pope, or the Papacy, is Antichrist’ was the corner-
stone of their interpretation. On the papal side, under the
stress of the Protestant attack, new methods arose, which at a
—_
later time found followers among the reformed. Their authors
were Spaniards and members of the Society of Jesus. Francis
Ribeira (+ 1601), a professor at Salamanca, came to his task
equipped with a knowledge of both the Greek and Latin com-
mentators of the patristic period, but with an open mind which
refused to be bound by their exegesis, He took his stand on the
principle that the Apocalyptist foresaw only the nearer future
and the last things, and offered no anticipations of intermediate
history. Thus he was able to relegate Antichrist to the time
WOODSTOCK COLLEGE
ecxiv HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
of the end, and though with the majority of interpreters he
identified Babylon with Rome, he could contend that the city
which St John saw upon the Beast was not, as some said, Rome
under papal rule, but the degenerate Rome of a future age.
Ribeira has been described as a futurist, but the designation is
inaccurate if it overlooks his real appreciation of the historical
groundwork of the Revelation. His brother-Jesuit, Alcasar (+1613),
on the other hand, was a thorough-going ‘ preterist.’ In his judge-
ment the body of St John’s prophecy falls into two great portions,
cc. iv.—xi., and cc, xii.—xix., answering severally to the conflict of
the Church with Judaism and her conflict with paganism; while
the closing chapters (xx.—xxii.) describe her present triumph and
predominance. Both Alcasar and Ribeira wrote in the interests
of a party, and neither of the schemes which they propose is free
from manifest difficulties; yet both works mark an advance upon
earlier interpretations in so far as they approach the book from
the standpoint of the writer and his time, and abstain from reading
into it the events or ideas of a widely different period.
7. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were busy with
the work of Apocalyptic exposition. In England Joseph Mede
and two eminent Cambridge mathematicians, Sir Isaac Newton
and William Whiston, found minute fulfilments of St John’s
prophecy from the days of Domitian to their own!; on the
continent the same general system of interpretation was adopted,
with varying results, by two no less eminent authorities, Vitringa
and Bengel. On the other hand Grotius and Hammond trod
generally in the steps of Alcasar, while on the papal side the
great Bossuet suggested the division of the prophecy into three
historical periods, the age of persecution (cc. v.—x1x.), the triumph
of the Church (c. xx. I—10), and the epoch of final conflict and
victory (cc. xx. II—xxil. 13). At the end of the eighteenth
century Eichhorn struck a note which has been taken up again
quite recently. The Apocalypse is in his view a great poem, or
i «<¢ While I write,’ says Mede, ‘news victories over the Emperor in defence
is brought of a Prince from the North of the German afflicted Protestants’.”
{meaning Gustavus Adolphus) gaining (Elliott, H.d. iv. p. 474.)
oe), oe ere a a ee
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION — ccxv
rather a drama, which may be broken up into acts and scenes—
the drama of the progress and victory of the Christian faith.
8. While inheriting the methods of its predecessors, the
nineteenth century found itself in possession of new data by
which it was enabled to correct or extend their application. The
progress of events shifted the point of view from which the
advocates of the continuously historical interpretation regarded
St John’s visions; room had to be made, for instance, for the
French Revolution and all the disturbing tendencies which it
represented or set going’. Among expositors who revolted from
a system which was under the necessity of revising its results
with the progress of events some, like 8. R. Maitland and Isaac
Willams in England, and Stern, Bisping, and others on the
continent, revived and carried to greater lengths the ‘ futurist’
views of Ribeira; while others, like Auberlen, fell back upon the
position that the Apocalypse revealed a philosophy of history and
anticipated persons or events only when they were “solitary
examples of a principle*.”. In Germany a new attitude towards
the interpretation of the book was created by the endeavour to
investigate its sources. If the Apocalypse of John is a Jewish
work adapted for reading in Christian congregations, or a com-
pilation from non-canonical apocalypses, it is difficult to regard
the book as more than a storehouse of first-century eschatology,
or a historical monument which throws light on an obscure age.
In that case it is undoubtedly of first-rate importance to the
student of history, but its claims to be regarded as a prophecy in
any true sense of the word can no longer be taken seriously. In
Germany this estimate of the Apocalypse is still dominant, and
it has revolutionized the interpretation of the book. In England
there are signs of a desire to assimilate all that may be of
permanent value in the results of research, without abandoning
belief in the canonical authority or prophetical character of St
John’s work. Examples of this attitude may be found in Professor
Sir W. M. Ramsay’s Letters to the Seven Churches, and in the most
recent of English commentaries on the Revelation, the brief but
1 See, e.g., Elliott, H.A. iii. 309 ff. Apocalypse, p. 48.
2 Auberlen, cited by Archbp. Benson,
ccxvl HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
suggestive contribution made to Professor Adeney’s Century Bible
by Mr Anderson Scott.
g. It remains to state the principles of interpretation by which
the following exposition has been guided.
The interpretation of an ancient book, especially of a book such
as the Apocalypse, must depend in great part on the view which
the interpreter is led to take of its literary character, purpose,
destination, and date. These points have been discussed in the
earlier chapters of the introduction, and it is only necessary here
to shew how the judgements which have been formed upon them
affect the present writer’s attitude toward the problems and the
general significance of the book.
(1) This commentary has been written under the conviction
that the author of the Apocalypse was, what he claimed to be, an
inspired prophet. He belongs to the order which in older days
produced the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. He knows
himself to be a medium of communication between God and
Christ on the one hand, and the Church on the other. His mind
has been lifted into a sphere above its natural powers by the
Divine Spirit, which has enabled him to assimilate a message from
the invisible world. THis rendering of this message into human
thought and speech must be interpreted as we interpret the
prophecies of the Old Testament canon; it will possess the same
Divine elevation that we find in them, and be liable to the same
human limitations. The student who approaches the Apocalypse
from this point of view will not expect to find in it express pre-
dictions of persons and actions which in St John’s day were yet
hidden in the womb of a remote future; nor will he look for exact
chronological order in its successive visions, or for a sense of the
distances which part great epochs from one another. But on the
other hand he will expect and, it is firmly believed, will find that
the prophet of the New Testament is not less able than the
prophets of the Old Testament to read the secrets of God’s general
purpose in the evolution of events, to detect the greater forces
which are at work in human life under all its vicissitudes, and to
indicate the issues towards which history tends.
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION ccxvii
(2) As the title suggests, the prophecy of this book possesses
a special character of which the interpreter must not fail to take
note. The Divine message came to John in a series of visions;
it is an apocalypse, and it uses the ideas, the symbols, and the
forms of speech which were characteristic of apocalyptic litera-
ture. Thus St John’s work challenges comparison with the
apocalyptic portions of the Old Testament, more especially
with the Book of Daniel; and further, with the non-canonical
Jewish apocalypses, to which ready access can now be had
through the labours of Professor Charles and Dr M. R. James.
It is possible to exaggerate the influence which these Jewish
books exerted over the mind of the Christian Apocalyptist, and it
may be questioned whether he has made direct use of any of
them; but they establish the existence of a common stock of
apocalyptic imagery on which St John evidently drew. The
modern interpreter of the Apocalypse is bound to take into
account the presence in St John’s book of the conventional
language of apocalyptic literature, and to refrain from pressing
it into the service of his own line of interpretation. Phrases and
imagery which fall under this category must generally be held to
belong to the scenery of the book rather than to the essence
of the revelation. A recognition of this canon of interpretation
will save the student from adopting the naive and sometimes
grotesque attempts which have been made to interpret every
detail in a book which, like all writings of its class, defies treat-
ment of this kind.
(3) Another important landmark for the guidance of the
interpreter is to be found in the purpose of the book and the
historical surroundings of its origin. The Apocalypse is cast
in the form of a letter to certain Christian societies, and it
opens with a detailed account of their conditions and circum-
stances. Only the most perverse ingenuity can treat the
messages to the Seven Churches as directly prophetical. The
book starts with a well-defined historical situation, to which
reference is made again at the end, and the intermediate visions
which form the body of the work cannot on any reasonable
S. R, p
ccxvill HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION
theory be dissociated from their historical setting. The prophecy
arises out of local and contemporary circumstances ; it is, in the first
instance at least, the answer of the Spirit to the fears and perils of
the Asian Christians toward the end of the first century. Hence
all that can throw light on the Asia of A.D. 70—100, and
upon Christian life in Asia during that period, is of primary
importance to the student of the Apocalypse, not only in view of
the local allusions in ce. ii.—uili., but as helping to determine the
aim and drift of the entire work. No one who realizes that the
prophecy is an answer to the crying needs of the Seven Churches
will dream of treating it as a detailed forecast of the course
of mediaeval and modern history in Western Europe. So far
as the Apocalyptist reveals the future, he reveals it not with
the view of exercising the ingenuity of remote generations, but
for the practical purpose of inculcating those great lessons of
trust in God, loyalty to the Christ-King, confidence in the
ultimate triumph of righteousness, patience under adversity,
and hope in the prospect of death, which were urgently needed
by the Asian Churches, and will never be without meaning and
importance so long as the world lasts.
It will be seen that an interpretation conducted upon these
lines will have points of contact with each of the chief systems of
Apocalyptic exegesis, without identifying itself with any one
of them as a whole. With the ‘preterists’ it will take its
stand on the circumstances of the age and locality to which
the book belongs, and will connect the greater part of the
prophecy with the destinies of the Empire under which the
prophet lived; with the ‘futurists’ it will look for fulfilments
of St John’s pregnant words in times yet to come. With the
school of Auberlen and Benson it will find in the Apocalypse a
Christian philosophy of history; with the ‘continuous-historical ’
school it can see in the progress of events ever new illustrations
of the working of the great principles which are revealed. And
while it maintains, against the majority of recent continental
scholars, the essential unity of the book and its prophetic
inspiration, it will gladly accept all that research and discovery
|
;
|
HISTORY AND METHODS OF INTERPRETATION ccxix
can yield for the better understanding of the conditions under
which the book was written. Indeed it is from this quarter
that it will look most confidently for further light.
No attempt to solve the problems of this most enigmatic
of canonical books can be more than provisional; even if the
principles on which it rests are sound, their application must
often be attended with uncertainty through the interpreter’s
lack of knowledge, or through his lability to err in his judge-
ments upon the facts which are known to him. The present
writer expects no immunity from this law; he has stated his
conclusions without reserve, but he is far from desiring to
claim for them a finality which perhaps will never be attained,
Nor has he gone to his work with any preconceptions beyond the
general principles just indicated. His purpose has not been to
add a system of interpretation to those which are already in the
field, but simply to contribute whatever a personal study, con-
ducted in the light shed upon the Apocalypse by many explorers,
may be able to offer towards a true appreciation of this great
Christian prophecy.
The following are a few of the less obvious abbreviations
employed :
Andr. Andreas.
Ar. Arethas.
BDB. Brown Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the O.T. (Oxford,
1892—1906). :
Blass, Gr. F. Blass, Grammar of N.T. Greek. Translated by H. St J. Thackeray
(London, 1898).
Burton. E. de W. Burton, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in N.T. Greek (Edin-
burgh, 1894).
CIG. Corpus inscriptionum graecarum.
Enc. Bibl. T. K. Cheyne and J. S. Black, Encyclopaedia Biblica (London, 1899—
1903).
Ey. Petr. The Gospel of Peter (cited from the writer’s edition).
Exp. The Expositor.
Hastings, D.B. J. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (Edinburgh, 1898—1904).
J. Th. St., or J. T. S. The Journal of Theological Studies.
SH. Sanday and Headlam, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh,
1895).
St Mark. The writer’s edition.
Tye. Tyconius (see p. ccif.).
Vg. The Latin Vulgate.
Viet. Victorinus (see p. ccf.).
WH. Westcott and Hort, N.7. in Greek (Cambridge, 1891); WH.?, second edition
(1896).
WM. Winer-Moulton, Grammar of N.T. Greek, 8th Engl. ed. (Edinburgh, 1877).
WSchm. Winer-Schmiedel, Grammatik d. NTlichen Sprachidioms (Géttingen,
1894— ).
Zahn, Einl, Th. Zahn, Hinleitung in das N.T. (Leipzig, 1897—9).
AITTOKAAYWIS LQOANNOY
ANMOKAAYYIC ?Incou Xpirrod, iv edwxev aitw o 1 I.
amroxadvuyis Iwavvov (Iwavov &) &C (cf. A in subscr) 2 8 82 93 (g5) (130) Ir Or Eus
Hier] az. I. rov Oeodoyou 14 17 gf 97 am. Tov ayiou I. rou Geor. 1 25 28 31 (37) 38
(49) 51 90 94 am. I. rov Oeod. Kar evaryyedorou Q 12 7 am. Tov amogrodou I. Kat
evaryyedorov P 42 (cf. vg syr)
I 1 avurw] avrn Q
TITLE. “Azoxdadviis or °A. “Iwavvou
was the title of the book in the second
century, cf. Iren. vy. 30. 3 Tov Kai thy
amoxkahuww éwpaxotos: can. Murat.
1.71 sq. “apocalypse[s] etiam Iohannis
et Petri tantum recipimus”: Tert. adv.
Marc. iv. 5 “apocalypsin eius Marcion
respuit.” Tod dmoardXov kal evayyeduo-
Tov, TOU Geodoyov etc. are manifestly
due to later transcribers. ‘O deodoyos
as the distinctive title of St John is
perhaps not earlier than the end of
cent. iv.; in Eus. praep. er. xi. 19 the
Evangelist @eodoyet, but the writer of
Hebrews is addos Beodoyos. Yet ef.
Ath. or. c. gent. 42 6 Oeordyos avnp
(Hort, Apoc. p. xxxvi.).
I. 1—3. Pro.oave.
I. amoxddvyis Inoot Xpiotod |’ Aro-
ka\vyis occurs here only in this book.
The noun is rare in literary Greek,
but Jerome’s dictum (in Gad. i. 11 sq.)
“verbum ipsum dzroxaAvWeos...proprie
scripturarum est et a nullo sapientum
saeculi apud Graecos usurpatum” is
too sweeping, for it is found in Plutarch
mor. 70 ¥. In the LXxXx. droxadimrewy
is far more frequent than avaxaAvrrew,
and the noun is used euphemistically
for TW in 1 Regn. xx. 30, and
metaphorically in Sirach (xi. 27, xxii.
22, xlii. 1); in the N.T. droxaduvpis
in a metaphorical sense is fairly
common (Le.}, Paul", Pet.5, Apoce.’).
The Epistles use it eschatologically
S. R.
(1) in reference to the revelation of
God (Rom. ii. 5), of Christ (1 Cor. i. 7,
2 Th. i: 7;)r Pet. 7, -13; avs 13);.and.
of the Saints (Rom. viii. 19), which is
to be made at the Parousia; and also
(2) of any revelation now made to the
Church (Rom. xvi. 25, 1 Cor. xiv. 6, 26,
2 Cor. xil./1j°7, Gal. 1 12, 3 2) Hip
iii. 3) through the Spirit as a wveipa
aroxa\tWews (Eph. i. 17). The corre-
sponding ydpurua was exercised not
only by Apostles (2 Cor. xii. 7, Gal. ii. 2),
but at times as it appears by ordinary
believers in the congregation (cf. 1 Cor.
xiv. 26 drav ouvépynade ExacTos...atro-
kaduwe exec). In this sense aroxaduyis
is coupled with other gifts, such as
yraots, rpopnreia, didayx7 (1 Cor. xiv. 6),
Wadpos, yAaooa, épynveia (ib. 26), ox-
ragia (2 Cor. xii. 1), copia (Eph. i. 17).
Here the exact meaning depends
upon the interpretation of the geni-
tive. Is "Incotd Xpiorod the gen. of
the object or of the subject? Dr Hort
(on 1 Pet. i. 7 and ad doc.) supports
the former, but the next words, 7
éSwxey x.7.A., Seem to point the other
way. The book is a Divine reve-
lation of which Jesus Christ was the
recipient and the giver: ef. Gal. i. 12,
where 6: aoxadvWews “I. X. means
‘by revelation from J. C.’ (Light-
foot), in contrast with teaching re-
ceived swapa avOperov. The title
might have been ’AroxaAvyis “Inco,
I
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
i
Geds detE au Tots ovo avTou a bet yevéoOa év
/ \ > / > / \ = > /
TaYEL, Kal éEonuavey amooteiNhas dia TOU ayyedou
> ~ a / > -~? / §2 ra > iE \
§C 2 avTov Tw dovAw Q@UTOU lwavyn, OS Eu“apTUpNnoEV TOV
“
1 dovAors] ayros R* (5. R%*) | rw dovAw aur.] rou Sovdov avr. A om 130 | Iwave
R* (Iwaryy N-*)
though the instinct of the Church has
rightly substituted the name of the
disciple through whom the message
was delivered.
nv &exev avt@ 6 beds xrd.] Arethas:
dédoTar pev mapa Tov marpds TO via,
dedorat d€ rapa Tov viod nuiv Trois SovAas
avrov. The Father is the ultimate
Revealer (Mt. xi. 25 amexaduwas); the
Son is the medium through Whom
the revelation passes to men (ib. 27 6
€av BovAntar o vios amoxadvai, Cf.
Jo. i. 18 povoyevns Oeds...exeivos eEnyn-
gato). That the Son receives what
He is and has from the Father is
the constant teaching of the Gospel
of St John (iii. 35, v. 20 ff., 26, vii.
TOM AVI 28. (XIE AG, XVI. 15.5) Vile
2 ff.), cf. Bede: “Iohannes more suo
filii gloriam ad patrem referens”; for
a statement of this doctrine in its
relation to the Christology of the
Creeds see Hooker £. P. v. 54 ff. The
particular revelation now about to be
made was given to Jesus Christ that
it might be communicated (detfar= iva
delEn, palam facere) to the servants
of God (avrotv = Tod Oeod, cf. xxii. 6), Le.,
primarily the Christian prophets (see
Amos iii. 7 o¥ pr) moinoer Kuptos 6 beds
mpaypa eav 17 arroKadin mawWelay mpds
rovs SovAovs avtov Tovs mpopyras, and
Apoe. x. 7, xi. 18, xxii. 6), but not to
the exclusion of the other members of
the Church; in vii. 3 of dovAce rod
6cov nuaov are the whole company of
the sealed, and the reading of X*
(ayios) is doubtless a true gloss in
this piace.
a det yevéoOar ev raye, the contents
of the Apocalypse. Act yevéo@at is
from Dan. ii. 28, see Me. xiii. 7, note;
det denotes not the necessity of a
blind eiwapuévn, but the sure fulfilment
of the purpose of God revealed by the
prophets; cf. Me. viii. 31, ix. 11, xiii. 10,
Le. xxiv. 26, Jo. xii. 34. To this the
keen hope of primitive Christianity
adds év raye: (Le. xviii. 8, Rom. xvi. 20,
Apoc. xxii. 6), another O.T. phrase
(Deut.®, Jos, 1 Regn.?, Ps}, Sir}
Bar.’, Ez.'), which must be interpreted
here and in xxii. 6 relatively to Divine
measurements of time (Arethas, wapa-
HeTpa@v Ta avOpwriva Tots Oeiots).
Dr Hort, placing a comma after
avrov, takes d as In apposition with jy.
kal e€onuavey amooteiAas, SC. “Incovs
Xputros. The Latin significacit nun-
tianda seems to imply a reading
dmooreiAa, With 6 Geos as the subject.
With éonwavev compare the use of the
verb in Jo. xii. 33, XVili. 32, XXL 10;
and in Acts xi. 28 eonpawev dia Tov
mvevpatos. Here the message is sent
by Christ 61a rod ayyédou avrod, cf.
Beatus: “non cogitatione concepta res
est, non aliquibus scripturarum car-
minibus; sed per angelum, id est,
puritatissuaenuntium...loanni directa
est”; see Mt. xiii 41, Me> xiime7,
Apoc. xxii, 16. “AmooréANew Oia
(=7!3 n2Y, Exod. iv. 13, 2 Sam.
Xi. 14, xii. 25, xv. 36), (Ch Meas
mépwvas dua Tov ppabnrav avrov, Acts xi.
30 arroareidartes...d1a xeupis BapvaBa
kat SavAov. For ro dovA@ avrov
"Iwavyn see Rom. i. 1, Jas. i. 1, Jude
1. John is named again in i. 4, 9
and xxii. 8; the question of his
identity with the Apostle is discussed
in the Introduction, c. xy.
The genesis of the Apocalypse has
now been traced from its origin in the
Mind of God to the moment when it
reached its human interpreter.
2. os euaptipnoev Tov oyov KTA.]
Maptus, paptupeiv, paprupia, are fre-
quent in the Apocalypse, as in other
ee ee ere
1 a
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 3
Aoyov Tov Beov Kal THy paptupiay “Incou Xpuwrtov,
of 9 / ‘ ) \ € > /
boa Eidev. %pakaplos 6 avaywwoKwY Kal Ol akOVOYTES 3
/ - / \ ~ \
Tous Noyous Tis TMpopntelas Kal THpovVTES Ta €v
> ~ / € \ \ > /
AUTH YEypaupeva’ O yap Kalpos Eyyus.
2 Inoov Xpiorov] om Xpiorov 12 avrov Dion | oga]+r7e xr alvo™™ Ar | ecdev (cdev
SAQ 7 98)]+ Kae arwa evoe Kar a(riwa) Xpn yevecOar pera TavTa I 7 12 28 37 38 46 49
al***™ me (cod ap Ar)
3 Makapioe oc avayiwwoxovres me Vict | rovs Noyous ACP
al?! vg me syrr Vict Prim Andr Ar]+rovrous C tov Noyov XQ 100 aeth | rns
mpopnrecas (-rTras 8C)]+7avrns 7 16 vgcleamdemfuharl me syrr arm? Vict Prim
Johannine books; the verb is usually
followed by zepi or dr, but the cognate
acc. occurs again in 1 Jo. vy. 10, Apoc.
XXxii. 16, 20.
Tov Adyor...rnv paprupiar, i.e. the
revelation imparted by God and at-
tested by Christ; the phrase occurs
again, with some medifications in form
or meaning, in i. 9, Vi. 9, Xii. 17, XX. 4.
This word and witness reached John
in a vision (6ca eidev: the reading dca
re eidev has arisen from a misunder-
standing). EidSev strikes a note which
is heard repeatedly throughout the
book (cf. i. 12, 17, 19f,, iv. 1, v. 1 f,, etc.)
and indicates its general character,
which is that of a prophetic vision (cf.
Isa. i. 1). The aorist euaprvpynoer is
epistolary; from the reader’s point of
view John’s testimony was borne at
the time when the book was written.
Dr Hort regards evapr. as referring
to John’s “confessing of Jesus Christ
before men,” and not to the visions of
the Apocalypse.
3. pakapios 6 avaywedoKkwv xtr.|
Felicitation of the reader and hearers
of the vision; similar paxapiopoi, mak-
ing with the present instance seven in
all, occur at intervals throughout the
second half of the book (Apoe. xiv.
maneeva 15, Xx. 9, Xx. 6, xxil, 7, 14).
‘O dvaywoeokwy is not the private
student (cf. Me. xiii. 14, note), but, as
oi ax. shews, the person who reads
aloud in the congregation. The
Church inherited the Jewish practice
of reading in the congregation (cf.
Hxod. xxiv. 7, Neh. viii. 2, Le. iv.
16, Acts xiii, 15, xv. 21, 2 Cor. iii. 15),
_ and extended it to such Christian
documents as Apostolic letters (Col.
iv. 16, 1 Th. v. 27, and see also Justin
ap. i. 67, Dionys. Cor. ap. Eus. AZ. £.
iy. 23); and the writer of the Apoca-
lypse clearly desires to encourage this
public use of his book. The reader
(dvayvdorns, lector), soon acquired an
official position, and became a member
of the clerus (Tert. de praescr. 41;
see Wordsworth, Ministry of Grace,
p- 187f.). But no such character
was attributed to him in the first
century; in the Apostolic Church as
in the Synagogue the reading of the
Seriptures was probably deputed by
the presbyters or the president to
any member of the congregation who
was able and willing to perform it.
The paxapiopos of the reader (jaxa-
pos = W'S as in Deut. xxxiii. 29, Ps,
i, 1) is extended to the hearers if they
keep what they have heard. There is
here a scarcely doubtful reference to
our Lord’s saying in Le. xi. 28 paxapioc
of dxovovtes Tov oyov Tov Geod Kai
gvAdacoortes, though the Johannine
type (Jo. vill. 51 f., xiv. 23, xv. 20,
xvii. 6, 1 Jo. ii. 5, etc.) takes the place
of dudaocew. The thought is worked
out by St James (i. 22 f.).
Ths mpodnreias: the Apocalyptist
claims for his book that it shall take
rank with the prophetic books of the
O.T.; cf. 2 Chr. xxxil. 32 év rq mpo-
gnreia "Hoaiov, Sir. prol. 15 ai mpo-
gnreia. The claim is repeated in
Apoc. xxil. 7, 10, 18 f.
‘O yap Kkawpos éyy’s: a motive for
hearing and keeping: the season (ef.
xi. 18, xxii. 10; Acts i. 7) for the
fulfilment of the vision is at hand ; the
cs
4 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [I. 4.
4 Vlwavyns Tais émta éxkAnoias Tais éy TH Acia:
4 Iwavns 8 | aro o wy SACP 1 2567 10 38 91 al**™ g h vg syrr] amo rou o wy
30 92™8 Ar®4 azro Beou o wy Q 36 95 130 al®re* Vict Prim
hopes and fears which it arouses belong
to the near future; cf. Beatus: “ per-
ficientibus enim non longum tempus
remunerationis facit.” The words, like
ev Tayex (v. 1), are repeated in xxii. Io.
They rest ultimately on such sayings
of Christ as Me. xiii. 28 f. and are among
the commonplaces of primitive Chris-
tianity ; cf. Rom. xiii. 11, 1 Cor. vii. 29,
Phil. iv. 5 (where see Lightfoot’s note).
4—8. THE WRITER’S GREETING TO
THE CHURCHES ADDRESSED.
4. “Iwdvyns rats émra exkAnoiats KTX. |
The customary form for beginning a
letter; cf. Gal. i. 1 TadXos...rais ék-
KAnotias this Tadarias, 1 Th. i. 1, I. 77
exkAnoia Oecoadovukewy, I Cor. i. I,
2 Cor. 1. 1, Ign. Hph. 1 ete. Though
we are not again reminded of the fact
till we reach the closing benediction
(xxl. 21), the Apocalypse is in fact
a letter from i. 4 onwards; it might
have borne the title Ipds ras ¢' é«xAn-
gias, or IIpos ’Actavov's.
‘H ’Aoia in the Books of Maccabees
(1 Mace. viii. 6, xi. 13, xii. 39, xiii. 32;
2 Mace. iii. 3, x. 24; 3 Mace. iii. 14;
4 Mace. iii. 20) is conterminous with the
empire of the Seleucids. But before
N.T. times it had acquired another
meaning. The Romans identified Asia
with the Pergamene kingdom, and
when in B.C. 129 the possessions of
Attalus III. passed into their hands,
they gavethename to the new province.
The province of Asia at first included
only the western sea-board of Asia
Minor, but after B.c. 49 two dioeceses of
Phrygia were added to it; see Cic. pro
Flacco 27 “Asia yestra constat ex
Phrygia Mysia Caria Lycia.” In the
N.T. 7’ Aciais always Proconsular Asia,
withthe possible exception of Acts ii. 9,
where Phrygia appears to be definitely
excluded; on this see, however, the
Introduction, c. vy. In addition to the
cities named below in . 11, there were
Christian communities at Troas (Acts
xx. 5 ff, 2 Cor. ii. 12), Hierapolis and
Colossae (Col. i. 1, ii. 1, iv. 13), possibly
also at Magnesia and Tralles; and the
question arises why John addresses.
only the seven churches which are
specified (rais émra éxxAnoias). ~The
selection may be explained by cir-
cumstances; Troas lay far off the road.
which the messenger would naturally
follow, while Hierapolis and Colossae
were so near to Laodicea and Mag-
nesia and Tralles to Ephesus that they
might be disregarded. The seven
Churches addressed were fairly re-
presentative of Asiatic Christianity;
and as Ramsay points out (Zap. 1904,
i. p. 29), the “seven cities were the
best points of communication with
seven districts.” But the repeated
occurrence of the number seven in this
book (i. 45, 12, 16, iv. 5,.V. 1, 6, Vill 2,
X. 3, Xi. 13, Xi. 3, XIU. 1, X1y..6 name
gests another reason for the limita-
tion. Seven, the number of the days
of the week, presented to the Semitic
mind the idea of completeness (Adrian
Isagoge 83 7 ypapy...rov érra aptOpov
.-Aéyet...enl TeAevod apiOuov). Thus
“the seven Churches” may represent
to us not only the Churches of Asia as
a whole, but (can. Murat. 57 f.) all the
Churches of Christ; and Andreas is
probably not altogether wide of the
mark when he writes: é1a tod €Bdo-
HaTLtKOD apLOnod TO pvoTiKoy TOY amav-
Tax €kkAno.wy onpaivev. So Prima-
sius: “id est, uni ecclesiae septiformi;
septenario numero saepe universitas.
figuratur”; and Rupert of Deutz:
“idem nobis sit ac si dixerit ‘Toannes.
omnibus ecclesiis quae sunt in mun-
do’”; cf. Beatus: “quid sibi Asianus
populus esse videtur ut solus suscipere
revelationem apostolicam mereatur?”
But any such application of rats émra
exkAnoias is only in the background of
I. 4)
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 5
, wae \ > / > \ »\ Ah ie) DR 1 ee tn /
Naps Upiv Kal Elpnyn amo O wy kal O NV KaL O Epyo-
\ > \ ~ € \ , \ / ~
MEVOS, Kal ATO TWY ETTa TYEVLATwWY a EvwTLOV TOU
4 a evwmiov CQ 6 14 93 95 alfre*? syrr"4] a cor ev. P 1 38 49 a crow ev. 36 Tow
ev. SA 47 79 99 Om So
the words; as they stand, they have
a definite reference from which they
must not be diverted to mystical uses.
Xapis viv cai eipnyy. So all the
Pauline Epistles open except 1, 2
Tim., where and in 2 Jo. we find
xdpis €Xeos eipnyyn. The same saluta-
tion is used in 1, 2 Peter; St James
prefers the classical yaipew (Acts xv.
23, Jac. i. 1). "Amo 6 dy kal 6 HY Kal
6 €pxopevos i.e. avd Oeod marpos (Rom.
i. 7, I Cor. i. 3 etc.). That this is the
true interpretation appears from kat
amo “I. X. which follows; the view of
Andreas (a6 ris tpicvtocratou be0-
tyros), and that of Primasius (“ad per-
sonam tamen filii hic proprie redigen-
dus est locus”) are equally excluded
by the context. As to the phrase
itself, 6 oy is the Lxx. rendering of
MAN TWN in Exod. iii. 14; cf. Philo
de Abr. 24 ev tats lepais ypapais
Kupi@ ovopate Kadeira ‘O dv. Aquila,
however, followed by Theodotion,
translated 1} TWN mn IN by €copa
[os] €rona, and the Targums read into
the words a reference to the infinite
past and future of God’s eternal ‘now’;
thus the Jerusalem Targum interprets
“qui fuit est et erit,” and the T. of
Jonathan on Deut. xxxii. 39 renders
NIT IN YN “ego ille qui est et qui fuit
et qui erit.” Similar descriptions of
the Divine Life are cited from Greek
poetry, e.g. the saying ascribed to
Heracleitus: xécuos...jv del Kai €ore
kai €orac; the oracle in Paus. x. 12
Zebs Hv, Zeds Eat, Zeds Eooerar, and
the Orphic lines Zeds mpadros yévero,
Zeds Vaturos apxtxepavuvos’ |Zeds Kear,
Zevs péoos. Thus the Apocalyptist
strikes a note familiar both to Jewish
and Hellenic ears. But he expresses
his thought move swo: 6 4v (Benson :
“the Was’) is a characteristically bold
attempt to supply the want of a past
part. of «iui, while o épxopevs is
perhaps preferred to 6 éodpevos be-
cause it adumbrates at the outset the
general purpose of the book, which is
to exhibit the comings of God in
human history; if épyer@a is used »
elsewhere chiefly of the Son, the
Father also may be said to come
when He reveals Himself in His work-
ings; cf. eg. Jo. xiv. 23 [ey Kai] 6
maTnp pov...ekevoopeba. As a whole
the phrase exhibits the Divine Life
under the categories into which it
falls when it becomes the subject of
human thought, which can conceive
of the eternal only in the terms of
time. Such a title of the Eternal
Father stands fitly among the first
words of a book which reveals the
present in the light both of the past
and of the future.
The construction dd 6 ov xri.
must be explained by regarding the
whole phrase as an indeclinable noun
(Viteau, Etude, ii. pp. 12, 126); amore
exact writer would perhaps have said
aro Tov ‘O oy xri. (cf. WM. p. 79 f.).
kal amo Tov érra mvevpdat@v KTA.|
Cf. iii. 1, iv. 5, v. 6, where after mv.
the writer adds rod @Oeod. Jewish
angelology recognised seven angels of
the Presence (Tob. xii. 15, Enoch xx.
7, xc. 21; ef. Targum Jon. on Gen.
xi. 7: “dixit Deus vii angelis qui stant
coram illo”). Seven angels are men-
tioned in Apoc. viii. 2 ff, xv. 1 ff;
and some early interpreters were dis-
posed to identify the “seven spirits
of God” with such a group of angelic
beings. Thus Andreas: érra 8é
mvevpata Tovs émTa ayyéAous voeiv
duvaroy, and Arethas more confidently :
Soxyuwrepov S€ ayyéAous Tatra voeiv,
urging that @ eorw éevadmtoyv tot Apdvov
6 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[I. 4
a) , 5) > 5 \ 5) \ "il - y > € / - €
5 Upovou avTou, *Kat ato Incov ApiaTov, 0 papTus O
implies ryv olkerixyy tag, ov THY
icormor. But against this view must
be set (1) the description of the ‘seven
spirits’ in c. y. 6, with obvious re-
ference to Zech. iv. 10; and (2) the
apparent coordination of the spirits
in this place with the Father and the
Son. Bousset finds a parallel to this
in Justin, ap. i. 6, but Justin’s Chris-
tology is less consistent than that of
the Apocalypse, where Christ is dis-
tinguished from the angels (see upon
this the notes to c. xxii. 8f., 16).
Moreover, the N.T. rarely uses wvev-
para of angels; Heb. i. 7, 14 is
based on a quotation, and in Apoe.
Xvl. 13 f. mvevduara is qualified by
axaOapra or Saipoviwy, which removes
all ambiguity. On the whole, there-
fore, it is safer to accept the alterna-
. tive followed by the best Latin com-
mentators, Victorinus, Primasius,
Apringius, Beatus (“sanctus scilicet
Spiritus unus in nomine, virtutibus
septiformis”) and offered as an al-
ternative by Andreas (tcws 6d€ kai
érépws rovto vonOnoerar... dia... TOV
ENTA TVEULAT@Y TOY EvepyEel@Y TOU ayiov
Tvedparos [onuavouevwr]). We may
compare Heb. ii. 4 mvevparos ayiouv
Heptopois, I Cor. xii. 10 draxpicess
mvevpateoy, ib. xiv. 32 mvevpara mpo-
gyreav, Apoc. xxii. 6 6 Geos Tar
Tvevpatoy Tov mpopytrav. Here the
‘spirits’ are seven, because the
Churches in which they operate are
seven. An early interpretation con-
nected them with the aspects of the
nya? O19 enumerated in Isa. xi. 2
uxx.; cf. Justin, dial. 87, and Ps.-
Hippolytus (ed. Lagarde, p. 198), where
the passage in Isaiah is quoted in the
form dvamavoerat €@ avtov entra rvev-
pata tov Oeov. Hence the Spiritus
septiformis of Latin devotional theo-
logy. But there is nothing to shew
that the writer of the Apocalypse had
Isa. /.c. in his thoughts; moreover the
septenary number appears there only
in the Lxx., to which comparatively
little weight is assigned in this book.
a évariov tov Opovov avrov antici-
pates the vision of iv. 2, 5, g.v. The -
readings tev, a éarwy (eiowy), are gram-
matical corrections for the rougher a:
for the omission of the verb cf. c. v. 13
may ktiopa 0 ev xtA. Nestle (Textual
Criticism, p. 331) suggests that the
original reading was Ta.
5. Kai avo’ l. Xp., 6 paptus 6 motos}
Grace and peace come also from the
Person who received and communi-
cated the revelation. ’Amo “I. Xp.,
as in the Pauline form of salutation
from Rom. i. 7 onwards; St John
(2 Jo. 3) has mapa in the same
sense. Since our Lord is the medium
rather than the source of the Divine
fayour we might have expected d:a,
as in Jo. i. 17 7) xdpis Kal 7 adnOeva dia
I. Xp. éyévero. But the Son in His
oneness with the Father may also be
regarded as the source of the gifts
which He communicates. From this
point the full title "Incots Xpioros
disappears, unless we read it in the
closing benediction (xxii. 21); else-
where throughout the Apoc. “Incots
stands alone (i. 9 bis, xii. 17, xiv. 12,
XVil. 6, xix. Io bis, Xx. 4) Exo
20)—a use which is rare except in
the Gospels and the Ep. to the
Hebrews. It may be the purpose of
the writer to emphasize in this way
the humanity of the glorified Christ,
and His identity with the historical
Person who lived and suffered.
‘O paprus 6 miords, and the other
nominatives which follow, are the
first examples of an anomaly which is
common in the Apoc.; ef. ii. 13, 20,
iii. 12 etc. Such irregularities may be
partly attributable to Semitic habits
of thought—a Greek could scarcely
have permitted himself to use them ;
but they are partly due to the cha-
racter of the book and perhaps are
parenthetic rather than solecistic ;
re Ue ee ee Se ea
Ls]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 7
/ / -~ od \ af ~
TLOTOS, O TPWTOTOKOS TWY VEKPWY Kal 0 apywy Tw
/ ~ ~
BaciNéwy THs vis.
= ~ rl cee \ /
Tw ayarTwYTL nuas Kat AVTAaVTL
c cal > o t -~ cf -~ > ~ / > ~
nMas EK TWY AUaPTLWV MV EV TW ALUaATL AUVUTOU,
5 Tw vexpwy] pr ex 1 gt 96 al arm¥id | Bagidecwy &* (-Newy NY!) arm! | aya-
mwvre SACQ 6 7 14 38 95 al®™"] ayarnoavTs P 1 28 36 79 gt g2™8 96 gg Andr Ar |
Avoayre SAC 1 6 12* 28 36 38 69 79 99 (syrr) arm Prim] Aovoayrs PQ min?! vg me
aeth Andr Ar | om 7yas 2° &* (hab &*) | ex NAC 1 12 28* 36 38 79 92™ gg g arm
Prim] aro PQ min?! vg me aeth Ar | om yuwv A 1 12 16 arm* Primvi4
see the Introduction, c. xi. Mdprus
looks back to v. 2 rv paptupiay "Incod,
but the phrase 6 p. 6 mords has a
wider reference; ef. Jo. iii. 11, 32 f,
Vill. 14 f., xviii. 37, 1 Tim. vi. 13; 80
Victorinus: “in homine suscepto per-
hibuit testimonium in mundo”; we
are reminded also of Proy. xiv. 5
DON TW, Isa. lv. 4 °AN: owInd ry.
It occurs again in c. iii. 14 (¢.v.), where
it is amplified (6 "Apr, 6 paprus 6 7.
kat ddnOwos).
6 mpwrorokos Trav vexpav| So St Paul
in Col. i. 18 ds €orw 1 apy, mpord-
Tokos €k Tov vexpav, and I Cor. xy. 20
€yNYEPTAL eK veKpav, Gmapyx?) TOY KEKOL-
pnpevov. Though others had risen,
those e.g. who were raised by Him,
-yet as Alcuin (quoted by Trench) well
observes, “nullus ante ipsum non
moriturus surrexit.” In His capacity
of ‘firstborn’ Jesus is further 6 dpyov
tav Baoitéwv ths yis. Here John
follows another line of thought, sug-
gested by Ps. Ixxxviii. (Ixxxix.) 28
kady® mpwroroKoy (7133) O@nooua avror,
vynAov mapa (? Pov) Tois Bacw\evow
ths yns. The Resurrection carried
with it a potential lordship over all
humanity (Rom. xiy. 9), not only over
the Church (Col. d.c.). The Lord won
by His Death what the Tempter had
offered Him as the reward of sin (Mt.
iv. 8f.); He rose and ascended to
receive universal empire; cf. c. xix.
12, 16 emi thy Kechadiy avrov diadypara
TOAAG,..€XEL...0v0a yeypaupévoy Bact-
Aets Baorléwr. The words 6 dpyor r.
B. ths ys, imperator regum terrae,
stand appropriately at the head of a
book which represents the glorified
Christ as presiding over the destinies
of nations.
The threefold title pdprus...rpwtd-
Tokos...apyov answers to the three-
fold purpose of the Apocalypse, which
is at once a Divine testimony, a reve-
lation of the Risen Lord, and a fore-
cast of the issues of history.
TO ayarovre nuas xth.| The first of
the many doxologies of the book (iv.
II, V. 9, 12f, vii. 10, 12 etc.) is offered
to Jesus Christ. “To Him that loves
us and—the erucial instance of His
love—loosed us from our sins at the
cost of His blood.” The reading
ayaryoavtt, though it represents a
fact (Jo. xili. 1, 34, xv. 9, Rom. viii.
37, Apoe. iii. 9) misses the contrast
between the abiding aydrn and the
completed act of redemption. Be-
tween Avoavre and Aovoarte it is not
so easy to decide. Avew duapriay is
Biblical, see Job xlii. 9 (Lxx.), and the
construction Avew dao occurs in Le.
xiii. 16, 1 Cor. vil. 27; cf. Apoc. xx.'7
AvOnoerac ex THs vAdaxjs. On the
other hand Aovcarre yields a good
sense, and presents a more usual
metaphor; cf. Ps. 1. -(li.) 4, Isa. i. 16,
18, 1 Cor. vi. 11, Eph. v. 26, Tit. iii. 5,
Heb. x. 22; but it rests on inferior
authority and may be “due to failure
to understand the Hebraic use of év
to denote a price...and a natural
misapplication of vii. 14” (WH.
Notes, p. 136; ef. Nestle, Textual
Criticism, p. 332). It is interesting
to find Plato by a play upon the
words bringing together the two verbs
in a very similar connexion: Crat.
8 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[I. 6
6 \ > / € ~ th e ~~ ~~ lo \
6 kat émoincoey ruas Bacirelav, lepets TH Oew Kat
6 exonoev SACP min?! syrr] rornoavte Q 713 14 16 25 29 36 43 55 g2** niwwoev
arm | »as SPQ al?! syrr Vict Prim Andr Ar] nuw A 13 23 27 31 38 55 76 nuwr
C ygamfuharitol (nostrum regnum) | Bacireray tepers] Baothecay Kat vepers Ke gg vg
Tert Vict Prim Bacvders cat tepers P 1 28 36 79 80 81 161 Bacrhetov tepets Q Bacirerov
teparevua (9) 13 14 23 27 55 92'** 130 me"! Bact\evay cepay syrrv4 Bacthevas arm
405 B ovKxovy 6 Kabaipwy Geos kal 0
drodvev TE Kal dTo\ovwy TY TOLOUT@Y
kaxav airtos dv ein; The assonance of
hove and Ave abundantly accounts
for the interchange of the two, not-
withstanding the difference of mean-
ing: one spelling or the other was
adopted according to the sense pre-
ferred; cf. Arethas: dvccoypadpeirat
raita mpos Suaopoy evvoiav. “Ev TO
aipat.: the blood, emblem of the
sacrificed life, was the Avrpoy (Me. x.
45, note; cf. Rom. v. 9, 1 Pet. i. 19,
1 Jo. i. 7); for éy ‘at the price of’
rection (Jo. xx. 23) was an immediate
result of the ‘loosing’ effected by the
Cross; cf. Jo. xi. 44 Avoare avrov kat
agere, and Aug. ad loc.
6. Kat éroincey nuas Bacwelar, iepeis
xtd.] Beatus: “quia pro nobis passus
est et resurrexit a mortuis, nostrum
regnum ipse construxit.”. The con-
struction of the sentence requires kai
moumaavTt, but the writer more suo
(see on v. 5, 6 paprus) suffers the new
thought that rises in his mind to take
the form of a parenthesis.
As the apparatus testifies, early
students of the book were driven to
despair by the words which follow.
They rest on Exod. xix. 6 “ye shall
be to Me a kingdom of priests”
(D373 noo, LXX. Bacidetov ieparev-
pa, Aq. Bacireia iepéwy, Symm., Th. Ba-
ovreia tepeis, Vg. regnum sacerdotale).
Exod. é.c. is quoted also in 1 Pet. ii. 9
(where see Hort’s note), Apoc. v. 9
(Bactrelav Kai iepeis), Jubilees xvi. 13
(ed. Charles, p. 116 note). As Dr Hort
has shewn, the Lxx. probably read
mp0, and the same reading is re-
presented by Th. and in the Apoe.
(on the frequent agreement of the
latter with Th. see Salmon, Jntrod.
to the N.T", p. 548 ff., and the writer's
Introd. to the O.T. in Greek, p. 48).
It is a further question whether Bao«-
Aefa in this passage means a nation
under the government of a king, or a
nation of kings; for the latter inter-
pretation see the Jer. Targum cited by
Charles /.c. (2°33) yodn). But, as
Hort observes, “in Exodus ‘Kingdom’
is little more thai a synonym of
‘people’ or nation, with the idea of
government by a king added”; and
this sense suits the present context.
The Apoe. is largely a protest against
the Caesar-cult and the attitude of
the Empire towards the Church, and
at the outset it places the Divine
Kingdom in sharp contrast to the im-
perial power. As Israel when set free
from Egypt acquired a national life
under its Divine King, so the Church,
redeemed by the Blood of Christ, con-
stituted a holy nation, a new theocracy.
‘Tepeis stands in apposition to Ba-
otdelav; iepay (Syrr., <turams), cal
iepets are needless attempts to save
the grammar. The members of the
Church, a Kingdom in their corporate
life, are individually priests; as Bede
truly says: “nemo sanctorum est qui
spiritualiter sacerdotii officio careat,
cum sit membrum aeterni Sacerdotis.”
Baptism inaugurates this priestly
service (Eph. v. 26, Heb. x. 22, Tit. iii.
5), which is fulfilled by the offering of
living, reasonable, and spiritual sacri-
fices (Rom. xii. 1, Heb. xiii. 15 f,
ae
SS ae
Lz]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 9
\ a _ , \ \ / > \
Tatpt avTov, avTw 1 Oofa Kal TO KpaTOS Els TOUS
coal - wae
aiwvas [Tw aiwvey |:
anv.
Ye \ af \ as
iOov EpyeTat peta 7
~~ Coal \ sf > \ ~ > \ \
Twv vepedwv, Kal OETA a’Tov Tas OPbadrwos Kat
6 Tov aiwva &* (rous aiwvas N°") syré™ | om Twv awywy AP g 28 79 97 99 me | om
auny 33 ve"
1 Pet. ii. 5). These are presented to
the God and Father of Jesus Christ.
From another point of view the
Christian priesthood is exercised to-
wards both the Father and the Son,
see c. xx. 6 €covrat iepeis Tov Beov Kai
Tov xprorov; here the Father alone is
named. Avrov should probably be
taken with r@ 6 as well as with ro
marpi (Jo. xx. 17, Apoc. iii. 12); if the
Incarnate Son is not ashamed to call
men His brethren (Heb. ii. 11), neither
is He ashamed to call the Father His
God.
The Church, like Israel, is a great
sacerdotal society. That there are
special ministries within the body
_ which belong to an ordained clerus,
_ an lepoupyia Tov evayyedlov committed
to Apostles and their successors (Rom.
_ xy. 16), in no way conflicts with the
reality of the priesthood which is the
| privilege of every baptized member
of Christ.
avt@ 7 Sofa Kai To Kparos xrh.} Se.
T@ ayanavre jas kal Avoavte KTH. i.e.
to Jesus Christ. The Apoc. freely
associates Christ with the Father in
doxologies; cf. v. 13 f, vii. 10. An
equally unequivocal instance is to be
found in 2 Pet. iii. 18; others which
are cited from the Apostolic writings
(1 Pet. iv. 11, Rom. xvi. 27, Heb. xiii.
21, 2 Tim. iv. 18) are for various
reasons open to doubt. The simple
formula 7 ddfa eis rovs aldvas [trav
aidver| is found in 4 Mace. xviii. 24,
Rom. l.c., Gal. i. 5, ete. ; Kal rd xparos
is added in 1 Pet. Zc, and other
amplifications occur (cf. Mt. vi. 13,
ar Tim. i. 17, vi. 16, Jude 25,
Apoc. y. 13, vii. 12); for further de-
tails see Chase, Lord’s Prayer in the
Early Church, p. 168 ff "Apyy is
7 wera] emt C | opovrar NX I 12 152 Me syrrarm | om auto 1° 1 4688
well supported at the end of nearly
all the N.T. doxologies ; it had taken
its place at once in the worship of
the Church as the érevyunors of the
private members to the prayer or
thanksgiving of the presiding Apostle
prophet or presbyter (1 Cor. xiv. 16;
Justin, ap. i. 65).
7. idod €pxerar pera Tov veerav]
To the doxology the writer adds a
forecast of the coming of the Lord,
to which he points as if it were
already imminent. The words are
from Dan. vii. 13 Th. e@ewpour...xai
idov pera (LXX, emt) Tov vepehov Tou
ovpavod ws vios avOparov € €pxopmevos (ef.
Me. xiii. 26, xiv. 62, notes; Acts fs
9 ff, 1 Thess. iv. 17). The note thus
sounded at the beginning of the book
is repeated more than once at the end
Cexuly 7, 12; 20)
Kal Ovverat avrov mas opOadpos KTA. |
With Dan. dc. the Apocalyptist com-
bines Zech. xii. 10. His reminiscence
of Zech. agrees with the form which
the words take in Jo. xix. 37 é6Wovra
eis ov e&exévtnoav (7) : against the
LXX. emBheyrovrat mpos pe av ov
KaTw@pxnoavTo (’9p9).. Zahn = (Zin-
leitung, ii. p. 563) argues that St John
translated direct from the Hebrew,
using a text which read as M.T.; but
as efexévtnoay appears also in Aq. and
Th., and in an independent quotation
by Justin, déa/. 32, it is more probable
that both Gospel and Apocalypse were
indebted to a Greek version of the
prophecy other than the Lxx., perhaps
to some collection of prophetic testi-
monies. With GwWerae avrov ras op.
comp. Didache xvi. 7 réte OYerat 6
KOO MOS TOY KUpLoY epyouevoy. Kal oiruwes
specifies a class already included in
was of@. (cf. Me. i. 5, note); ofrwes is
10 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[I. 7
e/ 5) \ oo 4 \ / yess) > \
OLTLYES GAUTOV ECEKEVTNO AV, Kal KOWovTat €7 auToOvV
a c \ ~ a
maga. at puAat THS YNS.
> \ sf \ \ ay / ia
8 "Eye eiut TO aXa Kal TO w, Eyer Kupios
/ > /
val, any.
¢
7 om auroyv 2° &* (hab &“*) | om ex N* (hab &**) | kopovrae er avrov] owovrat
avrov me arm Prim’4 om em avurov 1 | vac bis ser syr8¥
90 99 100 al™ | kat To w] pr Kae eyw N* (om Ne*) +
8 adda] a I 29 33 47 49
(n) apxn Kat (To) Tedos N* x (28)
35 (36, 49, 79, 80) 92™§ 99 130 al™'v'd vo me
generic (WM., p. 209), pointing not so
much to the original crucifiers as to
those who in every age share the
indifference or hostility which lay
behind the act. Kai xowWovtat én av-
tov (‘over Him, Vulg. super eum; cf.
XV1ll. 9) macau ai dudai ths yns; the
first three words are from Zech. xii. 12
kal KoWerat 1) yj Kata duAas pvaAas.
Mt., who also (xxiv. 30) blends Dan.
vil. 13 with Zech. xii. 10, turns the
sentence precisely as John does—a
circumstance which increases the
probability that the quotation came
as it stands from a book of excerpts.
Prim. renders: “et videbit eum omnis
terra talem”; other Latin texts give
“omnis caro terrae” or “omnes tribus
terrae.” Did they read, with the
Coptic and Armenian versions, é\ov-
tat avrov and add talem (i. q. exkev-
tGévra) to relieve the monotony of
the repeated oyovra ?
Hippolytus (ed. Lag. p. 117) inter-
prets too narrowly: Oedcortar 6 Tay
°EBpaiwy Sjuos Kai Kéwovra. Taca at
pvaai strikes quite another note.
Nai, auny unites the Greek and He-
brew forms of affirmation, as Andreas
remarks: rév avrov voty ri Te ENAnvide
th Te “EBpaikn yAotrn eonpaver. A
somewhat similar combination is the
aBBa o marnp of Me. xiy. 36, where see
note. The words vai, dun, however,
are not quite synonymous; from its
associations duny possesses a religious
character, which gives it greater
solemnity ; seeClae Cor. 1. 20 doa yap
emayyeRiat Geo, ev ate TO val* 610
kat bv avrov TO aunv. Christ is Him-
self o auny (iii. 14); 6 vai would be
felt to be unbecoming. Elsewhere
in the book (xiv. 13, xvi. 7, xxii. 20)
the writer contents himself with the
simple affirmation which sufficed for
Christians in their ordinary inter-
course (Mt. v. 37, Jas. v. 12); but in
this extremely solemn announcement
of the coming Parousia the double
asseveration is in place. Hort inter-
prets otherwise: “vai the Divine
pr omise, ayy the human acceptance.”
ey ely TO adda kat TO @ KTA.]
The solemn opening of the book
reaches its climax here with words
ascribed to the Eternal and Almighty
Father.
To adda kai 76 6 is interpreted by
7) apxn kal TO Tédos (XXi. 6), 6 mpa@ros
kal 6 €oxartos (xxii. 13); ef. Isa. xli. 4,
xlili. 10, xliv. 6, xlviii. 12. The book
being for Greek readers, the first and
last letters of the Greek alphabet are
used, but there is doubtless a reference
to the Jewish employment of &, N;
cf. e.g. Jalkut Rub. f. 17. 4 ““Adamus
totam legem transgressus est ab Aleph
usque ad Tau” (‘N TW ‘ND); 2b. f. 48. 4,
where the contrary is said of Abra-
ham. The symbol NN was regarded
as including the intermediate letters,
and stood for totality ; and thus it fitly
represented the Shekinah (Schoettgen,
i, p. 1086). Harly Christian writers
enter at large into the mystical im-
port of AQ, e.g. Tertullian, de monog.
“duas Graecas litteras, summam et
ultimam...sibi induit Dominus, uti...
ostenderet in se esse initii decursum
ad finem, et finis recursum ad initium ;
ut omnis dispositio in eum desinens
per quem coepta est...proinde desinat
quemadmodum et coepit.” So Clement
of Alexandria, strom. iv. 25 § 158 sq.
os tavta év évOey Kat tavra: KUK\OS
yap © autos macay Trav duvapewy eis
I. 9]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN II
/ »\ \ Ky \ / ¢
Geos, 6 wy Kal 6 nv Kal 6 EpxomEevos, 0 TavTO-
KpaTwp.
€ > \ - \ \
VEyea “Iwavyns, 6 adeNPos Vuw@V Kat TUVKOLWWYOS 9
a / \ ~
év tH ONiWver Kal Baoirela Kal UToMoVH eV
c " ‘ ‘
8 0 mavTokpatwp] om o Q pr o Beos Hipp
kat Baoiieca] kar ev T7 B. P 1
Inoou] ev Xpiotw A 2
Xpicrov 1 28 79 130 al”o™
' év ciNoupevoy kai Evoupevor, 81a ToUTO
‘dda Kai 3 6 Noyos elpytat, of povoy TO
tédos apy?) yiverac kal reXevTa mad
emi tiv dvwbev apyny, ovdapuod diacracw
AaBov. See also Origen in Joann.
t.i. 31. The phrase is seen to express
not eternity only, but infinitude, the
boundless life which embraces all while
it transcends all, “fons et clausula om-
nium quae sunt” (Prudentius, cathem.
ix. 10 ff.) In xxii. 13 7d adda kal
To @ is applied by Jesus to Himself,
and this reference is assumed by the
ancient interpreters in the present
case (cf. Hippolytus adv. Noet. (ed.
Lag. p. 48) eiev mavtoxparopa Xpioror,
Clem. Al. strom. iv. 25 § 159, Orig. de
prince. i. 2, 10 “qui enim venturus
est, quis est alius nisi Christus?”
Andreas: 6 xpiards evratéa dndovra.,
and the passages cited above), but in-
correctly, as the next words shew.
Reyes Kupios 6 Beds =). ITN WN,
a phrase specially common in Ezekiel
(vi. 3, 11, Vii. 2 ete.), with whom and
the rest of the O.T. prophets the
Christian prophet of the Apocalypse
associates himself by his use of it.
‘O dp xri., see v. 4, note. ‘O marto-
kpatrwp, Which in other books of the
N.T. is found but once and then in
a quotation (2 Cor. vi. 18), occurs
again in Apoc. iv, 8, xi. 17, xv. 3,
evi 7, 14, xix. 6, 15, xxi. 22. Like
K. 6 Oeds, 6 mavroxparwp is from the
O.T., where the Lxx. use it for "IY
in Job and in the other books for
nisi, K. 6 eds 6 wr. occurs in Hos.
Inoou,
9 Iwavns 8* | Kowwvos 6 7 8 Ar |
7 49 al?" om syrr aeth | om xat vrouovy ev I. arm | ev
5 ev Xp. Inoov Q min® syr Prim Ar ev I. Xp, N*° syr Inoov
xii. 5 (6), and in Amos passim; in
2, 3 Mace. 6 zw. often stands alone.
‘O mavtoxpatwp=6 TavTwY KpaTav, oO
mavrav e€ovoratwy (Cyril. Hier. catech.
viii. 3), the All-Ruler rather than the
Almighty (6 mavrodvvauos, Sap. Vii. 23,
xi. 17, xviii. 15); see Suicer ad v., and
Kattenbusch, Das apost. Symbol, ii.
p- 533f, or the editor's Apostles’
Creed*, p. 20f.
g—20. VISION or THE RISEN AND
GLORIFIED CHRIST.
9. eye “Iwavyns, 0 adeAdos vpav
xt\.| From the eestatic utterances of
ve. 7, 8 the writer returns to his
address to the Churches. “Eyo ’L
identifies him with the John of vz. 2,
4, and is after the manner of the
apocalyptic prophets when they relate
their visions; cf. Dan. vii. 28, viii. 1
ey® Aavupr, ae Xli. 3 €oT@s Aun
‘Evox, 4 Esdr. ii. 33 “ego Esdras ac-
cepi praeceptum,” ’ Apos. xxii. 8 xayo
"Il. 6 axovav. ‘O adeAhds vuaor, while
not claiming for John an official cha-
racter, does not exclude it; ef. 2 Pet.
lil. 15 6 ayamnrods nuav added dds MadAos.
His purpose being to establish a com-
munity of interests with the Churches,
he is content with the title which
Apostles and presbyters shared with
other Christians (cf. Acts xv. 23 of
drooroAo Kal of mpeaBitepor ddeAqoi
rois...adedois...yaipew), Kat ouvxor-
yovos KTA.: Kowaveiv (-via, -vds, -viKos)
cuveowerveiv (-vos) are Pauline words,
but not exclusively so: ef. 1 Pet. iv,
12 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[I. 9
? / > > / ~ aN / al i 3 \ \
EVYEVOMHYV EV Ty VyowW TY ka OUMEVY ATW ta TOV
1G ls ol) JO, 1.’ 3, Apoc. <Xvill °4)5
for the construction with ev cf. Mt.
xxiii. 30. The thought of a xowwvia
in suffering belongs to the stock of
primitive Christian ideas; see 1 Pet.
Were.22 Cor: 4,7, Phil: aii: 10, “iv, 14
guvKowwwrnoavres pouty Odie, Odinver
...Baowdeia...vmoporn: for Arius see
Me. iv. 17, note, xiii. 19, Jo. xvi. 33;
for Baowdeia, Le. xii. 32, xxii. 29, Jas.
iis) 5, 0, Phe dis12, 2. Phi i. 5s amopory
is not less constantly connected with
the Christian life (Le. viii. 15, xxi. 19,
Rom. vy. 3 7 Odiis vmropovny Katepya-
(erat, Vil. 25 f.,°Apoc. 1. 2f, 19, ii.
10, xiii, Io, xiv. 12), and with the
coming Kingdom (2 Tim. ii. 12 e
bropevopev kal cupBacirevoouev). The
obvious order is Odiis, vroporn,
Bacideia; but that which is adopted
here has the advantage of leaving on
the reader’s mind the thought of the
struggle which still remains before
the kingdom is attained. The juxta-
position of OAiyus and BaoiXela (Beatus:
“retributionem tribulationis regnum ”)
is quite usual, cf. Acts xiv. 22 é.a
Tmodha@v OdiWewy Set nuas eioedGetv eis
Thy Baowelay Tov Oeov. ~Ev “Inaod,
equivalent to the Pauline ev Xpiord,
ev Xpiot@® “Incod: on the use of the
personal name in the Apoc. see @. 5,
note. The whole life of a Christian,
whether he suffers or reigns or waits,
is in union with the life cf the In-
carnate Son.
On the question whether John of
the Apocalypse is the son of Zebedee
see the Introduction, ¢. xv.
eyevouny ev TH vynow TH KAA, Ilatpo
xtv.} Patmos, Patino, one of the
Sporades, though seldom mentioned
by ancient writers (Thue. iii. 33, Strab.
Bap he Lo, means ea Viv. 23) shins a
place in the inscriptions (C/G 2261,
2262 etc.), and its safe harbourage
must have made it a place of some
importance to navigators; see Renan,
L’Antechrist, p. 372 f., who remarks:
“on a tort de la représenter comme
un écueil, comme un désert. Patmos
fut et redeviendra peut-étre une des
stations maritimes les plus impor-
tantes de lArchipel.” Lying in the
Icarian Sea between Icaria and Leros,
about 4o miles 8.W. by W. from Mile-
tus, it was “the first or last stopping-
place for the traveller on his way from
Ephesus to Rome or from Rome to
Ephesus.” The island forms a crescent
with its horns facing eastward (H. F.
Tozer, Islands of the Aegean, p. 179);
the traditional scene of the Apoca-
lypse (rd omndaov THs amoxadieos)
and the monastery of St John are
towards the southern horn. The
locality has doubtless shaped to some
extent the scenery of the Apocalypse,
into which the mountains and the sea
enter largely; see Stanley, Sermons
in the East, p. 230. John found
himself (€yevounv, v. 10) in Patmos,
not as a traveller or a visitor, but
dia Tov Aoyor Tov Geod Kal THY pap-
Tupiav “Incov. For the phrase as a
whole cf. 7. 2, note ; 7 papr. “I. occurs
again xii. 17, xix. 10 (where see note),
xx. 4. Here “the word of God and
the witness of Jesus” are not as in
v. 2 the Apocalypse itself, but the
preaching of the Gospel: for od. r. 6.
in this sense ef. 1 Jo. ii. 7, 1 Th. ii. 13,
2 Tim. ii. 9, and for 7 p. 7.1, Jo. viii.
13f. The meaning may be either that
John had gone to the island to carry
the Gospel thither, or that he was
sent to Patmos as an exile (cf. Pliny,
l. c.) because of his preaching. The
latter view is confirmed (a) by the
use of dca in vi. 9, xx. 4; (0) by ovv-
Kowevos ev TH Oder, Which suggests
that the writer has in view his own
sufferings év “Inaotd; (c) by an early
and practically unanimous tradition
of the Church: ef. Tert. de praeser.
36 “apostolus Ioannes...in insulam
relegatur,” Clem. Al. quis dives 42
Tov Tupavvov TeAeuTHTAaYTOS amo THS
Ilarpouv ths vyoov perndOev ext TH
"Edecoy, Orig. in Mt. t. xvi. 6 0 be
ee en
— ee
a en Te ae ee oe
I. 10]
Noyou Tov Oeod kal THY wapTupiay ’Inood.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 13
érvevopuny LO
> / > cond ~ ¢ / hee 4 ’ /
€V TTVEUMLaATL €V TH Kuptakn nMEpa, Kal YKOVOaA OTLOW
9 THY maprupiay] pr dia NPQ min?! syrr | Inoov]+ Xpiorov &-* Q al?! me syrr
(arm) aeth Prim
Io eyevounv] pr eyw A | omicw pou d. wey. SCP min?'] ¢.
omtow ov meyahn Q 2 7 8 13 14 alfred? g, wey. oricbev wov A 38 aeth om omiow pov
arm*
“‘Popaioy Bagidevs, ws 7 mapadoors du-
darker, katedixage Tov “lwavyny paptu-
pourra dia rov rns adnOeias Aoyor eis
Ilatpnov thy vncov. See also Eus. H. £.
ii. 18; Hieron. de virr.ill. 10.
IO, eyevouny év mvevpare kTA. | Eivat
ev mvevmare is the normal condition of
Christians, in contrast with eva év
gapki (Rom. viii. 9); yevéoOac €v rv.
denotes the exaltation of the prophet
under inspiration ; see Ez. iii. 12, 14,
XXXvil. I, and ef. Acts xxii. 17 €yévero...
yeverOat pe ev exordcec—the return to
anon-ecstatic state being described as
ev éaut@ y. (Acts xii. 11). The phrase
ey. €v mv. is repeated c.iv.2 g.v. *Ev
TH Kupiaky Nuepa: the second ev dates
the revelation ; it was vouchsafed on
the Lord’s Day; on the dative of time,
with or without a preceding ev, see
Blass, Gr. p. 119 f. ‘“H xupiaxy nuepa,
the day consecrated to the Lord ; ef. 1
Cor. xi. 20 ovK €orw kupiaxoy Setmrvov
dayeiv, Sit is not (possible) to eat a
Supper of the Lord.’ ‘The Lord’s day,’
according to the analogy of writings
some of which are but a few decades
later than the Apoc., is the first day
of the week, the day of the Lord’s
Resurrection ; ef. Didache 14 Kara
kuptakny d€ Kuplov ovvaybevres kNacare
aprov, Ign. Magn. 9 xara xupiaxny
(artes (see Lightfoot’s note), Ev. Petri
Q érésbwoker 1 Kupiaxn, ib. 11 d6pApov Se
ths kuptaxns; Melito of Sardis wrote
mept kupraxns (Kus. (7, Ziv. 26). Since
all the early examples are from Asia
Minor, it is not improbable that the
term arose in Asiatic circles; but be-
fore the end of the second century it
was used generally, ef. Dionysius of
Corinth ap. Eus. H. £. iv. 23 rv
onuepov ody Kupiaxyy aylay myépav
dupyayouev, Clem. Al. strom. vii. 12,
Tert. cor. 3, orat. 23, anim. 9 (dies
dominicus, or dominicae resurrec-
tionis, dominica sollemnia). To in-
terpret ev ty kupiaxn my. here as =ev
Tn mapovaia (Hort) seems to introduce
a thought foreign to the context; it
is not Christ at His coming who is
revealed, but Christ present with the
Church on earth. The exile of Pat-
mos, shut out from the weekly Break-
ing of the Bread in the Christian
assembly at Ephesus, finds the Lord’s
Presence in his solitude. Bede: “con-
gruum quoque spirituali visioni tem-
pus indicat.”
kal jkovoa oricw pov pwvnv KrA.]
The Seer follows Ez. iii. 12 xai dve-
AaBev pe Treva, Kal Hkova KaTomuc bev
pov kal ykovoa horny. Cf. Plutarch,
Lyc. 23, cited by Wetstein: dkotoa
dé havny @orep avOperov tiwis €&6-
mioGev eritiuwvtos aito. The Voice
comes with startling suddenness as
from one who, approaching from be-
hind, is unobserved until he speaks.
“Omdev is a correction for the less
exact oxiow: for dricw ‘behind’ ef.
Xli. 15. Meyadnv: cf. v. 22; ws oad-
myyos looks back to the theophany
of Sinai (Exod. xix. 16 wry ris
gadmuyyos nee peya: ef. Heb, xii.
19 cdAreyyos HY Kail povy pnuarar),
but the trumpet blast had already
acquired Christian associations (Mt.
xxiv. 31, 1 Th. iv. 16). Here it is
probably the voice of Christ’s Angel
(«. 1) rather than of Christ Himself,
whose utterance is otherwise described
(v.15); see Benson, Apocalypse p. 95 n.
Aeyovons for Xéyoueay, by hypallage ;
the true antecedent is not wadreyyos
but dovny peyaAny.
14 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [I. 10
\ / c / / A
IT pou pwyyv peyadny ws cadruyyos *Aeyovons “O
/ > , \ / = \
Brerres yparyvoy ets BiBAtov Kat méuoy Tals érTa
3 / > > \ ? / \ 5)
exkAnolas, eis “Edeoov Kai ets Cuvpvay Kal eis
\ > / \ ’ / \ >
Iépyapov Kal €ElS Ovateipay Kal €ElS Capéoes Kal €lS
/ \ > /
12 PiradeAdiay Kai ets Aaodiciav. “Kal éréotpeva
, \ \ J ? / > > - \
Brerewv Thy hwovnv Hrs €ENadNE peET Euov' Kal
Io cadmyya h syre” Prim II Aeyouons] Neyoucay N° h syrs¥ Prim om 7 + poe
130 | o BXeres] pr eyw aha kat TO w Oo mpwros Kat o ecxaTos (ka) P 7 pr eyw exp TO
a@ Kal TO WO Tp. Kat 0 ExxaTos Kat I 36 38 69 al | 0] a 34 35 38 72 87 syrs¥ me
Prim | B:B\cov] pr to & | om Kat weuPov arm‘ | om Kar 2° &* (hab &*4) | Zuvpvar &
vgam fu(harl) syréw arm | evs Ovarecpay (AC)(Q) 68 11 14 34 35 87 130 latt (in Thyatiram,
Thyatirae)] evs Ovareipa S& 7 38 91 99 al?! Andr Ar ev Ovarecpos P 12 36 46 88 | om
kat es Dapders N* (hab post Aaod. N*) | PAadeAderay min?! | Aaodicecay PQ min?!
Andr Ar
12 Kat 1°]+exec Q 7 gr gs alfete* | erecrpeva Brerew] eriotp. emt
130 conversus respexi ut viderem...et vidi (quasi emotpewas eBeWa...Kat evdov) g (me)
Cypr Prim | eXadec] Aadee A eXadnoey P 1 7 al™ syrr
II. 0 Breres ypayor eis BiBXior|
The vision was not for John’s per-
sonal benefit only, but for transmission
to the Church; cf. Me. iv. 22, note.
It brought with it to the Seer the
responsibility of witnessing to what
he had seen (v. 2), and the witness
must be borne in a literary form (2. 19).
BiBAiov (cf. v. 1 ff, x. 2, 8), a papyrus
roll, as distinguished from a parch-
ment book ; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 13 7a Bi8dia,
padtota Tas pepBpavas. The Apoca-
lypse formed a povoBiBrov, the length
of which “may be estimated at 15 feet ”
(Kenyon, Text. Crit. p. 30); on the
length to which such rolls sometimes
ran see the same writer's Palaeo-
graphy of Greek papyri, p. 17 f.
Kat Teuwov rais émra exkAno tats KTA. |
Cf. v. 4, note. The messenger would
carry the roll to each of the Churches
in turn, and by each it would be read
and probably copied ; ef. Col. iv. 16,
Polye. Phil. 13. His route is indicated
by the order in which the Churches
are named. Starting from Ephesus, he
is to proceed northward to Smyrna and
Pergamum, and from Pergamum in a
south-easterly direction to Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea,
doubtless making his way back to
Ephesus along the valley of the Mae-
ander; the reverse order (Ephesus,
Laodicea, Philadelphia, Sardis, Thya-
tira, Pergamum, and Smyrna) would
have been less natural in view of the
importance of Smyrna and Pergamum.
As to the roads which connected the
seven cities see Ramsay, History of the
Geography of Asia Minor, p. 164 ff. ;
and his art. on Roads and Travel
in N.T. times, in Hastings’ D. B. v.
Starting from Ephesus the Cyzican
road conducted the traveller to Per-
gamum, whence another road led —
through Thyatira Sardis and Phila- —
delphia to the valley of the Lycus.
See the Introduction, c. y., and the
accompanying map.
The book is sent to the several
cities (eis "Eq@eooy xr. ; on the direc-
tive sense of eis see Blass, Gr. p. 122,
and cf. Acts xxi. 1), for the use of
the Christian communities in them
(rats éxxAnoias: cf. Gal.i. 2). On the
localities see the notes to ii. I, 8, 12,
TOS Msel. alee
12. kal eréotpeva Brérew THY ho-
yvnv kTr.| For emurrpépew convertere
se cf. Acts xv. 36, xvi. 18, and for
Aadeiv pera (— ov 27, Gen. xxxi. 24,
29) see Me. vi. 50 (note), Jo. iv. 27, ix.
1.13]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 15
> / io c \ / ~ 13 \ >
émiaTpeyras eldov émta vxvias xpvcas, BKkal év 13
/ lod Xi o e/ e\ > 6 / , } } /
Meow TWYV UX VLWY OMOLOV VLOY ayV PwmTmovu, EVOEOUMEVOYV
12 cdov K°*CQ al
13 ev peow (eup. AC)] pecov & | \uXvWwv] pr emra SQ min?!
vesmesfabarial Ar+ rwy xputw 34 35 49 87 vg"*™ arm! | oxorov] ouowua A similitudinem
vg"! me ouowos 130] wov RQ 1 7 8 ri 14 17 28 31 33 41 82 87 g2*** 4 00 alfere?
vg*™* Prim*™] ww ACP 10 12 36 38 49 80 81 g1 95 96 130 Cypr Ar | evdedupevos...
TEplefwamevos 130
37, xiv. 30, Apoe. iv. 1, x. 8, xvii. 1, xxi.
9, 15. “Hris éAades, ie. ris Fv 6 Nadav.
On turning, John’s attention was at
first arrested by seven golden lamp-
stands (cf. Me. iv. 21, note; Arethas
ad l.: dvyxvias b€ avras @vdpacey ov
Avyvous, ws THs Avyvias oikeiov Pas ovK
€xovans, GAN Oxnwa povov ovons Tod
Avyxvov). In the LXx. \vyvia answers to
731, the candelabrum bearing seven
lamps (Avyvor, 72), which according
to P in Exod. xxy. 36 ff. were placed
in the Tabernacle outside the second
veil (cf. Heb. ix. 2). Solomon’s Temple
had five Avyviac on the right side and
five on the left before the oracle
(1 Kings vii. 49=35 Uxx.), but in
Zechariah’s vision (iv. 2) the one Avyvia
reappears with its seven Avyvor; see
also 1 Mace. iv. 49 f., 2 Mace. i. 8, x. 3;
Joseph. B. J. vii. 5. 5, and comp. the
representation on the Arch of Titus
(W. Knight, Arch of T, p. 1009 ff.).
Our writer, more suo, takes from each
source the features which lend them-
selves to his conception—the septenary
number from Exodus and Zechariah,
the row of separate Avyviac from
Kings. On the symbol see v. 20.
13. kal ev perm Tov Avyvidy Spovoy
viov avOpa@rov | A second glance shewed
a human form in the middle of the
row, either behind the fourth Avyvia,
or moving freely from one to another
(ii. 1). “Oporoy vidv av@p. is doubtless,
both here and in xiy. 14, from Dan.
Vii. 13 WIN VID Lxx. Th. ws vids avOp.;
the recurrence of éuocov vidv in xiv, 14
(where it is supported by A) sug-
gests that this use of oduowr (as if
“an ady. like oiov,’ Hort) is due
to the translation employed by our
writer, who elsewhere consistently
uses the dative after dyocos (see i. 15,
ii. 18, iv. 3 bis, ete., 20 times in all).
Yios avOperov, ‘a son of man,’ a human
being, with allusion perhaps to our
Lord’s application of Daniel /. c. to
Himself (Me. xiii. 26); yet not to be
taken as equivalent to 6 vids rod avOpa-
zou, Which outside the Gospels appears
only in Acts vii. 56. The glorified
Christ is human, but transfigured:
Victorinus : “ stmilem dicit post mor-
tem deyictam, cum ascendisset in
caelos.” Irenaeus, who (iv. 20. 11)
quotes the passage at length, well says
that John sees in it “sacerdotalem et
gloriosum regni eius adventum”; the
form is at once priestly and royal.
evdedupuevoy rodnpn Kat mepreC@opevor
xtA.] The clothing is first described.
Tlodnpns (se. xer@v), poderis, O.L. and
Vulg., cf. Roensch, Jtala u. V., p. 245,
Gr. Xey. in the N.T., but used in the
Lxx. of Exodus for various priestly
garments, as the breastplate (LN,
cc, xxv. 6 (7), xxxv. 8 (9)), the ephod
(xxviii. 27 (31)), the robe of the ephod
(VID, xxvill. 4, xxix. 5); cf. Jos. antt.
lil. 7. 4 6 b€ dpycepeds Koopeirac pev Kai
Tavtn...emevdvoduevos 8° &€& vaxivOou
TeTrompevov xiT@va, TOdnpys Sé €ore Kat
ovTos* peeip KaXeiTat KaTa THY TuweTEpay
yAoooar, (avn reprrpiyyerac kta. But
perhaps the reference is rather to the
Prophets, e.g. Zech. iii. 4, where 6
rrodtipns = MSN, the High Priest’s
robes of state, or Ez. ix. 2 f., 11, where
it=OD%73, the linen vesture of the
man with the inkhorn; ef. Dan. x. 5
Th. avyp eis evdedupevos Baddeiv. The
modnpns is thus seen to denote dignity
or high office, usually but not neces-
16 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
(hag
if \ / \ ~ ~
ToOnpNn Kal TEpLEeCwOMEVOY TpOS Tots waoTots Cwrny
ae Nal A € de An ’ ~ \ € / x \
14 ypuoav: *4 O€ Kearny avToOU Kal at Tplyes EUKat
€ af / € / \ € en \ > a e
ws Epiov NEvKOV, WS XLwWY, Kal of OPOadpol a’TOU as
13, modnpny A 11 | mpos] ev 35 38 87 | pacras CPQ min?) pacdos & 7 29 46 88 97
100 wafos A 10 17 28 37 49 80* gt 96 | xpuony K°PQ 130
14 ws 1° SAQ min#*my]
woet CP 1 28 49 79 91 96 100 130 al Andr worep 46 48 pr kat Q min” | om Aevaae
h Prim | Nevxov]+xac 36 vg aeth Vict car 8 h syr8¥ Prim xafapov arm*|om ws
Xtwy arm
sarily the office of High Priest (cf.
Sap. xviii. 24, Sir. xlv. 8); the ancient
commentators are perhaps too positive
on this point, e.g. Irenaeus (iv. 20. 11)
“aliquid yero sacerdotale, ut podere” ;
Victorinus: “in veste talari, id est
sacerdotali”; Arethas: ws apytepéa Tov
avo kata thy Tak&iw Medyioedex. Nor
does the (#vn ypvca quite determine
the highpriestly character of the
costume : the High Priest’s girdle was
of linen richly embroidered (Exod.
RMI ZO XXXVI. 37 LX), with a
liberal use of gold thread (Jos. antt.
l.c., xputov cvvuvpacpevov); the golden
girdle points rather to Daniel’s vision
(x. 5 Th. oodis atrot repreCwopéry
ev xpvoio Opa). In 1 Mace. x. 89 a
golden clasp (z0pz7) is a royal distine-
tion. On the whole, as Hort says,
“not improbably the conception is
that of sacred repose....So the gods
were represented in a modnpns.” Xpv-
cav is characterised by Blass (Gr.,
p- 24) as a gross blunder; more pro-
bably it is a colloquialism to which
the writer was accustomed—that it is
from his pen its retention in 8* A C
leaves little doubt.
IIpos tois pacrots. High girding is
said to have been usual when the
moénpns Was worn: Jos. antt. vii. 2
éote d€ TovTo TO evdupa rodynpns xiT@Y
...ov emiCovyuvtat Kata at7Oos oAlyov
THs pagyxadns vrepave. Of. Apoc. xv. 6,
where beings of angelic rank are
mepeeC(wopevoe. mept ta oarnOn wvas
xpuoas. For mpos with the dat. cf.
Me. y. 11 note, Jo. xx. 11, see Blass,
Gr. p. 140. The mss. vary (see app.
crit.) between paartois, pac Gots, wacots ;
cf. W. Schm., p. 59, Blass, G7. p. 24.
The lexicographers endeavour to dis-
tinguish the forms (e.g. Suidas: pa¢os
Kupiws emt avdpos...pacOos kat parros
kuplos emt yuvackos), but the distinction
does not seem to have been observed.
14. 1 O€ Kepady avrov...0s yor}
From the costume the Seer proceeds
to describe the person of the Central
Figure. He has in view the locus
classicus Dan. vii. 9 (Th. ro evdupa
avTov ws xiv evKov, kal 7 OpiE THs
kepadfs avtov weet e€piov KaGapor),
where however the white hair belongs
to the Ancient of Days. The transfer
of this feature to the Son of Man is
the more striking since Enoch (xlvi. 1,
ed. Charles, p. 127) adheres strictly
to Daniel’s account. Our writer's
Christology leads him frequently to
assign to the glorified Christ attri-
butes and titles which belong to the
Father, e.g. in i. 18, ii. 8, Vv. 12, XXii. 13.
Ancient expositors find in the hair
white as snow a symbol of the eternal
preexistence of the Son; e.g. Andreas:
ei yap kal mpoadaros Se pas, adda
kal apxaios, paAXov S€ mpoa@vios, and
this view seems to be justified by
Daniel’s }"21° pay, Yet the figure
cannot be pressed ; white hair, though
regarded as honourable (Lev. xix. 32,
Prov. xvi. 31), yet suggests decay,
whereas Jesus Christ is unchangeable ;
cf. ad Diogn. 11 otros 6 am apis,
6 Kawvos aveis kat madatos evpebeis Kat
mavrore véos...0 del. “Qs xuov perhaps
adds the thought of His sinlessness
(Ps. 1. (li.) 9, Isa. i. 18, Mt. xxviii. 3).
kai of dbOadpot avdtod wos PALE rrupds |
Cf. ii. 18, xix. 12. In Dan. vii. 9 it is
the throne of the Ancient of Days
which is PAOE wupds, but in x. 6 the
I. 15]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN i
/ a~ cd /
PACE mupos, Skat ot Troves aUTOU Howl YaAKoOALBavw 15
15 om cat 1° Prim | yadxohiBarw] yartkw ABavw P 7
32 100 chalcolibano Ir'**
aurichalco Cypr Vict vg aur. Libano Prim aes Libani mt arm’4 geth
man clothed in linen has eyes ovet
Aaprades wupos, and the latter passage
is perhaps in view here. The meta-
phor is common, as Wetstein shews,
in Greek and Roman authors (e.g.
Homer, J/. xiii. 474 op@adpol 8 dpa
oi mupl Adumerov, Verg. Aen. xii. 102
“oculis micat acribus ignis”), and in-
deed in descriptive writings of every
age and country. The penetrating
glance (Apringius: “inevitabile lumen
oculorum”), which flashed with quick
intelligence, and when need arose with
righteous wrath, was noticed by those
who were with our Lord in the days
of His Flesh (Me. iii. 5, 34, v.
mets xi. 11, notes, Le. xxii. 61),
and finds its counterpart, as the Seer
now learns, in the Risen and Ascended
Life.
15. kal of rodes avrov dpovoe xadko-
ABavm xrr.] Cf. Dan. x. 6 Th. ré
oKéAn ws Opacis yadkod aridPorTos,
LXX. of modes woel yadkos €Eaotparrev
(sop nying }'¥D); the expression is
due ultimately to Ez. i. 7, where the
same Heb. is similarly rendered by
the uxx. See also Ez. viii. 2 idovd
Opoiwpa avSpos...arod THs aapvos avrov
c , c 9” > ,
Urepave ws dpaois Aéxtpov (PVD
nepyind), XadkoAriBavos (here and
c. ii. 18 only) is a word of unusual
difficulty. Suidas defines it as eiSos
HAEKTpov Tiywi@Tepov ypvoov, adding:
€ore 8€ Td HAEKTpov GAXOTUTOY xpUciov
pepeypevov vedo kal Aideia (cf. Plin.
H. N. 33. 4 where 7Aexrpoy is a mix-
ture of gold and silver). A somewhat
similar sense is yielded by the Latin
versions, which render yadxoiBavo by
aurichalco or orichalco (so, with or
without the addition of Libani, Cypr.
test. ii. 26, Victorinus, Primasius, Bea-
tus, ete. ), a word which seems to have
meant a mixture of metals similar to
brass or bronze; ef. Verg. Aen. xii. 87
Ss. R.
“auro squalentem alboque orichalco
...loricam,” on which Servius remarks:
“apud maiores orichalewm pretiosius
metallis omnibus fuit.” A precious
metal, bright and flashing, would suit
the present context well, but the
explanation leaves the form yadxoAi-
Bavos unexplained. Arethas offers the
alternatives: etre rov €v r@ AiBav@ TO
Opec petaddevdpevor...dyciv, eite Kal
Tov xadkoeidh AiBavoy vonréay ov latpav
maides adppeva kadovow. The former
conjecture is unsupported, and seems
to require ABavoyadko; the latter
finds some confirmation in a fragment
of Ausonius, cited by Salmasius exercit.
810 6 AiBavos €xet Tpia e€tdy Sévdpar,
kal 6 ev Gppny erovouaterat yadkoni-
Bavos,7Awetd)s Kat ruppos tyouv EavOos.
But ‘brass-coloured frankincense’ is
not a very apposite metaphor, not-
withstanding the efforts of the Greek
interpr eters to educe a mystical mean-
ing fromit. The etymology proposed
by Bochart (125, xaAkos, brass at a
white heat) is even less tolerable. On
the whole, with our present know-
ledge, it is best to follow the guidance
of Suidas and the Latin versions and
regard yadxoX. as the name of a mixed
metal of great brilliance, leaving the
etymology uncertain.
Feet of brass represent strength
and stability (contrast Dan. ii. 33, 41):
such a mystical interpretation as that
of Andreas (rodes rod ypirrov of
arooroAot) is unnecessary and impro-
bable.
The reading as ev Kapive TeTUp@-
perms (sc. THs yadxoduBavov), is recom-
mended by its difficulty. If rerupe-
pevo is preferred, the reference must
still be to yadxodkiBuvo, for xayiwos
seems to be invariably fem. (cf. Mt.
xiii. 42, 50, Apoc. ix. 2); ; TeTupwpevor
is probably a correction intended to
2
18 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [I. 15
ws €y Kaulvw TeTUpwuUEVNS, Kal 1 pwvr avuTOU Ws
16
\ / > of nn load
16 Qwvy voaTwy moANwv, Kat Eywy ev TH deEta xELpl
~ ? / € / \ - / lol
aUTOU aoTEpas ETTAa, Kal EK TOU TTOMATOS aUTOU
I5 Om ws ev...ro\\wy arm+|om ws ev k. memrupwy. 97 | memupwuevyns AC]
mwerrupwmevw & 16 46 69 88 hk vg aegg syrr’4 aeth Irimt Cypr Vict Prim rervpwpevar
PQ min?! Andr Ar 16 Kat exwy RCPQ Ar] kar ecxev R* 34 35 36 87 g A vg arm
Cypr Vict Prim (et habebat) om xa: 130 me | om ev ry 8. xecpe arm! | xecpe avrou
™ defia Q 5. avrov x. 1 38 100 alP*¥e om xepe 10 28 g5 vg Prim al | acrepes A
41 aeth
bring the part. into line with oi mddes
---Onoco. For mupodaba used of a
glowing metal see Eph. vi. 16 ra B&An
..TQ Temupwpeva cBeoa, with Dean
Robinson’s note. In Apoe. iii. 18,
xpvaioy merupwpevor, the sense clearly
is ‘refined by having passed through
the fire, and R.V. adopts this meaning
here ; but ‘glowing’ suits the context
better ; the metal is not only of the
finest and brightest, but it is aglow as
if still in the crucible.
kat 7 dovy avtov ws gd. vdaTor
mokdov| Cf. Ez. xliii. 2, where the
voice of the God of Israel is O° bipp
DDD, In Dan. x. 6, from which many
of the details of this description are
taken, the voice of the Angel is DipD
}00, like the confused roar of a great
multitude; but at Patmos it is the
roar of the Aegean which is in the
ear of the Seer. It is instructive to
contrast 3 Regn. xix. 12 g@wvy avpas
Aeris: the Divine Voice can be of
the gentlest or the most appalling as
occasion requires. lrenaeus (iv. 14.
2) finds a mystical sense in vdarev
mo\Aov: “vere enim aquae multae
Spiritus.”
16. Kat €xyov ev rH deEva xeupt avrod
dorépas énta| To the Semitic mind
the stars of heaven were in the Hand
of God (cf. Job xxxviii. 31f., Isa. xl.
12), and would fall (Me. xiii. 25, Apoe.
yi. 13) if the support were withdrawn.
No particular constellation or group
of planets can be intended by the
anarthrous €rra aorépas 3 the number
is determined by the requirements of
the symbolism (v. 20).
kal €k Tov GTOuaTos avToU popdaia
dicronos| The elements of this bold
conception are as usual from the
O.T.; see Isa. xi. 4 marager yqv ro
oye Tob oromaros avrov, xlix. 2 €Onxev
TO oTOoMa pov ws pax aupay ogeiay :
cf. Eph. vi. 17 my payatpay Tov mvev-
patos 6 eotw priya Oeov, Heb. iv. 12 6
Aoyos Tov Geov...rouww@tepos Umep macav
payaypav Sicropov. The image is
repeated in Apoc. xix. 15 in the de-
scription of the armed and militant
‘Word of God.’ There is a fine
parallel in Sap. xvill. 15 6 mavrodv-
vamos wou AGyos am’ ovpayver...amToTopL0s
TONEMLOTHS oo Eidos 6&0 thy
avuTckpitov émitayny cov pépwov. For
popudaia Sictopos see Ps. exlix. 6, Sir.
xxi. 3. ‘Poudaia, used in N.T. in the
Apoe. only, except Le. ii. 35, occurs
frequently throughout the Lxx. from
Gen. iii. 24 onwards as a synonym of
payapa, both words being used to
translate 231; in strictness, it was a
large blade of Thracian origin (for a
full account see Hastings, D.B. iv.
p- 634). Aioroyos answers to the Heb.
nip 12 or NDB, but it is used in
connexion with the sword even by
the Greek poets (e.g. Eur. Hel. 983
dicropov Eidos). The sword is re-
garded as proceeding, like the spoken
word, from the mouth; “this last
image is not so strange as appears
at first sight, for the short Roman
sword was tongue-like in shape”
(Hastings, 7. c.). With éxmopevopevn
NAQTO...
I. 18]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 19
€ / / > ~ > / \ € oS
poupaia diorouos o€€ia Eexmropevouevn, Kal 1 dvius
~ G / Is > cod / , -
avTou ws 0 ndwos pawe ev TH Ouvapet avToU.
‘
TA 5 > / Sf \ \ _
‘kal OTE EldoY aUTOV, ETETa TPOS TOUS Todas avTOU 17
¢ / : \ PAs) \ PY \ > me Sg te + \ fs
ws vexpos* Kat EOnkeyv THv CeELav avTOU er’ EuE NEYwV
\ - > / > € - \ £77537,
Mn oBou- éyw eiut 6 mpwTos Kal 6 ExxXaTos
Brat 18
16 om ofeca 46 48 arm | o m\cos] om 0 37 46 47 69 88 97 100 | gawe: pon ante ws
& A Cypr Prim | om ev 77 duvaver avrov arm
17 tov CQ 7 | erecov min™t™ Ar |
mpos] es % 13 emt 72 syré™ | ws] woer NI*)** om 130 | eOnKer] ewednxey BR 1 28 49 79
g3mé alm | ryv deftay avrov]+xeipa 1 28 gt g2 96 al™™™ syrr Andr rv xetpa avrov
130 | om yy PoBov &* (hab N°") | rpwros] mpwroroxos A
&e*) | om cat o fwv...7wy aiwywy arm
ef. Eph.
xL’ 5
kal 7 Os avrod ws oO Atos KTA.]
Cf. Jud. v. 31 of dyamdytes avrov as
€£0d0s (avaroAn, A) nrlov ev duvaper
avrov, Mt. xiii. 43 of Sixator éexdap-
Wovow os 6 Aws, Apoc. xX. I To
mpocwmov avtod ws o jAwos. Slay.
Enoch i. 5, ed. Charles, p. 2, “their
faces shone like the sun.” If the John of
the Apocalypse is the son of Zebedee,
he could scarcely have failed to think
of the Transfiguration which antici-
pated the glory of the ascended Christ,
when €AapWev To mpdcwroyv avtod ws
6 mAvos (Mt. xvii. 2). Andreas refers
to Mal. iv. 2: mAwos yap éote Sdixaco-
ovvns. “Os =mpocwror, though fairly
common in the Lxx., occurs in the
N.T. only here and in Jo. xi. 44 (ef.
Vii. 24). ‘Qs gaiver, a constructio
praegnans ; “as the sun shines [when
he shines] in his might.”
17. kal 6re cidov avrov, éreca Krd.]
Cf. Isa. vi. 5, Ez. i. 28, Dan. viii. 17,
x. 9, 11, Enoch xiv. 14, 24, Le. y. 8.
Beatus: “fragilitatis suae et humili-
tatis et subiectionis pavore perter-
ritus corruit.” Asa whole the passage
is moulded on Dan. x. 8 f. Lxx. idod
mvevpa émeotpagn er eue eis péopay,
kat ov karioxvoa.. eyo Tene TETT@KOS
€mt mpoocwmoy pov emi thy ynv. Kai idod
xetpa mpoonyayé pou (Th. yelp arropuevn
pov), kal nyepev pe. That the right
hand holds seven stars does not hinder
mye zo, Apoc. ix: 17 f,
18 om xac 1° R* (hab
it from being laid on the Seer, for the
whole representation is symbol and +
not art. The Hand which sustains
Nature and the Churches at the same
time quickens and raises individual
lives. With €Onxev ryv defcav avrov
kTh., cf. Mt. xvii. 7 mpoondrAbev 6
"Incois kat ayapevos avrar eirev Eyép-
Onre kal ph poBeioGe—another point
of contact between this vision and
the history of the Transfiguration.
Irenaeus (iy. 20. 11) reminds us that
the awful Form which John saw was
that of Him on whose breast he had
lain at the Last Supper.
py poBov- éyw eiut xrd.| The words
recall another scene in the Gospels
(Me. vi. 50); both px) oBod and eys
ejuc were familiar sounds to the ear
of an Apostle. On the other hand
6 mpaTos kal 6 €axatos go back to Isa.
xliv. 6 (W708 NI PWN), xlviii. 12,
a title of the God of Israel ascribed,
according to the writer’s habitual
practice, to the exalted Christ (ef.
vv. 5 f., 8 notes and the Introduction,
p. clxi.). It is given to Him again in
c. xxii. with enlargements which leave
no doubt as to its significance (xxii.
13 ey@ clue Td GAgda Kal rd &, 6 mp. Kal
6 &., 7) a4pxn Kai TO TéXos; see note ad /.).
The reading of A (aparéroxos) here
and in ii. 8 is probably a mere re-
miniscence of i. 5
18. Kai o (ay, Kai é€yevouny vexpos
xrh.] ‘O (dv is another Divine title
2—2
20 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[L238
a \ 5) / \ \ > \ - >
(av, Kai €yevounv veKpos Kat Lov Cov elu eis
\ ry eS q~ ayZ \ / \ =
TOUS alwyas TWY alwywY, Kal Eyw Tas kes
TOU
18 om Tw awywy vg aeth Tritt Cypr tov awvos me | atwywy]+aunv &°Q min?!
syrr Andr Ar | exw] oexwv arm | kAecs SACP min?! Andr Ar***] cXedas Q minP!4? | tov
adov kat Tou Oavarov I 28 36 99 al Tov Gavarov Kat Tov adov Tas KNets QI
based on the O.T,, ef. beds Cav (1 ON)
in Jos. iii. 10, Ps. xli. (xlii.) 3, Ixxxiii.
(Ixxxiv.) 3, Hos. i. 10 (ii. 1), and the
formulae (7 Kupwos, (@ eyo (m7 ual
8 1) in Deut. xxxii. 4o, Isa. ike
18, Jer. v. 2, Dan. xii. 7. In the N.T.
Bers (av or 6 eds 6 ¢. is used freely
(Mt. xvi. 16, xxvi. 63, Acts xiv. 15,
Rom:/ix 26; 2° Cor: 111.3, vi. 16; 1 Th.
WO) 1 Vim: i115, 1v. 10, Heb. ii: 12;
iets (x.31, 1 Pet. 1.23). A fuller
phrase is o (av eis rov aidva (Sir.
XVlii. 1) or eis Tovs aidvas TGV ai@vev
(Apoe. iv. 9f., x. 6, xv. 7). Ono (ov
as applied to Christ we have a
comment in words ascribed to Christ
Himself, Jo. v.26: eomep yap 6 ratip
éxet (ony ev éavt@, ovTws Kal TO vid
eOaxer Conv exew ev Eavtd. According
to the Johannine Christology, the Son
is o ¢év by the communication of the
Father's Life; He is 6 (av ék rod
C@vros.
Asa title of the God of Israel and
of the Church 6 ¢év places Him in
sharp contrast with the dead or in-
animate gods of heathenism. Here,
in its reference to Christ, it draws
another contrast scarcely less pointed:
eyo ecipt...0 Cav, Kal eyevounvy veKpos.
The antithesis is twofold ; éyevoyny is
opposed to efpi as in Jo. i. 1, 14, Vii.
58, and vexpos to ov (Orig. in Joann.
t. 1. 31 (34)), ef. Phil. ii. 5 ev poppy
beod v UTapxor.. “Vevopevos vmnKoos pexpe
Gavarov, where however the shock of the
contrast is broken by the intervening
clause ocynparte evpebels ds avOpwmos.
Nexpos takes wp os vexpos of v. 17;
the Lord Who says My dood, had
experience, not of the semblance of
death, but of its reality. Kai Sod ¢év
eiyt (Burton, § 409); not here 6 tar,
for it is the restored human life
which is now in view, not the essential
life of Godhead; nor again (av éye-
vouny or €(noa (Rom, xiv. 9), for atten-
tion is directed to the life which the
Lord still lives, and not to the historical
fact of His resurrection. The risen
life of Jesus Christ is henceforth
concurrent with His Divine life, eis
Tovs aiavas Tay aidvev ; cf. Rom. vi. 9
eyepOels ek vexpay ovKéeTt arobvprket.
kal €yw@ Tas KAets TOU Oavarov Kal TOU
adov| Death and Hades are joined
again in vi. 8, xx. 13 f.; the conception
fluctuates between two localities (xx.
13), and two personalities (vi. 8); here
it is difficult to determine which view
is uppermost. Other instances of
quasi-personification of Death and
Hades (any) are Ps. xlviii. (xlix.) 15,
Hos. xiii. 14 (cited 1 Cor. xv. 54f.).
The ‘gates of Death’ appear in Ps. ix.
14, cvi. (cvii.) 18, and the ‘gates of
Hades’ in Isa. xxxviii. 10, Sap. xvi. 13,
Mt. xvi. 18; see also Job xxxviil. 17
murwpot dé adov idovres oe ExrnEav, a
passage connected by Christian inter-
preters with the descensus ad inferos.
To “have the keys of Death and of
Hades” is to possess authority over
their domain ; cf. Mt. xvi. 19, Apoe.
ill. 7, 1X. 1, xx. I (notes). According
to Rabbinical teaching, this is the
sole prerogative of God; see Targ.
Jon. on Deut. xxviii. 12 “quatuor sunt
claves in manu Domini, clavis vitae et
sepulchrorum et ciborum et pluyiae”;
Sanhedrin f. 113. 1 “Elias petiit ut
daretur sibi clavis pluviae, petiit ut
daretur sibi clavis resurrectionis mor-
tuorum; dixerunt ipsi: ‘tres claves
in manum legati non dantur, clavis
partus, pluviarum, et resurrectionis
mortuorun.’” The claim to possess
potentially the keys of death is made
I, 20]
/ \ C /
Oavatov Kai Tov dou.
by Christ Himself in Jo. vy. 28; the
Apoc. connects the actual possession
of the keys with His victory over
death ; they are from that moment
in His keeping (€yw). For kdeis=
kAeidas see Blass, Gr. p. 26; kdet is
beyond dispute in iii. 7, xx. 1. In
the Gospels, on the other hand, x\«ida,
kAeidas are well supported (Mt. xvi.
19, Le. xi. 52), though there also
cod. D gives the shorter form.
19. ypdov oty & cides xtA.] Ody
resumes (Blass, Gr. p. 273) the direc-
tion given in v. 11, enforcing it with
the authority of One Who has declared
Himself conqueror of Death: cf. Mt.
XxvVili. 18 €800n por raca é£ovcia...
mopevbévres odv td. “A cides, i.e. the
vision of the Glorified Christ. Besides
this the book contains a revelation of
the present state of the Church and
the world (a eiciv), and a revelation
of the future (4 péAreu yiver Oat pera
raira). The former is chiefly to be
found in cc. ii., iii.; the latter begins at
¢. iv. 1 dei~w coe & det yeveo Oar peta
ravra. But the division is rough and
superficial ; for ce. ii., iii. look forward
to the future, while cc. iv.—xxii. are
by no means limited to it. On «iciv,
perc see WM. p. 645f.; things
present are seen distinctly and separ-
ately, while things future are blended
in a more or less confused whole.
For péd\vcc followed by a pres. inf. see
Blass, Gr. pp. 197, 202.
20. TO pvoTypLoy Tay éxta aoTépwv
xrA.] On pvorrjpwyr in Biblical Greek
_ see the note to Me. iv. 11. Here ro
vor. is the inner meaning of a sym-
By aya s\ AS, ek , , 6 \ -
a@ elolv Kat a pede yiveoVal meTa TavTa.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 21
a A ty
“Sapavvoy ovv a €ides Kal 19
29-9 20
/ ~ t \ > / e\ ey \ on -~
MUoTHpLOY TwY ErTa dOTEPwY OVS EldES ETL THS OEELas
\ \ \ / \ la \
poou, Kal Tas émTa NvyxVias Tas ypvTas' ol érTa
19 om ov 1 38 97 alton Ar | ecdes SCP min?’] ides AQ 7 | om Kar a evow Kar me |
pede] Sec pwedrec(v) N*(C) | yereoOar N°*A 1 17 38 al?! Ar] yeveo@ac R*CPQ min”™
20 ous] wy Q 6 7 14 38 91 al”! Andr Ar | cdes Q 7 36 | ewe rs detias RCPQ syrr Andr
Ar min™>vid] ey ry defia A vg arm Prim (in dextera) | om ras xp. 97 syr8”
bolical vision, as in Dan. ii. 47; ef.
Apoe. XVil. 7 €y@ €p@ gor TO pvoTnpwy
ths yuvakos. The grammar presents
some difficulty. To puornpiov...ras
Avxvias are not governed by ypayoy
or in apposition to @...yiverOa (WM.
p- 290), for the secret about to be
revealed relates only to certain points
of interpretation. A new sentence
begins with v. 20, yet the verse opens
with two accusatives without a verb.
There are partial parallels in Rom.
Vili. 3 TO--yap ddvvatoy Tov vopmov...6
Geos xrd. (see SH. ad 7.), and 2 Cor.
vi. 13 tTHv S€ avrhy avtiuoOiay...
mativOnre, Where the acc. anticipates
the contents of the sentence which it
opens. In the present instance the
construction is further complicated by
a second accusative; for ras €. Auxvias
we expect trav €. Avyuav. Translate:
‘As for the secret of the seven stars...
and as for [the secret of] the seven
lampstands.’ ’Emt ris defcas interprets
ev tH Se&ta xepi (v. 16); the stars
rested on the open palm; cf. v. I ét
thy dSeEsav...Bu8r/Lor.
oi érra aorépes GyyeAdot Tay €. exKAN-
civ eiow] The usage of the N.T.
permits us to translate dyyeAot as
‘messengers’; cf. Mt. xi. 10, Le. vii.
24, ix. 52, Jac. ii. 25. The seven stars,
therefore, might represent certain
delegates from the Asiatic Churches
(ef. 2 Cor. viii. 23 amrooroXor exxAnorer),
presumably delegates sent to Patmos
who were returning with the book of
the Apocalypse. Or we might accept
the interpretation of Primasius (fol-
lowed by Bede): “angeli ecclesiarum
22 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[i2o
/ >! lo e \ > -~ ’ \ €
agTEpES ayyeAOL TWY ETTA EKKANTLWY ELLY, Kal at
/ ¢€ e \ € \ if 5) /
Avyvial al éewTa EmTa EKKANTIaL ECL.
20 ayyedo] pr erra me | om ecow 1° R* (hab N°) | cae ac Avymae at era] Kat (ar)
emra, d. N*°-* 38 gt 130 al?! om at emra arm*h Prim+as edes P 1 14™8 79 gt g2™
93 q]meu vid me syrs¥
hic intellegendi sunt rectores populi,”
ie. either the Bishops, or if the
monarchical episcopate had not yet
established itself in Asia, the presby-
teral colleges, in the several cities.
In support of the view that the rulers
of the Churches are intended it has
been usual to quote Mal. ii. 7 dyyedos
Kupiov (myn FNP) Ilavroxparopos
eotw [0 iepevs|, or to refer to the title
WAY mow borne by the messenger of
the Synagogue ; this person however
was in no sense a Church-ruler, and
offers no true analogy (see Schiirer,
ii. p. 442, and cf. Lightfoot, Philip-
pians, p. 199 note). And tempting as
it is to discover in these dyyeAou
an allusion to the rising order of
the Episcopate, the invariable practice
of our writer forbids such an inter-
pretation. The Apocalypse uses
dyyedos some sixty times, excluding
those in which it is followed by ris
exkAnolas OY Toy exkAnovoy, and always
in the technical sense of a super-
human being employed in the service
of God or of Satan. There is therefore
a strong presumption that the ayyedo
Tav ekkAnowwy are ‘angels’ in the
sense which the word bears elsewhere
throughout the book. In Dan. x. 13,
xii. I & mpootracia over particular
nations is ascribed to certain angelic
beings, and a like relation to indi-
viduals is implied in Mt. xviii. 10 of
dyyehou avTay (Sc. TOY puKpaov ToiTar),
Acts xii. 15 6 a@yyedos é€orw adrod.
That,John should have extended this
conception to Churches (Andreas:
Tovtwy O€ éExaoty ayyedos pidrak epeé-
ornxe) is not surprising, especially in
view of the highly developed angelo-
logy of the book; cf. Ascension of
Isaiah iii. 15, “the descent of the
angel of the Christian Church, which
is in the heavens.” The objection that
the angel is in that case unduly
credited with the praise or blame
which belongs to his Church had
occurred to Origen, who however was
not deterred by it; hom. in Num.
xx. 3 “admiratione permoveor quod
in tantum Deo cura de nobis sit ut
etiam angelos suos culpari pro nobis
et confutari patiatur.” As a mada-
yoyos is blamed if his pupils go
wrong, so, he adds (§ 4), “venient
enim angeli ad iudicium nobiscum...
ne forte minus erga nos operis et
laboris expenderint quo nos a pecca-
torum labe revocarint.” But in this
symbolical book the angel of a Church
may be simply an expression for its
prevailing spirit, and thus be identi-
fied with the Church itself (Beatus:
“ecclesias et angelos earum intellegas
unum esse”). An interesting parallel to
this idea is presented by the fravashis
of Zoroastrianism : cf. Hastings, D.B.
iv. p. 991, J. Th. St. iii. p. 521.
ai Avyviat ai éxra é. exxAnoia eloiv|
If the angels of the Churches are
represented by stars, the Churches
themselves are lampstands, both
giving light in their own measure and
degree; cf. Lightfoot, Philippians
ic.: “[{the] contrast between the
heavenly and the earthly fires...cannot
be devoid of meaning. The star is
the suprasensual counterpart, the
heavenly representative; the lamp,
the earthly realisation, the outward
embodiment.” For the use of stars as
symbols of angelic beings see Enoch
Ixxxvi. I ff., and cf. Ramsay, Letters
to the Seven Churches, p. 62 ff. On
émra (2°) cf. WH.? Notes, p. 156.
FC
Te Fea
a ne ee ae ee
eer
i. x]
"To ayydw te &v “Edéow éxxAnoias ypayoy 1 II.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 23
II 1 rw 2° AC (36) 130 syrs”] rms NPQ mint": ef. Hort, Apoc. p. 38 sqq. | ev
Egecw] Edeoouv 16 syré* Prim Edeowy 1
II. 1—7. Tue MessacE T0 THE
ANGEL oF THE CHURCH IN EpHEsus.
1. 1@ ayyéAq...ypayoy] A formula
repeated at the head of each address.
The mss. fluctuate between rd ékkd.
and rijs exxd.; the former has the
best support in ii. 1, and is found in
ii. 8, 18, iii. 1, 7, but is without ms.
authority in ii. 12, iii. 14. WH., who
(Notes, p. 136 f.) believe T@ to be the
original reading in all ‘the seven
occurrences of the phrase, compare
the title of the highpriests of the
Augustan cult (apyiepeds ris Actas
vaov tov ev [’Edéow)), where vaoiv is
anarthrous as éxxAnoias in the form
T@ ayy. TO e€v...€Kkd. KTA.
T@ ev ’Edéow exxAnoias | In primitive
Christian letters to Churches this is
the usual mode of locating a Church,
e.g. 1 Cor. i. 2 tH exxAnoia i Beod
Th ovon ev Kopivde, Phil. I Tots
aylo.s...rois ovaw ev ae Ign.
Eph. ad init. ri éxxAnoia...t7 oven ev
*Edeoe: less frequent forms are to be
found in Gal. i. 2 rats éxxAnoias rips
Tadarias, 1 (2) Thess. i. 1 77 éxxAnoia
tav Geccadouxewr, Clem. R. Cor. ad
init. rH éxkAnola Tod Geod TH Tapotkovon
Kopw6ov. The Christian communities
had as yet no territorial settlements ;
there was a ‘Church in Ephesus,’ but
no ecclesia Ephesina in the stricter
sense.
Ephesus stands first among the
cities to which addresses are sent.
Thither the messenger from Patmos
would sail by an easy course of 60 miles.
Moreover on many grounds this city
took first rank. In a series of in-
scriptions found at Ayasaluk, near the
site of Ephesus, it receives the proud
title 7} mpery Kal peyiotn pntpdrodes
tas “Acias (Hicks, Znscriptions m1.
ii, dxli., dxlvii., dli, dly., dlxiii.). A
libera urbs, with its own BovaAn,
yepovoia, and exxAnoia, and the head
28 arm Or™
of a conventus—an assize town,—
Ephesus was also a seat of proconsular
government (Acts xix. 38). Its com-
mercial prosperity kept pace with its
political importance ; cf. Strabo c. 641
€uropiov otaa peyiotn Tov Kata THY
*Agiav thy évros Tov Tavpov. The great
road which brought the trade of the
East from the Euphrates to the
Aegean reached the sea at Ephesus ;
and though the port of Ephesus
suffered from the silting up of the
mouth of the Cayster, this process had
been arrested for a time by works
undertaken in A.D. 65. Ephesus was
not less conspicuous as a centre of
religious life. It was proud to be
known as Warden (vewxdpos) of the
Temple of Artemis, a shrine of world-
wide reputation (Acts xix. 27, 35).
Further it was the headquarters of
the magical arts which at this time
were widely practised in Asia Minor
(cf. Acts xix. 19); the "Edéova ypap-
para were famous everywhere. The
city was a hotbed of cults and super-
stitions, a meeting-place of East and
West, where Greeks Romans and
Asiatics jostled one another in the
streets. See further the Introduction
to this commentary, p. lix. ff.
The founder of the Ephesian Church
was the Apostle Paul. As early as
AD. 50 (?51, ?52) he made an in-
effectual effort to reach the province
of Asia (Acts xvi. 6), and his first
visit to Ephesus (xviii. 19 ff.) was too
brief to bear permanent fruit. But he
realized the importance of the place
as a field of Christian work, and in
53 (? 54, ?.55) returned to spend over
two years there (xix. 8, 10). Though
he does not seem to have visited any
other city in Asia, his Ephesian resi-
dence was the occasion of a general
evangelization of the province (d. ¢.
@oTe mavras Tols KaToiKkouUvTas Thy
24 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
(II. x
/ / € lon \ € \ 5) / 5) > lo
lade Aeyet O KPATWV TOUS ETTA AOTEPAS EV TH defi
t é
> ¢ > / lo \ a ~
aUTOU, O TEpLITATWY Ev MéETW THY ETA NUXVLOY TOP
/
2 XPUFEwWP.
cy Ne of; \ \ ip \ \
ida Ta Epya wou Kal TOY KOTOY Kal THY
I defia avrov]+ xerpe R* (35 87) | ev weow (eup. AC)] exe x | om erra 38 66 97
syrs¥ arm | xpucewy AC] ypvowy SPQ mino™2vid
me syré¥ arm* aeth Andr Ar
*Agiay dkotoat Tov Adyov Tov Kuplov).
St Paul’s work at Ephesus was carried
on by Timothy (1 Tim. i. 3) and, after
the Apostle’s death and the with-
drawal of Timothy, by St John, if we
may believe the traditions of the
second century; see Iren. iii. 1. 1,
3. 4; Polycrates ap. Eus. H.£. iii. 31,
y. 24, and ef. the Introduction, c. vi.
ypayrov Tade déye| Another part
of the introductory formula. It is
followed in each case by a description
of the Speaker, in which He is charac-
terised by one or more of the features
in the vision of ch. i. (ii. 1, 12, 18, iii.
I, 7), or by one or more of His titles
(iil. 8, iii. 7, 14); the features or titles
selected appear to correspond with the
circumstances of the church which
is addressed. With rade Aéyer (“per-
haps from Am. i. 6” (Hort)) cf. Aéyec
‘Ingovs, with which each of the Oxy-
rhynchus Sayings begins. The seven
so-called letters are not ‘epistles of
Christ, but rather utterances, pro-
nouncements, judgements passed upon
the churches as they pass in succession
under the eye of the supreme ’Ezi-
axoros. See p. 65 f., infra.
0 KpaTov...6 mepiratav KTr. recalls
i. 13, 16 €v perm Tov AvyMAY...ex@v ev
TH Se&a xerpl avrod dorépas éxta but
in a stronger form; éyev has become
kpatrov, and ev péow is qualified by
mepurat@y. Kparety, the opposite to
agiéva, is to hold in one’s grip
(eg: SMt) oval c4 Acts” i 24),
whether for the purpose of retaining
(Jo. xx. 23) or of restraining (Apoe.
vii. 1); here the former meaning is
evidently in view, as in ii. 13 ff, 25,
iii. 11; the acc. follows, because the
Church as a whole is thus firmly
2 Tov Korov|+cov ®Q min?!
grasped, and not only a part of it (cf.
Blass, Gr. p. 101). As the Enemy
Tepuraret (ntav Karamwety (I Pet. y. 8,
cf. Job i. 7), so the Lord patrols the
ground, is ever on the spot when
He is needed; His Presence is not
localized, but coextensive with the
Church (Mt. xviii. 20, xxviii. 20, 2 Cor.
vi. 16 ff); ef. Arethas: ey péc@ 6
Evotkeiv avrois Kal éumepimate émay-
yetkapevos Kips. The two images
are complementary, representing the
security which comes from strength
and vigilance.
To the Church in Ephesus, the
mother of the Churches of Asia, the
Lord writes under titles which express
His relation to the Churches gener-
ally. As Ephesus represented the
Province (cf. ’Acia 74 "Eqdecos, cited
by Ramsay, Zetters, p. 238), so the
Ephesian Church stands here for the
seven. Yet the message shews the
special need which the Ephesian
Church had both of a firm grasp and
a watchful safeguarding.
2. oida ta épya gov] Oida is a note
often struck in these letters (cf. ii. 9,
13, 19, lil. 1, 8, 15). The Apostles
were deeply impressed by the Master's
knowledge of men; see Jo. ii. 25, xxi.
15 ff., Acts i.24. The Apocalypse does
not use yweok«w of Christ; ofda em-
phasizes better the absolute clearness
of mental vision which photographs
all the facts of life as they pass. The
distinction is well seen in Jo. xxi. 17
Kipie, mavra ov oidas: ob ywooxkecs
drt Gikd oe, Where the universal
knowledge passes into the field of
special observation. Oida ra & cov
is in itself neither praise nor blame,
for ‘works’ may be either good (kada,
i
TT, 2]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 25
/ § ef / / / \
UToMOVHY TOU, Kal OTL Ov dUYn BagTaTaL KaKoUs, Kat
/ \ / ¢ \ / \
emeipacas Tous NEyovTas EavTOUs aToeTOAOUS, Kal
2 vou. gov] om gov arm?’ Prim | xac o7:] om xac A me | Bagratac P 1 38 Sr |
amoaroNous] + eva RQ mine ve syr* syré¥ Vict Prim Andr Ar
dyada, Mt. y. 16, Jo. x. 32, Acts ix.
36, Eph. ii. 10) or bad (srovnpa, dxapra,
tov diaBorov, tis capxos, JO. iii. 19,
viii. 41, Gal. v. 19, Eph. v. 1); blame
is conveyed by it in iii. 1, 15, but
praise in iii. 8; here and in ii. 19,
while praise predominates, it is not
unmixed. The spirit, the 740s of each
Church, represented as its ‘angel,’ is
judged by its results, according to
Christ’s invariable rule (Mt. vii. 16f.,
Apoc. ii. 23, xxii. 12),
kal Tov Korov Kal TH Uiropovny cov]
The single pronoun after vou. links
komros and vmouovn together, as in-
dicating the character of the épya;
they were signalized by two notes of
excellence, self-denying labour and
perseverance. Compare (with Light-
foot’s note) 1 Th. i. 3 prnpovevovres
Upav Tov Epyou Tis TicTews Kal Tov
Komou Tis aydmns Kal THs Umropovas THs
edridos, where however épyov, Kéros,
and vouorvn are strictly coordinated.
Koros, often found with udx6os (2 Cor.
xi. 27, 1 Th. ii. 9, 2 Th. iii. 8), is with
its cognate xomdy almost a technical
word for Christian work; cf. Rom. xvi.
G6, 12, 1 Cor. iii. 8, xv. 10, 58, xvi. 16,
2 or. Vi. 5, XL 23; Gal. iv. 11, Phil.
Mero, Ook 1, 20, i Th. v. 12, 1 Tim. v.
17, Apoc. xiv. 13. On vropory see i.
9, note, and cf. Le. viii. 15 xapro-
popotow ev Umropov}).
kat Ore ov Sivy Baordoa xaxor's]
Another good thing which has not
escaped the eye of Christ. The
vropovn Of the Ephesians did not
imply indifference to sin; they could
not bear the company of bad men;
ef. Ps. cxxxix. 21 f, Rom. xii. 9, 2 Jo.
to f., and the story of St John’s
attitude towards Cerinthus (Iren. ili.
a. 4). These xaxoi (cf. Phil. iii. 2 rods
kaxovs epyatas) Who tried the patience
of the Ephesians were not their pagan
neighbours (Eph. iv. 17 ff.), but the
false brethren mentioned in the next
clause ; cf. Ign. Eph. 9 ovs ovk eiavure
oreipa [rv Kaxny didayrv] eis duas,
Bucartes Ta Sra cis Td pr) mapadeEar bat
Ta oTepopeva im aitav. Bagratew
is to carry a burden (Bapos, Mt. xx.
12; oravpov, Le. xiv. 27, Jo. xix. 17;
opriov, Gal. vi. 5). Hort compares
Epict. i. 3, 2, ovdeis wou rt. oppoy
Bacracer. The form dvvy = édivacas,
condemned by Phrynichus, occurs also
in Me. ix. 22f., Le. xvi. 2 (Blass, Gr.
Pp. 49).
kal emeipacas Tovs Aéyovras krTA. }
The Avcor Bapeis foreseen by St Paul
(Acts xx. 29) had come, and in sheep’s
clothing (Mt. vii. 15); cf. 2 Cor. xi. 13
of yap To.odtor WevdarrdaToAo, epydrat
SoA, perarynpariCopevor eis arroord-
hous Xpiorod. The false teachers
claimed to be dréerodo: in the wider
sense, itinerant teachers with a mission
which placed them on a higher level
than the local elders (1 Cor. xii. 28,
Eph. iv. 11; ef. Lightfoot, Galatians,
‘The name and office of an Apostle,’
Harnack, Die Lehre der zwilf A postel,
p- 93 ff.). When such itinerants,
whether ‘Apostles’ or ‘ Prophets,’
visited a church where they were
unknown, unless they brought ‘com-
mendatory letters’ (2 Cor. iii. 1), it
was necessary to test their claims
(1 Th. vy. 20f,,1 Jo.iv. 1). A strangely
superficial test, such as that enjoined
in Didache ec. 11 (was 8€ axdéarodos
epXopuevos mpos tpuas dexOnra ws Kipios
..tpeis b€ eav peivn [nuepas], Wevdo-
mpopytns eaotiv), or by Hermas mand.
II (peoOdv AapBaver THs mpodnreias
avrov [6 Wevdorpodyrns]), is not to be
thought of here; éreipacas (= €doxi-
pacas, as in 2 Cor. xiii. 5 éavrods
meipacete el €ore €v TH wiatec) doubtless
refers to such a probation as the Lord
26 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[ih
/ \ fe: \ ~ \ \
3 oUK Elo, Kal Eevpes avTous vlevdets* FKkal vmrouorny
sf \ 5) / } \ \ 4 / \ ’
EX ELS, Kal éBactTacas ta TO OVOMa MOU, Kal OU
/
4 KE€KOTLAKES,
4. ot \ ioe el \ > /
aXNX €xw KaTa Gov OTL THY ayamny
3 Kat umouorny...uou] Kat eBacracas (ue) Kat vou. exers (P) (7 16) 28 38 (45 46)
49 79 (88) gr OM Kat vom. ExeELs 33 34 35 OM Kat EBaoracas 37 Vict | Kat ov KexomiaKes
(-xas 51) AC 51] kat ovk exomiagas NPQ min*r°°? Kar Kexomakas (1) 16 37 38 39 69 arm
4 adda RQ min! | ryv mpwrnv cov ayarny A
prescribes in Mt. vii. 16 amo rov
Kaprav avtayv yveoerbe avrovs, and
the Didache itself regards as the
ultimate test (infra, éav é¢xn Tovs
tpomous Kuplov. amo oy tay tTpoTav
yrocOnoera) ; cf. Hermas /.c. dro tis
(wis Soxipate Tov avOpomov tov €xorta
TO Tvevpa TO Geior.
With rods \éyovras €avutovs ar. cf. 11.20
7) Aéyovea éaurny mpopyrwy ; the full form
appears in ii. 9 rév Aeyovrwy lovdaious
eivau €avtovs. Kal ovk eioiv, & paren-
thesis=kali ovx ovras: cf. i. 6, il. 9,
lil. 9.
kat evpes avrovs Wevdets: not merely
false apostles, for such might be self-
deceived, but deceivers ; for this use
of Wevdns, cf. xxi. 8 maou rots Wevdéor.
3. Kat Uropovny eyes, Kal eBaoTacas
kth.| With vrop. eyers cf v. 6 rovro
€xets, OTe KTA., iii, II Kparer 0 exets.
Endurance was one of the best assets
of the Ephesian angel. Unable to
bear the society of the deceivers, the
faithful at Ephesus had for the sake
of Christ (dia ro ovopa, cf. Me. xiii.
13, note) patiently borne the labour
of resisting them or enduring their
taunts (Arethas), and had not grown
weary of the task. The play in ev. 2,
3 on Baorafew and komav (ov duvy
Baordoa...€Bactacas, oida TOY Korov
cov...0v kekorriakes) has perplexed the
scribes; see app. crit. Kal ov Kéxun-
xas of the T. R. appears to rest on no
better authority than a conjecture of
Erasmus, but it gives the sense; for
komiav, to be weary, cf. Mt. xi. 28,
Jo. iv. 6, and for the form kekomiakes
see W. Schm. p. 113, note 16, and ef.
dikes, memTwxes (Uv. 4, 5). “Exeus
...€BdorTacas...kexor.: such combina-
tions are frequent in the Apoc. (e.g.
V. 7, Vii. 13 f., viii. 5) and not always
easy to explain; here the perf. xexor.
indicates a condition which continued
when the endurance (¢Bacracas) was
at an end.
4. GAN éx@ Kara god ote xtA.] Yet
on the other hand (adda) there is
ground for complaint; for yew (re)
kata twos cf. Job xxxi. 35 (LXx.), Mt.
v. 23, Me. xi. 25, note, and below, 7.
14,20. Patience and unremitting toil
in His cause are not all that Christ
requires, and indeed are of little value,
if the spirit of love is absent. But at
Ephesus love was waning, perhaps as
the result of the controversies through
which the Church had passed. Tw
dydrnv cov thy mpatny: the adj. in
this position limits and corrects : ‘thou
hast left thy love, at least the love of
the first days,’ i.e. the days of St Paul’s
ministry at Ephesus; how fervent it
was appears from Acts xix. 20, Xx.
37, cf. Eph. i. 3 ff. Another genera-
tion has taken the place of the first
converts ; the loyalty and activity of
the Church have been well maintained,
but there is some falling off in the
greatest of Christian gifts (cf Mt.
XXIV. 12 Wuynoerat 7 ayary Tov TOAGr),
shewn perhaps, as the Greek com-
mentators suggest, by a comparative
indifference to the necessities of the
poorer brethren. The phrase rv ay. t.
mp. apjkes is probably a reminiscence
of Jer. ii. 2, Ez. xvi. 8 ff. The new
Israel had begun too soon to follow
the example of the ancient people of
God.
FOF FTP
Pe ee fe STU ET
B
I
e
Il. 5]
\ > ol
oov THv TPWT NV acnkes.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 27
5 / ey /
fuvnpeoveve ovv obey 5
, \ / \ \ - yf
WETTWKES, KL METaAVONTOV Kat Ta TOWTa Epya
7 > \ / 4 /
Toincov' € O€ fu, Epyouail cor Kal KUNTw THY
/ ~ / > lo > \ \ /
Avy Viav aOou €K TOU TOTTOU QAUTHS, €EaV Bn METaVONONS.
4 apnKes R*c.aC] agnxas &°cAPQ minom™ vid
5 pynuovevoov 38 130 | om ow
syré” Prim | wemrwxes & (-xas ACQ min?44°)) exremrwxas P 1 7 28 49 79 91 g6alg
vg syrs* | om xat ra mp. €. roinoov me | cx}]+raxv Q minfereomn ygharl* syr Prim |
OM ek Tov Torrouv auTns ByTs”
5. prynpoveve otv modev méntawxes
krA.] Comp. iii. 3 prnuoveve otv mas
etAndas Kai jkovcas. The commen-
tators contrast Cic. ad Attic. iv. 16
“non recordor unde ceciderim sed
unde resurrexerim,” a fine sentiment
which is not really in conflict with
the call to remember ‘unde cecideris’
as a motive to repentance. St Paul’s
Ta pev Origw é€riiavOavopevos (Phil.
lii. 14) refers to past successes which
must be disregarded in view of ra
€urpooGev—an entirely different case
from that which is contemplated by
this ‘Remember.’ Mynuoveve, pera-
vongov, toinooy answer to three stages
in the history of conversion; the pres.
imper. perhaps represents the first as
continuous or habitual, but it is note-
worthy that while pynudveve occurs
seven times in the N.T., there is no
well-supported instance of pynydvev-
gov.
For rirrew in reference to a moral
fall, ef. Rom. xi. 11, 1 Cor. x. 12, and
the use of rapaninrew, rapdrrepa in
Ps. xviii. (xix.) 13, Sap. x. 1, xii. 2,
Mt. vi. 14 f., Heb. vi. 6. Tloinooy ra
mpara épya: the Lord does not say
ayarnoov Thy mpatny dydrnv, a pre-
cept which perhaps could not have
been fulfilled ; the last may be better
or worse than the first, but never can
be the same.
This verse is frequently quoted by
Cyprian when he urges repentance
upon those who had lapsed in the
Decian persecution (de laps. 16, epp.
19. I, 34. I, 55. 22); and with other
passages from the Apoc. it became a
commonplace in the Novatianist con-
troversy (ad Novatian. 13).
el d€ pn, Epxouai oor] Ei dé pn, ie.
eay dé px) petavonons, as the phrase is
written in full just below ; on the el-
liptical form (-=‘ otherwise’), see WM.
Pp: 729, 757 ; Burton, § 275. "Epyouat
refers to a special coming or visita-
tion, affecting a Church or an individual,
as in v. 16, iii. 11; throughout the
Apoe. the present of this verb is used
in a quasi-future sense ; cf. Blass, Gr.
p. 189. Soi-is a dativus incommodi
(WM. p. 265); for another view, see
Blass, Gr. p. 113.
Kal kunow tiv Avxviay gov, i.e. thy
church. Since the Avyvia are separate
and do not forma single candelabrum,
any one of them can be removed at
pleasure. Kweiv (cf. vi. 14) is preferred
to adawpeiv, perhaps as indicating
deliberation and judicial calmness ;
there would be no sudden uprooting as
in anger, but a movement which would
end in the loss of the place that the
Church had been called to fill; unless
there came a change for the better,
the first of the seven lamps of Asia
must disappear; its place must be
filled by another (ef. Apoe. iii. 11, Mt.
xxi. 43). This warning seems to have
been taken to heart, since in the next
generation Ignatius (Zp, prol. 1)
could pronounce the ‘church in
Ephesus’ to be a&touaxapioros, and
speak of its roAvayarnroy évoua, But
though deferred, the visitation came
at last. The Greek commentators
mention the curious fancy that the
removal of the candlestick from
28. THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Il. 6
b) \ > of e/ a NEOs), a
6 °aAAa ToUTO Eyes, OTL pucEis Ta Epya Twv Niko-
ee iy cl \ =
AaiTov, a Kayo Wow.
’ of
6 oma A sicut aeth Prim | cayw] eyw syr®”
me (ita pene ubique)
Ephesus had its fulfilment in the rise
of the See of Constantinople, which
eclipsed the glory of the older Church.
But the Church and See of Ephesus
lived on for centuries after the creation
of the patriarchate of Constantinople.
After the eleventh century however
the line of Ephesian Bishops seems to
have become extinct (Gams, series
episc. p. 443; see however Ramsay,
Letters, p. 243), and in 1308 the place
was finally surrendered to the Turks
(Murray, Handbook, p. 280). The little
railway station and hotel and few poor
dwelling-houses of Ayasaluk (“Aytos
Geodoyos), Which now command the
ruins of the city, are eloquent of the
doom which has overtaken both
Ephesus and its church.
6. adda TovTO eels, STU picets KTA.]
This second ad\Aa modifies the adda
of v. 4. If the loss of her first love
was a heavy charge against the Church
-in Ephesus, there must be set against
it and in her favour her hatred of
deeds which Christ hated.
Irenaeus (i. 26. 3, iii. 10. 7), followed
by Hippolytus (p/ilos. vii. 36), asserts
that the Nicolaitans of the Apocalypse
werefounded by Nicolaus the proselyte
of Antioch who was one of the Seven
(Acts Vi. 5): dmooras ths kar’ evdeiay
didackanias edidackxev addvapopiay Biov
re kat Bpoaews (Hipp. é. c.). There was
a sect which bore the name at the
end of the second century, but its
identity with the Nxodatra of the
Apoe. cannot be assumed (Tert. de
praescr. 33 “sunt et nunc alii Nico-
laitae”) and its claim to be spiritually
descended from Nicolaus of Antioch
was questioned (Clem. Al. strom. ii.
20, § 118 pagKovres éavrous NikodAd@
ere Oat, et aces TL Tavdpos pe-
povres: cf. ib. iii. 4, $25; Eus. A.
E. iii. 29; Constitutions vi. 8 of viv
» ic / /
70 €XwWY OUS akovTaTW TL
7 ous] aures yg°°4d Prim + axovew
Wevddyupot NexoAairar, with which cf,
the interpolated Ignatius, 7rad/. 11,
Philad. 6; Victorinus ad /. “fieti
homines et pestiferi qui sub nomine
Nicolai ministri fecerunt sibi haere-
sim”). A modern conjecture (due to
C. A. Heumann, 1712) takes NixoAatrat
in Apoc. ii, 6, 15 aS=Badaapira
(ef. v. 14), pyda being derived either
from DY vor or oy ya. But (Tea
play upon the etymology of Greek
and Hebrew words is perhaps too
subtle for the genius of the writer, and
(2) no etymology has been suggested
which makes NixoAaosatrue equivalent
of py>3, On the whole it seems best
to fall back upon the supposition that
a party bearing this name existed in
Asia when the Apoc. was written,
whether it owed its origin to Nicolaus
of Antioch, which is not improbable
(see Lightfoot, Galatians, p. 297, n.),
or to some other false teacher of that
name. According to Ps.-Dorotheus
he was a Samaritan Christian who
joined the party of Simon Magus, but
the statement lacks confirmation. On
the teaching of this sect see &. 14, note,
and the Introduction, c. vi.
A kayo pod. Hatred of evil deeds
(a, not ods ; contrast Ps. exxxix. 21 f.)
is a true counterpart of the love of
good, and both are Divine; cf. Isa.
lxi. 8, Zech. viii. 17. There is a picos
as well as an dpyn (Me. iii. 5, Apoc.
vi. 16 f.) which can be predicated of
Christ. To share His hatred of evil
is to manifest an affinity of character
with Him, which is a sign of grace in
Churches and in individuals.
7. 6€xev ovs dxkoveatw KTX.] An-
other formula common to the seven
messages preceding the promise to
the conqueror in the first three, and
following it in the last four. It
BL]
\ an / -~ b] /
TO mWvevpa NEEL Tals ExKANoLALS,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 29
~ ~ /
Tw VIKWVTL owow
’ a m= ? - / ~ -~ e/ ? ’ ~
auTw@ payeiv EK TOU EvAov THs Cwns, 0 eat ev TH
Tapacciow tou Geo.
7 exkAnovas] pr erra A+ras erra C | vixouvre A | om auvrw & 10 17 46 49 88 g1
96 g vgcleharilivs syrew arm‘ | ev Tw mapadeow] ev petw Tw 7. RSP ev peow Tov mapa-
deccov 1 28 35 36 49 79 91 92™ 96 al me Andr | rov Geov]+ pov Q min?“ g vg me
syr arm aeth Or'"t Cypr Prim al
recalls a familiar saying of Christ
which is found in the three Synoptists
(Mnemiets, x. 9, 43; Mc. iv. 9, 23;
Le. viii. 8, xiv. 35), but not in the
Gospel of St John. On variations in
the form of the saying see Me. iv. 9,
note: the consistent use of ods for
ora in the Apoc., even in xiii. 9, shews
independence ; yet see Mt. x. 27, Le.
xii. 3. At the end of each of these
instructions 6 ¢yev ovs is an indi-
vidualizing note, calling upon each
of the hearers of the book (i. 3) to
appropriate the warningsand promises
addressed to the Churches. Tats ék-
kAnoias, not rH éexkAnoia: ef. Pri-
masius: “Si quae singulis partiliter
ecclesiis praedicat universam gene-
raliter convenire dicatur ecclesiam.
neque enim dicit ‘Quid spiritus dicat
ecclesiae’ sed ‘ecclesiis’”” Bede:
“quae singulis scribit universis se
dicere demonstrat ecclesiis.”
TO mvevua eyes, cf. Acts viii. 29,
xi. 2, Apoc. xiv. 13, xxii. 17. Ac-
cording to the opening formula (ii. 1)
the Speaker is Christ ; but the Spirit
of Christ in the prophet is the inter-
preter of Christ’s voice.
T@ vixarvte Siow ait@ fayeiv xr. |
In 76 ux. there is a possible allusion
to Nexodairay, but vxay is a charac-
teristically Johannine word (Jo. xvi.
Beerwon i. 13f, iv..4, vi 4 £), and
specially frequent in the Apoc. (ii. 7,
Meee ac, i. 5, 12, 21, V. 5, Xi. It,
XV. 2, XVii. 14, xxi. 7); the book is a
record and a prophecy of victories
won by Christ and the Church. The
note of victory is dominant in StJohn,
as that of faith in St Paul; or rather,
faith presents itself to St, John in
the light of a victory (1 Jo. y. 4). To
vix@rTe: SO or With 6 ver the promise
at the end of each utterance begins,
not To veknoavre OY TO verexnxott. The
pres. part. here is timeless, like o
Banrifwv, 6 mwecpatwy (Me. i. 4 note,
Mt. iv. 3); 6 mxav (vincens, gui ri-
cerit) is ‘the conqueror,’ the victorious
member of the Church, as such, apart
from all consideration of the cireum-
stances; cf. Tert. scorp. 12 “ victori
cuique promittit nune arborem vitae.”
Awow is another Apocalyptic word
(lis IO, °¥7;:23, 26, (28, Ti. 21,, Seer
There is here nothing inconsistent
with Me. x. 40 ov €orw é€pov dotva ;
Christ gives it as Judge to those for
whom it has been prepared by the
Father; see Mt. xxv. 34, 2 Tim. iv. 8,
and ef. Rom. vi. 23 ro d€ yapiopa rot
Oeod (wr aidmos ev Xpiot@ Inood. The
hands of the ascended Christ are full
of gifts (cf. Eph. iv. 7 ff.). With the
promise dec avroé payeiv xrh., cf. xxii.
14 wa €éorat 7 e€ovcia avtayv émi TO Evo
r. ¢. and Test. xii patr., Levi 18 dece:
trois ayios aye €x Tov Evdov rt. ¢.; for
the construction see vi. 4 €664n avra
AaBeiv, Vil. 2, xiii. 7, 14, xvi. 8. To
EvdXov ths wis xr. (cf. XXii. 2, 14, 19)
is of course from Gen. ii. 9; on
évXAov = Sévdpov see WM., p. 23. Inthe
LXX. mapddewros represents either }3
(Gen. ii, iii, passim), or DIB a
pleasaunce (2 Esdr. xii. 8, Ecel. ii. 5,
Cant. iv. 13) “from the old Persian
pairidaéza” (Encyel. Bibl. sv.) ; and
once }1Y (Isa. li. 3) ; trod Geo has been
added from Gen. xiii. 10 or Ez. xxviii.
13, xxxi. 8. The Rabbinical writers use
the word of the heavenly }J2 {2 which
30 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [II. 8
8 ‘Kal To ayyéeAw Ta év Cuvpyn éxkAnoias ypar-ov
/ / € o \ of ray 5) /
Tade Eyer 0 MpwTos Kal 0 EayYaTos, bs éyEVETO
8 tw 2° A] rns RCPQ rell | ev Zuvpyy (Zu. &) exxAnoras] exkd. Duvpyawy 1 (28 79)
arm 77s exxAnovas Duvpy7s (Ss. Zuvpyys) vg me syr®” Prim | zpwros] mpwroroxos A | om
os min??
is the opposite state to their D37) °A;
see Weber, Jiid. Theol. p. 344 ff Of
the idealized Tree of Life we read
already in Proy. iii. 18 (cf. Isa. Ixv.
22, LXX., 4 Macc. xviii. 16), but its
first appearance in a vision of the ce-
lestial Paradise is in Enoch xxiv. f. ra
pvdAa aris Kat TO avOos Kat TO Sévdpov
ov POivea eis Tov ai@va...cal ovdepia
cap€ e£ovaiay exer aacbat avrov péeype
Ths peydAns Kploews...TOTe Stkalois Kal
oolos SoOnaerar 6 Kapros avtav; cf.
Slavonic Enoch 8, and Ps. Sol. xiv. 3.
In the N.T. ‘Paradise’ is either the
state of the blessed dead (Le. xxiii. 43),
or a supra-mundane sphere identified
with the third heaven into which men
pass in an ecstasy (2 Cor. xii. 2 f.) ; or,
as here, the final joy of the saints in
the presence of God and of Christ.
On the history of the subject gen-
erally see Tennant, Sources of the
Doctrine of the Fali and of Original
Sin, passim.
The general sense of the promise
dda xrA. is clear. Man’s exclusion
from the Tree of Life (Gen. iii. 22 f.) is
repealed by Christ on condition of a
personal victory over evil. To eat of
the Tree is to enjoy all that the life
of the world to come has in store
for redeemed humanity. Apringius :
“pyomum ligni vitae aeternitatem im-
marcescibilem subministrat.” Bede:
“lignum vitae Christus est, cuius in
caelesti paradiso visione sanctae re-
ficiuntur animae.”
8—11. THE MeEssacE T0 THE
ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SMYRNA.
8. ,ta@ ev Spipyn| The road from
Ephesus—a distance of about 35 miles
—entered Smyrna by the ‘Ephesian
Gate.’ The city, which had been rebuilt
by Lysimachus, was now the finest
of the Asiatic towns (Strabo, 646), and
boasted of being rd rjs’Acias ayaApa.
Situated at the head of a well pro-
tected gulf, with an ample harbour, it
possessed an export trade second only
to that of Ephesus, while like Ephesus
it was the terminus of a great road,
which tapped the rich valley of the
Hermus and penetrated to the in-
terior. As far back as the reign of
Tiberius the loyalty of Smyrna to
Rome procured for it the privilege
of erecting a temple to the Emperor,
and the city henceforth claimed the
title of vewxdpos of the new cult. She
disputed with her neighbour Ephesus
the honour of being styled rparn ris
*"Acias and pntporodss. But the writer
of the Apocalypse follows an order
to which Ephesus itself would have
assented, when he assigns to Smyrna
the second place among the seven.
The N.T. throws no light on the
origin of the Church in Smyrna beyond
the general statement as to the evyan-
gelization of Asia in Acts xix. 10; see
Lightfoot, Zgnatius, i. p. 462. But
according to Vita Polycarpi 2 St Paul
visited Smyrna on his way to Ephesus
(cf. Acts xix. I dveA@ovra Ta av@repixa
pépn), and found disciples there, as he
did at Ephesus. The Church is still
strong at Smyrna ; out of a population
of perhaps 250,000 more than half are
Christians, while the EvayyeAcxyn SxoAn
with its fine library witnesses to the
vigour and intelligence of the Orthodox
community.
On the form Zyutpva see WH.4,
Notes, p. 155; Blass, Gz p. 10 It
occurs on coins of the period and in
inscriptions (see e.g. CIG iii. 3276 ff.).
On Smyrna itself see further the
Introduction, p. lxi. f.
rade éyel O TpP@TOS Kal Oo ExxXaTOS
xtA.] These titles (from i. 17f.) are
—
II. 9]
\ WD 3
veKpos Kal ECyoer.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 31
%0tda cou THY OXiLwW Kal THY 9
/ iy \ \ /
TTWYiaV, a\Aad moves Ei, Kal THY Brachnpiav
2 lod /
€k Twyv AeyorvTwy
? / > c /
lovdaious e€ivar éavTous,
\
Kal OUK
9 THY O\uWw] pr ra epya cov kac SQ min?! syr Andr** Ar pr ra €. o. Kat THY UoM“oVny
kac arm | rrwxiav NAC 11 97] wrwxecay PQ min®reo™ + gov g vg syré” | ex]om P 1
28 36 49 79 91 96 130 al arm aeth Andr pr rny & syrr | Iovdacwy &* (-ovs &*) CP |
om eavrous Q 16 69 arm
chosen with the view of inspiring
confidence into a Church threatened
with suffering and death; cf. Bede:
“apta praefatio patientiam suasuro.”
Ramsay (Zxp., 1904, i. p. 321 f.)
finds a reference also to the early
struggles of the city (Strabo, 646
ayyyeipev avtny *Aytiyovos). "Etnoev
takes the place of (av eu, the
purpose being to fix attention upon
the fact of the Resurrection. As the
Lord rose, so will His martyrs triumph
over death ; cf. 2 Tim. ii. 8 pvnpoveve
"Inooty Xpioroy eynyeppevoy ex vexpar.
The parallel in Apoc. xiii. 14 is in-
structive : r@ Onpip Os Exe THY TANYIY
THs Haxaipns kal eCyoev (see note ad /.).
9. oidd cov tiv Odivw «rr.] The
Church in Smyrna was characterized
by its endurance of suffering and
poverty in the cause of the Gospel.
With the paradox oi8a gov...rjv rre-
xelav, G\Aa mAovows ef Comp. Jac. ii.
5 ovx 6 Beds e€ehearo trols mrwyxovs
T® Koop@ Tovoious ev rigtec; 2 Cor.
Vl. 10 ws mrwyoi, mo\dovs S€ mAovri-
¢ovres, and contrast Apoc. iii. 17
A€yets Gre TAoviords eit Kai wemovTnKa
«Kal ovK oldas Gti ad el 6...7TwYOs.
The nature of the wealth possessed
by the Church in Smyrna but lacking
to the Church in Laodicea is well
shewn in Le. xii. 21 ets Oedv tourer,
1 Tim. vi. 18 rAouretv ev Epyots Kadois.
The poverty (xryia, not merely revia ;
cf. Me. xii. 42, note) of the Apostolic
Churches, even in so rich a city as
Smyrna, is remarkable ; it may have
been due partly to the fact that the
converts were drawn chiefly from the
poorer classes (Jac. /. ¢., 1 Cor. i. 26),
partly to the demands made upon them
by their faith (cf. 2 Cor. viii. 2 card
Babous rrwyxeia avrav érepioceucer eis
TO mAovTos THs amAotnTos av’ray); but
also in some cases to the pillage of
their property by a Jewish or pagan
mob (Heb. x. 34 tiv aprayny trav vrap-
XOVT@Y Upav peta yapas mpooedé~ar Ge).
The context suggests that the poverty
of the Smyrnaean Church was at least
aggravated by the last of these causes.
kat tiv BAaodnuiay krr.] Andreas :
kata Kowov d€ TO oda Kai Thy Bdas-
dnuiav...pnoly, eriorana. The Jews
at Smyrna were both numerous anc
aggressively hostile ; see Light
Ignatius, i. p. 468 f., Schiirer, Ge
schichte®, iii. pp. 11, 29, 34. In the
martyrdom of Polycarp they took a
leading part, even surpassing the
heathen in their zeal, and this, it is
added, was their wont: Polye. mart.
13 f. wddcora “lovdaiwy mpobipas, ws
€80s auvrois, eis tavra vmoupyovvrar.
At present they contented themselves
with blaspheming, railing at Christ
and Christians (cf. Vg. “et blasphe-
maris ab his”), as they had done
from the first days of St Paul’s syna-
gogue preaching in Asia Minor (Acts
xiii. 45). Against their sharp tongues
the Christians are. fortified by the
reflexion that these blasphemers are
Jews in name only. They called
themselves Jews (for the constr. see
v. 2, note), but were not so in truth;
comp. Rom. ii. 28 ov yap 6 év ro
pavep@ ‘Tovdaids eorw...ddr’ 6 ev TO
KpunT@ "Tovdaios, Kal Treptroun kapSias
ev mvevpare ov YPappart, Gal. vi. 15 f.
ovre yap mepiTouy Te €orw ove dxpo-
Buoria, adAa Kaw) xricts.. .eipyn én
avrovds xat édeos, kat ext rov “lopanA
32 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
> > \ \ la co
Io eiaiv, dh\Aa ouvaywyn Tov caTava.
c Ui /
a pees TAT KEL.
PEG
un poov
idov wéArer BadAew 6 didBodos
> € - 5) / Sf On \ of
€€& upwy evs cuAakyny, wa repacOyTe Kal EXNTE
Orin juepwv déxa.
g carava]|+eow Nee
/ \ of /
Yylvovu TWltaoTOS ayvpl Oavatou,
10 py ACQ 1 38 49] undey RP min?! vg syrr | racxew]
mafew Q minfre% Ar | wov]+dy Q min% Ar | Baddew] Badew Q min?! Ar (Baddew
Bad &* Baddew N~*) | e&] ad 130 | exnte A 36 130 Prim] exere CP x 11 12 efere RQ
min?! syrr vg Ar | nuepas Q minfre4? g vg syrr Ar | om -yywwou &* (hab Ne)
tov beov. So far from being ddnOés
*Iopaneira (Jo. i..47), such men were
& guvaywy) Tov Satava (Jo. viii. 44
vpeis ex TOU TaTpos Tov diaBddov éaré),
not a cuvaywyn Kupiov (Num. xvi. 3, 24,
XXVi. 9, XXX1. 16). On cuvaywyy inits
relation to éxcAnoia see Hort, Ecclesia,
p. 4 ff. ‘H ovvaywy Tod carava occurs
again in iii. 9; comp. ii. 13 6 Apdvos
TOU o., li. 24 Ta Babéa Tod o.
The commentators refer to an in-
scription of the time of Hadrian which
has been thought to mention Jewish
renegades (CIG 3148 of more Iovdaiot,
cf. Lightfoot, Zgnatius, i. p. 4703; see
however Ramsay in Hastings, D.B.
iv. p. 555, for another view of the
words, and cf. Letters, p. 272). But
the ‘synagogue of Satan’ at Smyrna
professed Judaism and perhaps sin-
cerely, though their hostility may
have been partly due to a desire
to curry favour with the pagan mob
or the Imperial authorities.
10. pn poBod a péedrers racyew KA. }
There were worse things in store
than mrexeta or even Bracdnpia ; im-
prisonment, perhaps death, mightawait
the faithful at Smyrna. Behind the
‘synagogue of Satan’ was the Devil
himself (6 dca8o\0s=6 katyywp Trav
ddeAPar, Xii. 1O= 6 Zaravas, xii. 9, XX.
2), who by means of false charges
laid before the magistrates - would
cast certain members of the Church
(e€ vypor) into prison. His purpose
was to try the faith of the whole
body (wa metpacOjre): cf. Le. xxii. 31
6 Saravas eEntnoaro vpas Tov cundoat
ws Tov girov. That its Jewish and
pagan adversaries were prompted by
Satan was the firm belief of the early
Church ; cf. e.g. Polye. mart. 2 moda
yap eunxavaro kat’ avta@v o dtaBoXos,
Kus. H. Ey. 1 érépas pnyavas 6 dia-
Bodos erevoet, Tas KaTa THY eipKTHY ev
T@ oKOTEL Kal TG XadeT@TAaTe yapio
ouykAeloers KTX.
kat €xnre Odi nuepay Seca] “ And
that ye may have affliction for(‘during,’
the temporal gen., see Blass, Gr. p.
10g) ten days.” A further disclosure
of Satan’s plans; it was his purpose
to prolong the persecution if the
faithful did not yield at once. This
point is missed by é&ere, doubtless a
correction made in the interests of
the sense. Aéxa has perhaps been
suggested by Dan. i. 14 émetpacev
avrovs O€xa nuepas ; ef. Gen. xxiv. 55,
Num. xi. 19, xiv. 22, Job xix. 3. Beatus
thinks of the ‘ ten persecutions,’ but it
is unnecessary to seek for any historical
fulfilment. Equally wide of the mark
is the interpretation preferred by
Bede: “totum tempus significat in quo
Decalogi sunt memoriae mandata.”
The number ten is probably chosen
because, while it is sufficient to sug-
gest continued suffering, it points to
an approaching end. Ten days of
suffering and suspense might seem an
eternity while they lasted, yet in the
retrospect they would be but a moment
(2 Cor. iv. 17 ro wapavutixa éXadpov tis
Orivvews : cf. Arethas : enpepos 7 ém-
dopa, kal ogo ei kal nuepav Séxa e&tcov-
pevn) The trial might be prolonged,
but it had a limit known to God.
yivov mutes Gypt Oavdrov xra.]}
‘Prove thyself loyal and true, to the
extent of being ready to die for My
~~
II. 11]
A , \ / -~ -~
Kal Owow col TOV oTepavoy THs Cons.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 33
bare Ey wy 1!
a > / / \ — / - ? /
OUS a@kovaaTwW Ti TO TVEVMa AEYyEL Tais ExKANo ALS.
© lal > \ > or ~ / - /
6 viKav ov jun aducnOy é€x TOU Pavarov ToU devTEpou.
Ir ous] awres ygeottnonn Prim | om rou devrepou 130
sake.” Tivov r., ef. iii. 2 yivou ypyyopar,
JO. XX. 27 1) yivou dmaros aha ToT OS.
Here morés is ‘trustworthy’ rather
than ‘believing, as in Mt. xxv. 21, 23,
Le. xvi. 10 f., Apoc. ii. 13, iii. 14. "Aype
@avarov hints that the supreme trial of
martyrdom may follow; comp. Phil.
ii, 8 yevopevos vmjxoos péxpe 6., and
contrast Heb. xii. 4 ove péxpts aiwatos
avrucatéorntre. “Aype occurs in this
book eleven times, péyps not once;
the other Johannine writings, as it
happens, have neither, but in the rest
of the N.T. the proportion is a little
over 2 to I.
kai ddo@ cou Tov orédavoy Tis Cwijs |
‘And so, the consecutive «ai which is
“specially found after imperatives”
(Blass, Gr. p. 262). Zos stands in
sharp contrast with @avarov, and 7.
orépavoy comes naturally after the
prophecy of a coming struggle. The
exact phrase 6 orédavos r. ¢. occurs in
the very similar passage, Jac. i. 12
flakapwos avip os vmropéver reipacpor,
bre SoKyos yevopevos Ajpvera roy or.
tT. ¢, Ov emnyyeikato Tois ayaréow
avtov: elsewhere we have 6 ot. rijs
eAmidos (Isa. xxviii. 5), ris Kavyroews
(Ez Xvi 12, xxiii. 42, 1 Th. ii. 19),
tis Stxaoovyns (2 Tim. iv. 8), ris SdEns
(t Pet. v. 4), ris ap@apaias (Polye.
mart. 17, 19, Eus. H.Z. v. 1). So
familiar a metaphor need not have
been suggested by local circumstances,
yet it is noteworthy that Smyrna was
famous for its games (Paus. vi. 14. 3,
cited in Enc. Bibl., 4662) in which
the prize was a garland. There may
be a reference to this, or again, as
Ramsay thinks (Hastings, D.B. iv. p.
555 ff.) the writer may have in his mind
the garlands worn in the service
of the pagan temples, or the circle of
buildings and towers which ‘crowned’
S. R.
the fairest city in Asia (Ramsay, Zet-
ters, pp. 256 f.,.275). In any case the
atédavos is not a royal diadem, but
an emblem of festivity: cf. Me. xv.
17, note. Ths fwAs is epexegetical:
the crown consists of life, so that the
promise is practically equivalent to
that of v. 7, though it is presented
under another aspect.
II. Okay ov pr aduxnO7 «rr.| The
special promise of the second mes-
sage, appropriate to a Church which
may presently be called to martyr-
dom. He who conquers by proving
himself faithful unto death shall
possess immunity from the second
death. ‘O Sevrepos Oavatos occurs
again in c. xx. 6, 14, xxi. 8, where it
is defined as n Aiurn trod mupds; see
notes ad. The conception is partly
anticipated in Dan. xii. 3 and Jo. vy. 29,
and yet more distinctly by Philo, de
praem. et poen. ii. 419 @avarov yap
duirrov eldos, TO pev Kara TO TeOvavat...
TO Sé€ pera TO amoOvnckKeww, 0 81) KaKov
mavrws. But the exact expression was
probably current in Jewish circles, for
it occurs frequently in the Targums ;
cf. e.g. Targ. Hieros. on Deut. xxxiii. 6
“vivat Reuben in hoe saeculo et non
moriatur morte secunda”; other exx.
may be seen in Wetstein. Ov pr) adc-
xn@7, ‘shall in no wise be hurt’; see
Blass, Gr. p. 209 f. For adcceiy in
this sense see Isa, x. 20, Apoe. vi. 6,
Vil. 2f5 Ix. 4, 10, 19, xi. 5: bis. Ene
attempt to retain in these contexts
the etymological meaning of adcxeiv
(Benson, Apocalypse, pp. xvi. f.,
73 n.) cannot be regarded as_ suc-
cessful; in usage dédicxeivy, like our
‘injure, has acquired a weaker sense
and is nearly a synonym of S\amrrey
(ef. Thue. ii, 71, Xen. de re egu.
Vi: 9);
3
34 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [Tne
12 "Kai Tw dyyedw THs ev Tlepyauw exkAnoias
ypavvov Tade Neyer 0 Exwy THY poudpatay THY
/ \ > ~
13 dloTouoy THv o€elay.
12 Ts] Tw syré” | ev Ilepyapw] Iepyauov vg syrs* Or'nt Prim al
sy, = =~ e/
%30i6a TOU KaTOLKEls, O7rOU
13 Tov
Karotxes] pr Ta epya cov kat Q minfereomn syy Andr Ar
12—17. THE MerssAGE TO THE
ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN PERGAMUM.
12. rhs ev Hepyauo] After leaving
Smyrna the road from Ephesus fol-
lowed the coast for about 40 miles
and then struck N.E. up the valley
of the Caicus, for a further distance of
15 miles, when it reached Pergamum.
Pergamum in Mysia, on the Caicus
(j Ilépyapos in Xenophon, Pausanias,
and Dion Cassius, but ro Tépyapoy in
Strabo and Polybius and most other
writers and in the inscriptions; the
termination is left uncertain in Apoc.
i. II, ii. 12), now Bergama, the capital
of the Attalid Kingdom (B.c. 241—
133), held a similar position in Roman
Asia (Plin. H. WV. v. 30 “longe claris-
simum Asiae”) until its place was
taken by Ephesus. If Pergamum
had no Artemision, it was richer
in temples and cults than Ephesus.
Zeus Soter, Athena Nikephoros, Dio-
nysos, Asklepios were the chief local
deities; the temple of Athena crowned
the steep hill of the Acropolis, and
beneath it on the height was a great
altar of Zeus. Beside these, the city
possessed as early as A.D. 29 a temple
dedicated to Rome and Augustus (Tac.
ann, iii. 37); a second temple was
erected in the time of Trajan, when
Pergamum acquired the title of dis
vewxopos. At so strong a centre of
paganism the Church was confronted
with unusual difficulties, and to these
the message to Pergamum refers
(vw. 13f.). See further the Introduc-
tion, ¢. v.
Tade Aéyer 6 Ex@v THY poudaiay: the
popdaia of c. i. 16, where see note.
To what use it is to be put at Perga-
mum appears below, v. 16.
13. oda mov karoieis xtd.] The
special point in the life of the Church
at Pergamum which the Lord singles
out for notice. She resided in a city
which was also Satan’s residence (dzrov
0 gatavas KaTo.ket), hay more, where
he had set his throne. ©pdvos in the
N.T. is always the seat of office or
chair of state, whether of a judge
(Mt. xix. 28), or a king (Le. i. 32, 52),
or of God or Christ (Mt. v. 34, Xv. 31);
in the Apoc. the word occurs 45 times
in this sense. At Pergamum Satan
was enthroned and held his court.
The question arises what there was at
Pergamum to gain for it this character.
The Nicolaitans were there, but they
were also at Ephesus ; the Jews, who
at Smyrna formed a ‘synagogue of
Satan,’ are not mentioned in the Per-
gamene message. It remains to seek
a justification of the phrase in some
peculiarly dangerous form of pagan
worship. Pergamum was the chief seat
in Asia of the worship of Asklepios
(cf. Philostratus, Vit. Apollon. iv. 34
7 Agia eis TO Tepyapov...Evvedoira,
Herodian, iv. 4. 8 jmelyOn eis IL. THs
’Acias xpnoacOa Bovdopevos Oeparreias
tov AokAnmiov, Mart. ix. 1 “ Aescula-
pius Pergamensis deus”: according to
Galen a common form of oath was pa
Tov ev Iepyap@ ’AckAnmov), and the
serpent which was the symbol of the
god (Paus. Cor. 27 ka@nrat 8 ért Opovov
Baxrnplavy Kpatev, thy Te érépay Tay
xXE_pav Urep Kearns éxet TOU Spaxovros)
is in this book (xii. 9) the symbol of
Satan. But attractive as this explana-
tion is, it does not altogether satisfy ;
the Aesculapian cult, with its thera-
peutic aims, would scarcely have been
marked out for special reprobation by
the Christian brotherhood. Itis better
to find in ‘Satan’s throne’ an allusion
:
7
a
de,
¥
E13]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 35
/ a a \ = UO a, /
0 Opovos Tov GaTava’ Kal KpaTEls TO OVOUa pou,
\ / \ 7 Nees “ t /
Kal OUK NpVnowW THY TITTW MOV Kal EV Tals nMEpats
13 pov 1°] cov &* (uw. N°) | om car 3° SPQ minre#? ygdem geth Prim Andr Ar
(hab AC gr vg"! me) | nuepacs]+ acs Q 6 14 29 31 36 38 41 47 51 82 gat alfere2s ypdem
syr aeth+ev as N° (ev ras R*) P (1) 7 10 12 16 17 28 34 35 36 37 45° 46Ort
79 80 81 87 or 96 121 130 161 g, vgtm Mbaritolal
to the rampant paganism of Perga-
mum (Arethas: ws xareiSwdov odcay
umép tiv *Agiay macav), symbolized
by the great altar which seemed to
dominate the place from its platform
cut in the Acropolis rock, but chiefly
perhaps to the new Caesar-worship
in which Pergamum was preeminent
and which above all other pagan rites
menaced the existence of the Church.
The insidious plea Ti xaxov é€orw ei-
teiv ‘Kupios Kaicap,’ cat éemidioa, Kat
Ta TovTots axoAovda, Kal diaowler Oa ;
(mart. Polyc. 8), must have appealed to
many Christians who would have stood
firm against the grosser idolatries of
heathenism. If the worship of the
Emperor is in view, 6 6povos tov
catava may be an occult reference to
the agents of this false Imperialism,
corresponding with ovvaywy) Tod ca-
tava, Which refers to the hostile Jews.
For rot =dérov see WM. p. 640.
Karorxeis, xaro.xet, point to settled
residence. There was no possibility
of escaping from the situation; the
local Church could not migrate in a
body, and Satan would not quit his
vantage ground. From another point
of view even the residents in any place
are, from the Christian standpoint,
‘strangers and pilgrims,’ and such
words as mapotxeivy, maporkos, traperi-
dnuos are usually preferred in de-
scribing the relations of the Church
to the locality where she is placed ;
see 1 Pet. i. 1 (with Hort’s note), 17;
ji. 11, Heb, xi. 9, and the opening
words of Clem. R. Cor. cited in the
note to @. I.
kai kpateis TO dvoua ov KTA.] The
Church in Pergamum maintained her
Kuptos “Inoods (1 Cor. xii. 3), and re-
fused to say Kupios Kaicap: and to
revile her Master ; cf. mart. Polyc. 9.
For xkparew see ii. 1 note, and for ovx
apveia Oat cf. Jo. 1. 20 wpodoynoev Kai
ovK npynoato. Thy miorw pov, ‘thy
faith in Me’; pov is the gen. of the
object as in Me. xi. 22 €yere wiorw
@eov, Apoc. xiv. 12 of typodvres...tHv
miotw Incov.
Kai ev rais jpépats *Avtiza: ‘even
in the days of Antipas” The reading
’Avreimas (avreizas) must be ascribed
to itacism, while the proposal to treat
*Avtimas as a nom de guerre (arti,
mas, a primitive Athanasius contra
mundum) can scarcely be taken se-
riously. The name is an abbreviated
form of ’Avtimarpos, aS KAeoras of
K\eorarpos, and occurs frequently in
Josephus (e.g. anit. xix. 1. 3 obTos roivuy
6 ’Avtimatrpos ’Avtimas TO mpa@rov éxa-
Xeiro). There is little to be gleaned
about this primitive martyr from post-
canonical writings. Tertullian’sallusion
to him (scorp. 12 “de Antipa fidelissimo
martyre, interfecto in habitatione Sa-
tanae”) shews no independent know-
ledge. Andreas had read his ‘acts’
(ovmep avéyvev TO paptvpiov) and there
are acts under his name printed by
the Bollandists (April 11), according
to which he was burnt to death in a
brazen bull in the reign of Domitian.
But the date at least is probably
wrong, for év rais nu. ’A. throws the
time of the martyrdom back some
years before the writing of the Apoca-
lypse ; cf. Le. i. 5, Acts y. 37. Other
martyrs connected with Pergamum in
the first two centuries were Carpus,
Papylus, and Agathonice, mentioned
by Eusebius (47. 2. iv. 15); Attalus,
also, the ‘pillar and ground’ of the
persecuted Viennese, was Hepyaunvos
ro yever (LL. v. 1). Yet, as Ramsay
——_ 2D
~~
a
o
36 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [II. 13
+ "A f + G / € / r\ > / 6
VTIT aA’, O MapTus Mou O TlLOTOS JOU, OS ATTEKTAVUN
? of
4aXN EXW
IZ e/ A 5) a lad \
oALya, Osiekl EXELS EKEL KPaTOUVTaS THV
a / = MS
I4 ap vplv, O7oU 0 GaTavas KaToLKel.
\ co
KaTa OOvU
13 Avruras S*CPQ min?! vg Prim Avtecras (avr.) KSA 2 9 13 19 23 41 42 50°"
g7 al ut vid me syrr arm‘ + ac 68 87 syr®™ | wou 3°] om SPQ min?! vg me syre” arm
aeth Prim Andr Ar+ori as waprus jou migTos (152) syrs¥ | om jov 4° me | om os 6
31 87 vgie™ syrs” aeth | vzwy 95 syr’¥ arm‘ | om omov...karotker 38 syrs” 14 a\d\a
Q minPal0 Ar | om kara cov &* (hab &**) | om ore C 130 vgamfuharl¥al gyr Prim |
OM ort exels exer ME | oAvya ovo“aTa KparouvTas mew"
observes (Hastings, D. B. iii. 75 f.), it
is not certain that Antipas was a
member of the Pergamene Church ;
he suffered at Pergamum, but may
have been brought thither from one
of the smaller towns.
’Avtizras is indeclinable, if we accept
the reading of the best mss. WH.,
however [but see Hort, Apoc. p. 28],
are disposed to favour Lachmann’s con-
jecture that the final c arose from an
accidental doubling of the following o,
while Nestle (Text. Crit. p. 331) thinks
that ’Avtiza was written “Avtimas in
order to conform it to 6 paprvs. The
anomaly, however it may have arisen,
has misled the scribes, who have sought
to save the grammar by inserting ais
or omitting 6s: see app. crit. For o
udptus pou cf. Acts i. 8 €verde pov
. paptupes, XXli. 20 eEexvvvero TO aipa
Zredavov tod paptupos cov, Apoc.
XVii. 6 preOvoveav.,.€k TOU alwatos Tay
paptipev “Inood. It is tempting to
translate paptrus by ‘martyr’ in the
last two passages, and even R.Y.
yields to the temptation in Apoe. /.c.,
though it is content to call Stephen
and Antipas ‘witnesses.’ But it may
be doubted whether the word had
acquired a technical sense at the end
of the first century ; Clem. Cor. 5 pap-
Tupnaas emopevOn eis Tov Odetdopevor
rorov THs So€ns is not decisive. Even
ir the second half of the second
century the title could be given to
confessors at Lyons and Vienne,
though it is significant that they dis-
claimed it as due only to the Lord
(Apoc. i. 5) and to those who had
died for Him. By, that time the
technical sense had nearly established
itself (see Lightfoot’s note on Clem.
lc., and Benson’s Cyprian, p. 90 f.);
but in the N.T. this stage has not
been reached, though the course of
events was leading up to it. The
Lord gives Antipas His own title, o
pdptus 0 moTos (i. 5, ili. 14), qualifying
it by a double pov, ‘my witness, my
faithful one’; Antipas bore witness
to Christ, was loyal to Christ even
unto death, as Christ to the Father
(1 Tim. vi. 13 rod paptupyoavros emt
Ilovriou Tewdarovu tiv Kany opodoyiar).
’AmrextavOn, see Me. viii. 31 note; in
Attic Greek aré8avev would have been
preferred, cf. Blass, Gr. pp. 44, 55-
lap’ vpiv...carouxe’ recalls at the end
of the sentence the solemn fact with
which it began: the home of this
Church was also the residence of Satan.
14. GAN é€x@ Kata cov oAlya] At
Ephesus the attitude of the Church
towards the Nicolaitans was matter
for praise, but at Pergamum it invited
censure ; contrast éy@ cara gov with
v. 6 tovro éyers. The Church which
could resist Satan in the form of the —
Emperor-cult was not equally proof
against an insidious heresy within its
own ranks.
Ore €xets eked kparoovras THY Sdaxiy
Badadp, xrd.| A party in the Church
at Pergamum (éxet= ap’ vpiv) taught
as Balaam had done; ef. J. B. Mayor,
St Jude, p. clxxvi. Balaam made it
his aim to teach (€didacxey) Balak
how to beguile Israel into the double
sin of idolatry and fornication. The
pate
_ the downfall of the latter.
II. 15]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
37
diwaynv Baraap, os édidacKev Tw Barak PBanreiv
oKavoarov é-vwriov TY ViaV ‘lopand, paryeiv eidwo-
6uta Kat TOPVEVO aL.
14 edtdate
ef of \ \ ~
“SOUTWS EXELS KaL TU KpaTOUVTAs 15
Q minr'444 me syrr arm Ori™t Ar | rw Badax A(C) 11] ev rw Badax
1 18.92™ ev rw Badaau tov Badax P Andr°™™ Badaak Q (ita et C 95** 130) om &*
to Badak &* 95 al?! | Badew] Baddew N* Baowter A | payew] pr car Q sa ae
Ar | om etdwdo8ura vg edwdoduTov 130
reference is to Num. xxxi. 16, where
the sin of Peor is traced to Balaam’s
suggestion (cf. Philo, vit. Moys. i. 54,
Jos. antt. ix. 6. 6, Origen in Num.
hom. xx.). Modern O.T. scholars (e.g.
Driver, /ntrod. p. 62 f., F. H. Woods in
Hastings, D.B. i. 233) point out that
the story of Balaam blends two ac-
counts, Num. xxii. 1—xxv. 5 belonging
to JE, while Num. xxv. 6 ff. is from P ;
in the former Balaam after blessing
Israel returns to Pethor (Num. xxiy.
25), in the latter he is the author of
Balak’s later policy and eventually is
slain by Israel in battle (Num. xxxi. 8,
ef. Josh. xiii. 22). Josephus Z.c. recon-
ciles the two stories by supposing that
Balaam on reaching the Euphrates sent
for Balak and imparted his scheme ;
some such addition to the history was
doubtless in the mind of the writer
ofthe Apoc. There is an interesting
parallel in the stratagem suggested by
Achior in Judith y. 20, xi. 11 ff.
For the construction €5i6. ro B.
reference has been made to Job xxi.
22 (na sb) Dixon) ; but diddacKeev
with the dative is found in Plutarch
and other later Greek writers (Hort).
Bakeiv oxavdarorv, cf. riPévae ox. in
Ps. xlix. (1) 20, Judith v. 1, Hos.
iv. 17, Rom. xiv. 13. A oxavdadov
(Att. oxavdadrnOpov) is any object that
is apt to trip up one who is walking
carelessly ; see Hort on 1 Pet. ii. 8.
The women of Moab were deliberately
thrown in the way of unsuspecting
Israel, in the hope of bringing about
The order
payeiv...cat ropvetoa is the opposite
of that in Num. xxy. 1 ff, which is
followed below, 7. 20; but it doubt-
less answers to the experience of the
Church at Pergamum, where the mixed
company at pagan feasts was the oc-
casion of the greater evil. Eidwdd-
Gurov, see 4 Mace. v. 2, Acts xv. 29,
xxi. 25, 1 Cor. viii. 1 ff.; cf. iepd@urov
in 1 Cor. x. 28.
15. ovrws...duoiws| “Eyes takes
up the thread of o. 14 (€yes éxet
Kpatovvras krA.), While otrws kat ov
compares the situation at Pergamum
with that of Israel exposed to the
wiles of Balaam ; opoiws at the end
of the sentence emphasizes otras, and
keeps the parallel still in view. The
general sense of vv. 14, 15 would have
been clearer if the Apocalyptist had
written : @omep yap Badadau €didackev
...oUT@s €xers Kal ov, KTA.; OY Exes
€ket KpaTovrtas...€yeis yap Kpatovvtas
thv Siayny Nixodairav.
For the Nicolaitans see note on
v.6. As to their teaching, it is clear
that they disregarded the restriction
imposed upon the Gentile Churches
by the Apostolic council held at Jeru-
salem in 49—50 (Acts xv. 29 aré-
xerOac cidwroOirwy, cf. 20 ax. tay
adicynpatev tov eidadAwv) with the
practical result that they encouraged
a return to pagan laxity of morals (ef.
v.6). Writing to Corinth some fifteen
years after the council St Paul had
occasion to argue with Christians who
regarded the eating of eiSaAd6ura as a
thing indifferent; and though he does
not take his stand on the Jerusalem
decree, he opposes the practice on
the ground that it gave offence to
weak brethren (1 Cor. viii. 4, 9 f.),
and also because of the connexion
38 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
16 tTHy Siday7v NikoXaitwy pots.
[II. 15
6 l D>
"METAVONTOV OUV"
of , / \ / >
El) oe pn, EpXOMaL GOL Tay, Kat TOAEUNnOwW [PET
15 Nixodairwv] pr rwy SP rt 7 28 38 or al Andr Ar| ouows] o picw 1 g2™®
arm-+o puicw P 12 13 17 vg! om arm? aeth ouws 130
16 om ovwy 8P x 14 28 36 49
76 gt 92 96 al vg syr Prim (hab ACQ minfre45 me syrs” arm aeth Ar)
which he regarded as existing between
idol-worship and unclean spirits (1 Cor.
X. 20-4 Ovovow Ta €Ovn Saypoviots Kal ov
Ged Oiovow, od Oedw Sé bpas Kowwwvors
trav datpovioy yiverOa); to partake of
the ‘table of unclean spirits’ (7b. 21
tparé(ns Saipoviov) was inconsistent
with participation in the Eucharist.
In the face of these facts a perverse
theory, originating with the Tiibingen
school, identifies the Nicolaitans with
the followers of St Paul; cf. Renan,
Saint Paul, p. 303 f.: “on s’habitue
a désigner l’apétre des gentils par le
sobriquet de Nicolas...ses disciples du
méme coup furent appelés nicolaites” ;
and see van Manen’s art. Nicolaitans
in Enc. Bibl. 3410 f. It would be
nearer to the truth to say that they
were the spiritual descendants of the
libertines who perverted the Pauline
doctrine and against whom St Paul
strongly protests. In the next century
these views were embraced by certain
Gnostic teachers ; see Justin, dial. 35
xpiotiavovs €avtods héyovow...Kal avo-
pots kal adéois TedeTais Kowwvovow
kal eloly adra@y of pev Tives KaOUpEVOL
Mapkuavoi, of dé OvadevTiiavot kth.
Tren. i. 6. 3 kal yap eidwddOuta aéd.a-
popws eabiovor, pndé podrvverOar vr
avToy ryovpevol...ot O€ Kal Tais THs
gapkos nOovais Kataxopws SovAevovTes
xrk. The Nicolaitans of the next
century were of this class, cf. Iren.
iii. 1. 3 “indiscrete vivunt”; Hippol.
philos. vii. 36 Nukddaos... edidacker
ad.adopiay Biov te Kat Bpocews ; Tert.
ade. Mare. i. 29 “aliqui Nicolaitae
assertores libidinis atque luxuriae.”
According to Clement Alex. strom.
iii. 4 they quoted a saying of their
founder, ére mapaypnoacba tH oapkKi
dei, and acted upon it: éxopvevovcw
avaidny of Thy aipecw atTou peTiovTeEs-
It is noteworthy that the party was
strong at Ephesus and Pergamum ;
they had established themselves at
the two most important centres in
Asia, the ‘metropolis,’ and the ancient
and perhaps still official capital.
16. petavinoov otv] There was
occasion not only for vigilance, but for
an act of repentance (on peravonooy
see v. 5). The Church was already
compromised by undue tolerance of
the Nicolaitans; she had not purged
herself of complicity with them as the
Church at Ephesus had done (con-
trast v. 6 puoets With v 15 éxers).
ei O€ un, €pXouat oor raxv KTr.| For
ei dé ph (=éav S€ uy) peravonon) see
v. 5 note; raxyv is now added, for the
niatter would brook no delay. Yet
the Lord does not say rokeunow pera
cov, but per avtrav, Le. peta TOY Kpa-
Tourrey thy dSidaxynv tav Nekodairarv ;
if the Church had tolerated the Nico-
laitans, and some of her members had
listened to their teaching, yet she
had not as a whole identified herself
with the party; ef. Andreas: ev r7
amewhy O€ 7) piiavépwria* ov yap ‘pera
cov’ dnow, GANa ‘per ekeivov, Tov
vocovvrev aviara. Toepetw peta Twos,
frequent in the Lxx., is used in the
N.T. only by the Apocalyptist (ii. 16,
xii, 7, xiii. 4, xvii. 14), and the verb
itself outside the Apoc. only in Jac.
iy. 2. The glorified Christ is in this
book a Warrior, who fights with the
sharp sword of the word; cf. i. 16,
xix. 13ff., and see Eph. vi. 17, Heb.
iv. 12. The idea of a Divine Warrior,
which appears first in the Song of
Miriam (Exod. xv. 3 mone WN mi,
equivocally rendered by the Lxx. Kv-
St are
lige {eres RN Fi PE
“ee
ee 17}
> lal ’ m e¢ / ~ / /
auTwY Ev TH poudpaia TOU GTOMATOS [MOU.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 39
79 Exwv 17
oy / / \ ~ / - ’ /
OUS akovcaTw Tl TO TvEevUa EVEL Tais exKANTiaLs.
a lol / -~ fq / lo /
TWO VIKOYTL OWTW AUTH TOU MavVA TOU KEKpUEpEVOU,
\ / > - lod / \ ? \ \ la
Kal Owow avTo Vigov NevKnv, Kal ért THY Viiov
17 ous] aures vg’™ Amb Prim | vixouwre AC | avrw (om & g2 g vg*!® syr8™)] + (Tov)
payer Px 7
(13 14) 28 (35) 49 79 (87) 91 92™% 96 al arm syrr | tov payya AC min‘re32
Ar] ex Tov wavva & 36 39 me syrr arm‘ Prim (de manna) ro «. Q Viet Amb aro Tov
Kavya 1 7 28 79 96 al aro Tov tvdov P a. r. &. rns fwys arm! | om dwow avTw 2° & 38
ptos cuvrpiBev rodeos) is associated
with the Logos in Sap. xviii. 15 6
mavTodvvau0s cov Adyos am ovpaver ek
Opovwv Baciiei@y amoropos roXemLoT?)s
...jAato. The droropuia of the Divine
Word is directed especially against
those who “turn the grace of God
into lasciviousness,” as the Nicolaitans
did. Possibly, as in v. 14, there is an
allusion to the story of Balaam (Num.
Xxii. 23, xxxi. 8).
17. TO vikovTe Oaow avT@ TOU pavva
kth. | On TO vx. 5. avT@ see v. 7,
note. Tov pavva is the partitive geni-
tive, WM. p. 247; Blass, against the
documentary evidence, discounts this
solitary instance of the gen. after
d86va as “not authentic” (Gr. p. 100,
note 3). Mavva (}!2, Aram. N3!), LXxX.
pay in Exod. xvi. 31 ff., pdvva else-
where) has passed from the Lxx. into
the N.T. (Jo. vi. 31, 49, Heb. ix. 4) and
Josephus (ante. iii. 1.6). Tod Kexpup-
pevov refers no doubt to the golden
pot “laid up before God” (Exod. xvi.
23), i.e. in the Ark (Heb. ix. 4); the
Ark itself was believed to have been
hidden by Jeremiah in a place where
it would not be discovered until Israel
was restored (2 Mace. ii. 5 ff. ; ef. the
Rabbinical traditions in Abarbanel on
1Sam. iy. 4 “haee arca futuro tempore
adyeniente Messia nostro manifestabi-
tur”; Tanchuma, 83. 2 “Elias Israelitis
restituit...uwmam mannae” ; other pas-
Sages may be seen in Wetstein). The
Apoe. of Baruch has the story in c. vi.
7 ff. and adds in xxix. 8 (ed. Charles) ;
“at that self-same time [when the
Messiah is revealed] the treasury of
manna will again descend from on
high, and they will eat of it in those
years”; cf. Orac. Sibyll. vii. 148 f.
kAnpara © ovK éxrat ovde rays, GAN’
Gua travres | pavyny thy Spoaepny dev-
koiaw odover dayovra. As for the
interpretation of the promise, its full
meaning is hardly covered by St Paul’s
Geov copia ev pvornpia, amoKxexpup-
pevn (1 Cor. ii. 7), or by Origen’s
“intellectus verbi Dei subtilis et
dulcis” (hom. on Exod. ix. 4); rather
by 76 pavva_ to Kexpuppéevov must be
understood the life-sustaining power
of the Sacred Humanity now “hid
with Christ in God” (Col. iii. 3), of
which the faithful find a foretaste in
the Eucharist but which can be fully
known only to the conqueror (Jo. vi.
31 f, 54 ff). Victorinus: “manna
absconditum immortalitas est.” Pri-
masius, followed by Bede: “panis
invisibilis qui de caelo descendit.”
»Arethas points out the fitness of this
reference to the heavenly food at the
end of a message which condemns
participation in heathen feasts: ré
vixovte SoOnva payeiv Tod pavva avri
THs dxaddprov Bpacews [sc. rav eldwdo-
Birov| v Umeoxero.
kat Sdaw@ atta Wor every xrr.]
Widos is arare word in Biblical Greek
(Lxx.°, N.T.3), where it is used to
senete (1) a piece of rock (1¥, Exod.
.25; 730, Lam. iii. 16, cf. Sir. xviii.
7 9
ae (2) a counter or voting pebble,
calculus (4 Regn. xii. 4 (5) A, Eccl.
vii. 26, 4 Macc. xv. 26, Acts xxvi. 10).
Here it is to be noted that the Widos
is white, and that it bears a mystical
q
4O
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
7 \ / \ aS \ S
OVOMa KaLVOY ‘YEYPauMEVOV, O OVOELS oidEV EL MN O
Nap Bavwv.
17 0 ovders oLdev] om o N* (hab N**) o ovd. evdev mer!
name which only the possessor can
read. Few of the solutions hitherto
proposed satisfy these conditions. The
Rabbinical tradition that precious
stones fell with the manna (Joma 8)
may have suggested the collocation
of the manna and the y7jdos, but it
carries us no further. Ziillig’s theory,
adopted by Trench, that there is an
allusion to the Urim (Exod. xxviii. 30),
supposed to have been a diamond
engraved with the Tetragrammaton,
is too purely conjectural to be satis-
factory, even if it were not open to
other objections. If we turn to the
Greek surroundings of the Asiatic
Churches, which must not be excluded,
as Trench maintains, from the field
of Apocalyptic hermeneutics, there
is a larger choice of interpretations.
Wigos may refer to the ballot thrown
into the voting urn (Ovid, met. xv.
41 “mos erat antiquis niveis atrisque
lapillis, | his damnare reos, illis ab-
solvere culpa”) or to the counters
used for calculation (cf. Apoc. xiii. 18
Wypicatw tov apiOuov); or the idos
Aevan might be the symbol of a good
time (Plin. ep. vi. 4. 3 “o diem no-
tandum candidissimo calculo”), or of
victory (Andreas, rouréort vixdcar ;
Arethas, rnv a6 tav év tois Oeatpous
kal Tots oradlots aywriConevay yvadpipov
otoay, Tois vik@oLt Tapexouerny). Or
there may be a reference to the tickets
which were sometimes distributed to
the populace and entitled the holders
to free entertainment or amusement
(ef. Xiphilin. epit. 228 odaipia yap
EvAwa pukpa dvo bev els TO O€arpov é€p-
pimret ovpBodov €xovta TO pev ESwdipov
Twv0s...apracavras Twas edet Tpos Tors
Sorjpas av’rav ameveykeiv Kal afer
TO emtyeypappevov), or to the tessera
Srumentaria or the t. hospitalis of
Roman life (cf. Plaut. Poen. v. 1. 8).
Each of these explanations, however,
leaves something to be desired; either
the Widos is not inscribed or it is
not necessarily white. Prof. Ramsay
(Hastings, D. B. iii. 751) supposes a
contrast with the parchment which
took its name (charta Pergamena)
from the city, and interprets: “the
name is written not on white parch-
ment such as Pergamum boasts of,
but on an imperishable white ¢tessera.”
“The white stone,” he writes elsewhere
(Letters, p. 302), “was, doubtless, a
tessera.” But the tessera does not
suggest imperishableness. Possibly
Widos even may refer to the en-
grayed stones which were employed
for magical purposes and bore mystic
names; see King, Engraved Gems,
p. 97 ff.: Gnostics and their remains,
passim. Magic in all its forms entered
largely into the life of the great cities
of Asia ; for its prevalence at Ephesus
see Acts xix. 19. The Divine magic
which inscribes on the human char-
acter and life the Name of God and of
Christ is placed in contrast with the
poor imitations that enthralled pagan
society.
It may be that the precise reference
will be ascertained in the course of
explorations which are still in progress
in Asia Minor and in particular at
Pergamum. Meanwhile the general
sense is fairly clear. The white stone
is the pledge of the Divine favour
which carries with it such intimate
knowledge of God aid of Christ as
only the possessor can comprehend :
cf. iii, 12 6 wkov...ypayo én avrov
TO Ovopa Tov Oeov pov...kal TO Ovopa
pov To Kawvov, and on this knowledge
as the gift of Christ see Mt. xi. 27.
The alternative is to regard the évoyza
cawov as the symbol of the new life
and relations into which moral victory
transports the conqueror, an inter-
pretation supported by Isa. Ixii. 2
pees.
II. 18] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
4I
\ ‘ lod > /; cal > > ,
Kal Twa ayyehko Two €v OQuaTeipos éxKAnoias 18
7 / / ‘ ta ~ io ipa \
ypayrov Tade Neyer 6 vios Tov BEov, 6 Exwy Tous
18 rw 2° A syrr Prim] 77s SPQ min™?¥!4 om C | Guvarerpors (-repors AC -rnpos P)]
Ovarnpa:79 me Ovareipy 1 7 8 g 16 1g 23 al Ovaripy (-pa) Q g vg Prim (Thyatirae)
me | om exxAnoias A
c
kadécet ge TO Gvowa TO Kawwov 6 O
Kupios ovouaoe. aro, Ixy. 15 Tois de
SovAevouai por KANOnoerat dvopa Kawvor,
and suggesting a reference to the
mysteries and the prevalent magical
rites (Ramsay, Letters, p. 306; see
also his reference to a ovv@nua re-
ceived by Aristides of Smyrna from
Asklepios, 7b. p. 312 ff.). If this view
be accepted—and it is perhaps the
more probable—the victorious disciple
is represented as resembling in his
measure the victorious Master; ef. xix.
12 €yov bvopa yeypaupevoy 0 ovdeis
oidev ef px) adres. The ‘new name’ is
one of a series of cawa which belong
to the Church (xawds avépwmos, Kawv7)
SitaOyxn, didaxyn, evrodn, “lepovoadnp,
Tiots, On, Kavos ovpavos Kal Kaw)
agen 2 Cor. y. 17, Apoc. xxi. 5.
Neos is used in this connexion only
in Heb. xii. 24; it is not the recent
origin of the Gospel—its vedrns, but
its xawdrns, its unfailing freshness,
to which attention is called. The
Christian ‘name,’ i.e. the character or
inner life which the Gospel inspires,
possesses the property of eternal
youth, never losing its power or its
joy.
18—29. Merssace TO THE ANGEL
or THE CHURCH IN THYATIRA.
18. 1@ ev Ovareipors] Some 40 miles
S.E. of Pergamum lay Thyatira (ra
Ovare;pa), a Lydian city on the bor-
ders of Mysia and sometimes claimed
by the latter (Strabo, 625 Badifovew
émi Sdpdewy wodis eoTilvy ev apirrepa
Ovdreipa...jv Mvodv eayarny tues
gaciv). It was founded by the Se-
leucidae, but since B.c. 190 it had
been in the hands of the Romans, and
was included in the province of Asia.
Though not the equal of Ephesus,
Smyrna, or Pergamum (Pliny, 7/. NV.
y. 33 “Thyatireni aliaeque inhonorae
civitates”), Thyatira was a thriving
centre of trade (Ramsay, Letters,
p. 324 ff.); the inscriptions shew that
the city was remarkable even among
Asiatic towns for the number of its
guilds (Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics,
i. p. 105), among which may. be men-
tioned the dproxima, Badeis, Bupceis,
inarevouevor (clothiers), kepapeis, Xava-
ptot, Avoupyoi, oKxuToTopoL, yXadkeis,
xarkorvro; to the Badeis there is a
reference in Acts xvi. 14 yur dvdpuare
Avdéia (was she so called as coming
from a Lydian town ?), roppupémadis
Toews Ovareipwv. There were temples
of the Tyrimnaean Apollo (Ramsay,
Letters, p. 319 ff.) and Artemis in
the city, and near it the shrine of
Sambathe (75 SayBaGeiov), an Oriental
(Chaldean or Persian) Sibyl; but Thy-
atira had no temple dedicated to the
Emperors. The Church in Th. was
probably small, even relatively to the
population ; according to Epiphanius
(haer. li. 33) the Alogi towards the
end of the second century asserted
that no Church was then to be found
there. Its dangers arose from within
rather than from Jews or pagans.
Epiphanius (/.c.) represents the place
as having become at a later date a
stronghold of Montanism. See further
the Introduction, p. lxiii. f.
rade éyer 6 vids Tod Beod xrr.] ‘O
vids tr. 6. occurs here only in the
Apoec., but the title is implied in i. 6,
ii. 27, iii. 5, 21, xiv. 1; on its import
see Dr Sanday’s art. Son of God in
Hastings’ D. B. iv. 570 ff. In this ,
place it adds solemnity to the quasi-
human features which are recited
from the vision of ch. i. For 6 éyav
rovs opOadpovs...xai of ides KrX., see
the notes on i. 14 f. This mention of
42 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [II. 18
? \ b) = ¢ / / \ e /
opbarpous avToU ws pAoya Tupos, Kal ot modes
b) Zs Uf 19 3 / Nas/; \
19 avToU buotot YaAKoN Pave. oda Tou Ta Epya Kal
\ / \ \ / \ \ / \
THY ayarny Kal THV WioOTLW Kal THY ClaKoviay Kal
\ / \ \ s/ \ /
THV vUTOMOVHY Gov, Kal Ta Epya wou Ta ETXATA
/ io / ’ 5) oy \ a ael,
20 7AElova TWY TpwTwY, *“aAN EXwW KaTa GoV OTL
18 om aurov 1° A 36 38 syré¥ arm‘ vg Prim | ¢doya] Pdof & vg™ Aamsradas 130 |
xarkw \Barw PY 7 aeramento Tyrino Quaest}? IQ K. 7. yarn K. T. WIOTW K. T-
diaxoviay N(*)c.a)-¢ ACPQ 6 7 8 24 28 29 31 36 (38) 48 49 87 alfere?s ygamfual me syrr
aeth Orit Prim Andr Ar] kat ryv misty kK. T. ayarny K. T. Siakoviay 32 5I 9O 95 K. T.
ayarny kK. T. Ovakoviay K. T. TigTW I | OM Kat THY ayarny arm | om cou 2° 49 vert
Ori™ Quaest}°? Prim | ra ecxara] pr kat 1 20 ak\ NCP 6 7 14 28 29 31 38 80 al]
adda AQ 8 13 18 19 30 33 35 36 al | kata cov]+7odv & 12 17* 36 43 Br g syrs” arm
+o\\a 28 79 80 arm! Cypr Prim-+t odvya 1 vgeoddele
the eyes that flash with righteous in-
dignation and the feet that can stamp
down the enemies of the truth pre-
pares the reader for the severe tone
of the utterance which follows.
19. oida cov ta épya kai krd.] A
fuller and ampler tribute of praise
than that awarded to the Church in
Ephesus (2: 26 my ayarny kal THY
mloTw Kat ty Scakoviay enumerates
the motive forces of Christian activity
and their most characteristic result.
Love is characteristically placed first
in a Johannine book, though faith is
not overlooked (cf. ii. 13, xiii. 10, xiv.
12); the Pauline order is the reverse
Geetha 6.7v.'8) 5-5 Tim: a. 14541, 15,
Mein 27M Lats ioe Tita 25
the only exception is Philem. 5). The
scribes, as the apparatus shews, have
endeavoured to conform St John’s
order to St Paul’s. What kind of
‘service’ is intended by dcaxovia may
be gathered from Rom. xv. 25, 31,
TeCOr Awe 5,2) Cor. vill. Alix 41,
Heb. vi. 10. The acts of service had
shewn no tendency to diminish, as at
Ephesus (ef. vv. 4, 5); on the contrary
they were still increasing in number,
“the last more than the first.” It is
noteworthy that in these addresses
praise is more liberally given, if it can
be given with justice, when blame
is to follow ; more is said of the good
deeds of the Ephesians and Thyatir-
ans than of those of the Smyrnaeans
and Philadelphians, with whom no
fault is found.
20. adN éxw kata aod ort adeis THY
yevatka leCaBer xrd.] Like the Perga-
menes, the Thyatiran Christians were
harbouring an enemy of Christ, but
their guilt seems to have been greater,
since adeis implies a tolerance of evil
which is not suggested by €yers (v. 14);
and their attitude was certainly the
very opposite of that of the Ephesians
towards the Nicolaitans; cf. vv. 2, 6
ov Ovvn Baotaca, puceis, On the
form adeis see WH.*, Notes, p. 174,
W. Schm. p. 123; it occurs already in
Exod. xxxii. 32 uxx. Jezebel (Dare,
LXX. “Ie€aBeA, Josephus IeCaBéAn,
Isabel), the Phoenician wife of Ahab
(1 Kings xvi. 31), who sought to force
upon the northern kingdom the wor-
ship of Baal and Astarte and (2 Kings
ix. 22) the immoralities and magical
practices connected with it, doubtless
represents some person or party at
Thyatira in whose doings the writer
saw a resemblance to those of Ahab’s
wife ; cf. his use of the name Balaam
in v.14. But while ‘Balaam’ is iden-
tified by the context with the Nico-
laitans, there is no such clue to the
meaning of ‘Jezebel’ There is much
to be said for Schiirer’s suggestion
(in Th. Abh. Weizsdcker gewidmet,
¥ Eee cs > ae oe
4
a ey] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 43
-~ \ =~ > / t f t \
acpeis THY YyuVaika leCaBer, 1) A€youoa EavTHy
pe \ / \ co \ 5) \ } /
Tpopntw, Kat Ol0acKel Kal mAava Tous E“ous OovAousS
~ \ - ’ / eed ~
Topvevoa Kal cayely eidwoOuTa, "kal EOwKa avTH 21
, / / \ > / ~ ’
a
Xpovov tva MeTavonon, KQaL OU BéNex MET AVONT C €E
20 ages] adynkas S°* 26 36 syrr arm Cypr™ | rnv yuvaixa]+cov AQ min® syrr
arm! Ar Cypr Prim (om NCP 1 7 36 38 95 al vg me arm? aeth Tert Quaest!™) | 7
Aeyouca N*AC] 7 Aeyec Q min*® Andr Ar rny Aeyouray K°*P 1 36 38 130 al | eauTgnv
ACP min?! syr” Prim] aurnvy SQ 7 16 40 69 | mpopyty (-recay R* -rnv PQ 7 36 87
96*)]+ ewar S*°-* yrs” arm | Kar didacKer kar Thava NACPQ min?!4% syrr (me) aeth
Andr] didackeyv kat mhavay vg Cypr Prim Ar
21 avTy] avros arm | kat ou Geet...
auTns] ex TNS Topvevas auTns Kat ov weTEvonocev I (arm) | Peder] yOeAnoey A Prim
1892), that the Thyatiran Jezebel is
the Sibyl of the SapPaGeciov (see v. 18,
note). Her shrine was situated in the
‘Chaldean’ quarter (CJG 3509 mpd
Ths TOAEws TpOs TH SapBabeio ev TO
Xaddalwv repy8odw) and she isvariously
described as Chaldean, Hebrew, Egyp-
tian, Persian, and Babylonian (Paus.
X. 12. 9 yur xXpnopodoyos, dvopa de
avr} SaBBn...0f d€ av’rnvy BaSvAaviar,
é€repot O€ SiBvAXav kadovow AiyuTtiar:
cf. Suidas s.v. Si8uAX\a; 3. Xaddaia, 7)
kal mpos Twav “EB8paia ovopatopemn 7
kat Ilepois). But it is difficult to
believe that this person, even if of
Semitic origin, could have gained
admission to the Church under the
guise of a Christian prophetess (7
Aeyouvea éauriy mpopytrw). More pro-
bably her success as a ypnopoddyos
was emulated by some female member
of the Church who claimed the gift
of prophecy and exercised it in the
interests of the Nicolaitan party (ve.
14f.); ef. Tert. de pudic. 19, “haereti-
cam feminam quae quod didicerat a
Nicolaitis docere susceperat.” In the
O.T. prophetesses are not infrequent ;
mpopyris occurs in Exod. xy. 20
(Miriam), Jud. iv. 4 (Deborah), 4 Regn.
xxii. 14 (Huldah), Isa. viii. 3 (Isaiah’s
wife) ; cf. Le. ii. 36 uv” Avva rpopares.
Moreover, notwithstanding St Paul’s
rule (1 Cor. xiv. 34 af yuvaixes év rais
ekxAnolats TryaTwoar, ov yap emiTperrerat
avrais Nadeiv, I Tim. ii. 12 didackecy dé
yuvatkt ovx émirperw), female prophets
were not unknown in the early Church;
cf. Acts xxi. 9, and the cases of Priscilla
and Maximilla (Eus. H. &. vy. 14) and
Ammia (7b. 17). This Jezebel of the
Thyatiran brotherhood was still teach-
ing when the Apocalypse was written
(d:dacxec), and making converts to her
immoral creed ; with mAava rods €nots
dovAovs comp. Me. xili. 22 éyepOnoovrat
yap...evdorpopirat...mpos Td adro-
mavav ei Suvarov tovs ék\exTous.
Topvevoacis here perhaps significantly
placed before dayeiv cidwdobuTa, as
justifying the use of the name Jezebel;
ef. 4 Regn. ix. 22 ai mopveiat lefaSer.
The well supported reading ry yuvaixa
cov (Vg. uxorem tuam) was perhaps
suggested by 3 Regn. xix. 1, xx. (xxi.)
5, 7, 26; the Angel of the Church is
regarded as the weak Ahab who allows
himself to be the tool of a new Jezebel.
Grotius, who accepted this reading and
believed the Angels of the Churches
to be their Bishops, was driven to the
strange but logical conclusion that
the false prophetess was the wife of
the Bishop of the Church at Thyatira.
21. kal €Swxa avty xpovov xri.]
Arethas: éya, dyciv, 6 pw) bédwv rv
@avatov Tov auaprwAod adda Thy éemt-
aotpopiy (nrav, €Swxa avr peravoias
kaipov. On this use of wa ef. Jo.
Xiil. 23 €AnAvdev 7) wpa iva Soka GF,
xvi. 32. The evil had been going on
for some time (cf. 7 13, note), not
necessarily, however, at Thyatira, since
the prophets were itinerant, though
44 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [II. 21
a / Soe 92? \ / > \ > /
22 THS Topvelas avTHs. “idov Barrw avTHV Els KAWHY,
\ \ / 5) 3 ~ > / /
KQL TOUS MOLYEVOYTAS MET @UTHS ELS ON MeyaAny,
\ \ / a“ sf > la \ \
23 €av My METAVONTOVGLW EK TWY Epywy avTHS: Kal Ta
/ > ~ > ~ 5) / \ /
Tekva avTHS aroKTevw év OavaTw:- Kal yvwoorvTat
qn e ip e/ / ’ € 5 los \
TAOAL al EKKANTIAL OTL EY ELL O EpavvwY vecpous
21 mopyias SA | autns] TavTns & 22 coov]+eyw 1 arm | BadAw AC 1 all
syrr vg*™fual Cypr Prim Andr Ar] Badw &°* (kadw &*) PQ 38 me vg"? (mittam) Tert
(dabo) | kNwnv] puraxny A kauwov arm! luctum ‘alia transl’ ap Prim (cf. arm?) |
Beravonaovow NA] peravontwow CPQ min omn™4 | om ex 7. epywv aurns me | aurns]
avrwy A i 12 36 49* 79 g2™8 al vgcleamdemharl**lipss 4,6 syysw arm aeth Cypr Prim Andr
23 0m ka: 1° A me | 70 rexvov arm‘ | aurys] avrwv 46 88 arm! | epavywy AC] epevywy
SPQ mine™
they might settle in a locality where
the Church was willing to provide for
them; see Didache 11 f. ‘Jezebel,
who was prospering at Thyatira, had
up to the present moment shewn no
disposition to change her course (ov
Beret peravonoa, cf. Mt. xxiii. 37 ovk
nOedAnoate). Meravoeiv ex is the usual
construction in this book (ef. ii. 22,
ix. 20f., xvi. 11); elsewhere we find
peravoety aro Jer. Vili. 6, Acts viii. 22.
22. idov BadrddAw avrnv eis KAlvny
xtv.] The time for repentance having
expired, judgement follows ; Bad is
preferred to Bada, since the event is
regarded as imminent (cf. v. 5, note).
KAivn may be either a bed (Mt. ix. 2,
6, Me. vii. 30), or the couch of a
triclinium ; or even (Hort) the funeral
bier. Ramsay (Zirp. 1901, p. 99 ff.
and in Hastings, D. 2B. iv. 759), and
J. H. Moulton (Zap. 1903, ii. p. 431)
adopt the second meaning here,
supposing the writer to refer to
the guild-feasts. In this case there
is a sharp contrast between the
luxurious couch where the sin was
committed and the bed of pain (Ps.
xl. (xl) 4 éml Kdivns ddvvns adrod)
which the parallelism eis @Adpw peyd-
Anv Obviously suggests; cf. Sap. xi.
16 80 ov ris apapraver, dia rtovtev
xodd{erat. BddAdko does not imply
violence, but merely the prostration
of sickness, cf. Mt. dc. mapadurixdv
emt KAivns BeBAnuevov, Kal rovs por
xXevovtas per auTis : ef. xvii. 2, xviii.
3. Moxevovres suggests a reference
to the charges of unfaithfulness laid
against Israel by the O.T. prophets
(see Hosea ii. 2 (4), Ezek. xvi. 17 f,,
32). Members of the Church who were
led into pagan vices by the teaching
of ‘Jezebel’ were guilty of spiritual
adultery (cf. 2 Cor. xi. 2). °?Eav py
petavonoovoclw €K TOY Epywv auTis
leaves a door of hope open still for
the dupes of the false vrophetess ; for
the fut. after éav un, see Blass, Gr. -
p. 215. Avrys is doubtless right, for
Topvela and plotxeia are Jezebel’s
works, not those of the members of
Christ (Gal. v. 19, Eph. v. 3 ff.).
_ 23. Kal Ta Teva avTIS aTOKTEVae Ev
davatw | Her children, i.e. her spiritual
progeny, as distinguished from those
who have been misled for a time;
the oméppa poryov cal mopyns (Isa.
lvii. 3), who inherit the parent’s
character and habits; contrast Gal.
iv. 19 f. The children of the Thya-
tiran Jezebel are doomed like those
of Ahab (2 Kings x. 7). ’Amoxreva
ev Oavar@ is an O.T. phrase; cf. Ez.
XXXii, 27 @avarm (1293) dmoxrevd.
Cavaros is probably ‘ pestilence,’ as in
vi. 8 f., where see note.
kal yrwoovrat racat ai exkAnoiackTA. |
Remote as Thyatira was from the
greater cities of Asia, the news would
spread through the province, and
reach “all the churches.” The phrase
II. 24]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 45
\ / \ / -~ / \ \ »f
Kal Kapdlas, Kal dOwow UMiV EKaTTW KaTa Ta Epya
é
UMOV.
Ca \ / ~ - ~
4yuiv O€ Néyw Tos NowTots Tots Ev OvarTeEi- 24
gers Ooot OUK exovoty THY dwdayny TAaUTHY, olTiwes
ouK EyVwo ay ra Babéa TOU caTava, WSs Néyoucw’:
23 kapdiay syr®” Prim | om vuw me | ra epya] om 7a C | yuo &-* ACP mint
yg fual syrr arm‘ aeth Prim Andr Ar] avrov Q 38 vgcleced4nenn me arm! Cypr
* Quaest!”? Prim om &*
24 Tots Nowra (Tous ev A. N*)] Kae ow. g2™s vgcleharitol
Quaest!? Ar Norois 2 3:17 18 96 al om arm
| Ovarecpus (-repos AC -rnpas P)
N*ee ACP] Ovarerpas 14 92 (-Typacs Q) Ovarecpy N°* Ovarnpa me Thyatirae vg
Prim | Baden ACQ min®re®? syrr Ar'**] Bay XP 1 28 36 79 Andrm™ Arcomm
yrooovra xr. is from the O.T. (cf.
eg. Exod. vil. 5 kal yv. mavres oi
Aiyirrcor ore éyo ete Kvpros), and the
same is true of 6 ¢pavydy vedpods Kat
capdias (cf. Ps. vii. 10 eragwv kapdias Kat
vedpovs 6 Geds: Jer. xvii. 10 €yd Kupios
eratwv Kapdias Kai dSoxipatwv vedpors,
Tob Sodvac éxdotm Kata Tas odors
avrov: ib, xi. 20, xx. 12). By vefpoi
(renes, ‘reins,’ i.e. the kidneys, nivo>)
are denoted the movements of the
will and affections, and by xapdia
the thoughts ; see Delitzsch, Biblical
Psychology, p. 317. Both are subject
to the scrutiny of Him Whose eyes
are as a flame of fire (v. 18), the
kapdwoyveotns of the Church; cf. Jo.
xxi. 17, Acts i. 24, xv. 8. “Epavvay
is said to be an Alexandrian form
(Blass, Gr. p. 21; ef. Oxyrhynchus
Papyri, i. 67. 18, ii. 294. 9f.); for its
use in the N.T. see WH.*, Wotes, p. 157.
‘O €pavvayv tas x. occurs also in Rom.
Vili. 27, cf. 1 Cor. ii. 10; the Lxx. use
eracew or eberagew in this connexion.
dace vpiv éxaot@ Ktd.] Not coi,
the Angel, i.e. the Church collectively,
but duiv: ‘to you, members of the
Church, even to each individual.’
Another Divine prerogative (Ps. lxi.
(1xii.) 13 av anodwoets ExaoTM KaTAa Ta
épya avrod, Jer. /. ¢.), but one which
was claimed by the Lord even in the
days of His Flesh; see Mt. xvi. 27
6 vids TOU etre. bic odsiges EKATTO
kata Thy mpakw avror.
24.- vpiv dé Néyw Tots Aourois Kr. |
‘The rest,’ i.e. the members of the
Church who had not been deceived
by ‘Jezebel, not necessarily a mi-
nority; see 1 Thess. iv. 13, where of A.
are the heathen world ; Apoc. ix. 20,
where they are two-thirds of the
whole, and xix. 21, where they are
contrasted with oi dv0. Try didaxnv
ravtny, i.e. the teaching of the pro-
phetess, whether professedly Nico-
laitan or not; cf. v. 20 with ev. 14f.
The age was one in which é:dayai wo-
kia kat €é€vac abounded (Heb. xiii. 9).
‘Doctrine’ is an unfortunate render-
ing, suggestive of a logical system
rather ‘than a heterogeneous mass
of wild speculations and loose views
of life.
ow > » ‘ , fa
oirwves ovK €yvaoav ta Babéa Tov
carava] A definition of the faithful
borrowed from the taunts of the
Jezebelites; they were such as (cf. i. 7,
note) “knew not the deep things,” were
lacking in the intuition which pene-
trated below the surface of things, and
reached the deeper mysteries of the
Nicolaitan creed: depths, the writer
adds, not of God (1 Cor. ii, 10 ra Ba@n
rou Oeov) but of Satan (cf. ii. 9, 13;
iii. 9). ‘Qs A€youew, sc. of kparotrres
rhv diSaynv tavtny: “‘the deep things,’
as they speak” or “as they call them.”
The term, perhaps taken over from
St Paul i 1 Cor. d.c., Rom. xi. 33,
Eph. iii. 18) was used by more than
one Ginintic sect in the second century ;
ef. Iren. ii. 21. 2 “profunda Bythi
adinvenisse se dicunt”; 22. 3 “pro-
46 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[II. 24
’ DID) Q o > / 5 e 5)
25 00 Baddw ed vuas ado Papos, anv O ExETE
oe N
26 KpaTnoare aypt ov ay n&w.
26 \
a \
Kal O VIKWY Kal O
meal ! \ of / esti 2 ,
THPWV aypl TEANOUS TA Eepya JOU, owow auT WwW €€ovolay
24 Ba\\w ACP minP44 syr Andr Ar Vict (mitto)] Bakw SQ (1) 10 14 28 33 37
47 49 82 gt 92 96 vg syrs” me Prim
1° 7 16 38 69 98
funda Dei adinvenisse se dicentes”;
Hippol. philos. v. 6 émexadecay [oi
Naaconvoi] éavtovs yrywartikovs, pac-
Kovtes ysovoe Ta Babn YWOCKELY 5 Tert.
adv. Valent. 1 “nihil magis curant
quam occultare quod praedicant (si
tamen praedicant qui occultant)...si
bona fide quaeras, concreto vultu,
suspenso supercilio, ‘Altum est’ aiunt.”
They professed to commiserate those
who remained in ignorance of their
secrets: Tert. de res. carn. 19 “vae
qui non dum in hac carne est cogno-
verit arcana haeretica.”
od Baddrw ef’ tpas Gro Bapos| A
searcely doubtful reference to the
Apostolic decree in Acts xv. 28 edogev
..pendevy mréov émitiderOar vpw Bapos
mv TovT@Y Tay emavaykes, aTexerOat
eldwdobUTov...kai mopveias. The rest
of the prohibitions imposed in the
year 49-50 (dméyeoOa...aimatos Kai
muixrav) are notreimposed. Contrast
this wise concession with the exacting
spirit of the Pharisees: Mt. xxiii. 4
deapevovow dé hoptia Bapéa kal €mite-
béaow eri Tovs Byovs TAY avOporar.
25. mAny oO exeTe Kpatnoate KTA.]
After ov Baddo@...dAdo Bapos the
reader expects wAnv followed by the
genitive (Gen. xxxix. 6, 9, Me. xii. 32,
Acts, é.¢.); but a@Xo is left standing
by itself, and Any begins a new
sentence as a conj.(‘howbeit’). Neither
0 éxere NOY Kparnaare can well refer to
burdens already being borne ; rather
they point back to v. 19 Ta épya kal
Thy ayanny «th.: ef. iii, II Kpates oO
éxeis: & single decisive effort seems
to be indicated by -xpatnoate. “H&o
may be either the future ind. or the
conj. of the aor. 7éa (ef. W. Schm.
25 axpe SC 14 15 82 (axpes PQ min?! Andr
Ar)] ews A 47 | av n&w] avotw Q 2 8 13 14 29 82 93 al miserear aeth
26 om Kat
p. 109, n. 10); on the ‘supposed fut.
conj. in the N.T. see WH.? Notes,
p. 179, W. Schm. p. 107.
26f. Kal 6 vixov Kal 6 tTnpav KTA.]
Primasius rightly: et gui vicerit et qui
servaverit. He who conquers is he
who keeps, but the art. is repeated to
emphasize the two conditions of suc-
cess. At Thyatira the battle was to
be won by resolute adherence to the
‘works of Christ,’ ie. to the purity of
the Christian life, as opposed to the
‘works of Jezebel’ (v. 22 ra epya
avths). Tnpetv (a Johannine word,
Ey.18, Ep. 17, Apoc.") is usually fol-
lowed by rév Adyov or Tas evTodds: Ta
épya presents the same thought in a
concrete form (cf. Jo. vi. 28 ra épya
rov Oeov). ‘Works’ are in these
addresses to the Churches constantly
used as the test of character; ef. ii. 2,
5 £, 19, 22 £, il, 1 Less
rédovs corresponds with aypse od av
néo, v. 25; cf. Me. xiii. 7, note.
dec atte éEovctay kth.| The con-
struction reverts to that of vv. 7, 17,
as if the sentence had begun 7@
vikavTte Kal T@ Typodvyte: comp. the
similar anacoluthon in iii. 12,21. The
promise is based on Ps. ii. 8 f. ddc@
cot €Oyn Tv KAnpovopiav wov...ToLyuavets
autos ev paBd@ o1dnpa, ws oKkevos
Kepapéws cuvtpiyers adtovs, Where the
Lxx. read DYN as DY (romaveis),
while M. T. has pyon (Symm. ovy-
tpives s. cvvOdaces). Cf. Apoe. xii.
5, XIX. 15. Tloavet, Prim. pascet,
Vulg. reget, ‘will do the part of
the zocunv, whether in the way of
feeding (BdcKcew, Jo. xxi. 15 ff.) or
of ruling (“pastoraliter reges,” as
Hilary on Ps. ii. 9 well expresses
II. 29]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 47
as. \) ~ 26 ie 4 \ ~ > \ > e/ P rd
é€ml TwWY EUVWY, Kal 7Oluavel auTOUS EV pap @ 27
~ \ / \
oiOnpd, ws Ta TKEUH Ta KcpauiKa ouVYTpiBEeTaL, Ws
> \ af \ and / ~
Kayw eiAnpa mapa Tov TaTpos jou
~ \ / \ os /
auTo@ TOV aoTEepa TOV Tpwivoy.
aS dwow 28
oS Ss
"90 EXwWY oUS 20
\
Kal
/ / MI ~ / ~ /
akoveaTw Ti TO mMvevua Evel Tals é€xKAnCTiats.
26 om em &* (hab N**)
27 Kat Toimavel...ws] wa Trouaver...kat ws syré |
Totmawew 130 | cvvTpiBerat SAC 17 36 38 4o &1 80 81 130 9 Syré"] cuvTpiBnocerar PQ
min*ere5? yg (me) syr (arm) aeth Prim Ar
it). Here the second point is em-
phasized by ev (instrumental) paSdo
adnpa. The “rod of iron” (O3Y
913) is “the shepherd’s oaken club,
developed on the one hand into the
sceptre (Gen. xlix. 10), and on the
other into the formidable weapon”
(Cheyne, Psalms, p. 6; cf. Hastings,
D. B. iy. p. 291); in the latter case it
would be capped with iron, and capable
of inflicting severe punishment. Such
is its character in the Psalm, 7. ¢.;
the Gentile nations are to be shattered
like pottery by the Divine Shepherd
of Israel. Ta oxevn Ta Kepapixa, 1.€.
Tov Kepapews, cf. Vg. vas siguli; for
kepauixos cf. Dan. ii. 41, LXX. ‘Qs
kay® eiinpa mapa rov tartpos pov
carries on the reference to Ps. ii.
(cf. 2. 7 Kupios eirev mpos pé Yids
ov et ov, eyo onpepov yeyevynka we).
The Only Begotten Son imparts to
His brethren, in so far as their son-
ship has been confirmed by victory,
His own power over the nations; ef.
Mt. xxy. 21, 28, 1 Cor.vi. 2, Apoc. xx. 4,
xxi. 5. On the contrast between this
promise and the outward conditions
of life at Thyatira see Ramsay, Letéers,
p. 332, li. 4of. Historically the pro-
mise fulfils itself in the Church’s in-
fluence upon the world; no other
voluntary society can be compared
with her as a factor in the shaping
of national character and life, and the
individual disciple, in proportion as
he is loyal, bears his share in tlie sub-
jugation of the world to Christ; ef.
Rom. xy. 18 xatewpyacato Xpiaris 80
enov eis Urakony ebvev. But the deeper
fulfilment of this promise, as of the
rest of the series, awaits the Parousia ;
cf. Le, xix. 15 ff. eyévero ev t@ eraveh-
Geiy avtov AaBivTa tiv Baoeiay Kai
cirev hovnOjvar ait@ tors SovdAovs,..
kat eimev..."loO. eEovciay eywv erav
deca (wévte) wéAewv. The new order
must be preceded by the breaking up
of the old (cuvrpiBera), but the pur-
pose of the Potter is to reconstruct ;
out of the fragments of the old life
there will rise under the Hand of
Christ and of the Church new and
better types of social and national
organization.
28. Kal deow alto roy dorépa Tov
mpwivoy] The conqueror is not only
to share Christ’s activities; he is to
possess Christ. The ancient expo-
sitors offer a choice of interpreta-
tions ; the morning star is “the first
resurrection” (Victorinus), or it is
the fallen Lucifer put under the feet
of the saints (Andreas, citing Isa.
XIV. 12 was e&€mecev €x TOU ovpavod oO
éwopopos, and adding dv decew vo
ToUs Todas TaY TMLOTaY émnyyeATat); OF
it is Christ Himself (Beatus: “id
est, Dominum Jesum Christum quem
numquam suscepit vesper, sed Jux
sempiterna est, et ipse super in luce
est”; and Bede: “Christus est stella
matutina qui nocte saeculi transacta
lucem vitae sanctis promittit et pandet
aeternam”). The last explanation is
surely right, on the evidence of the
Apocalypse itself; see xxii. 16 eyo
€iut...0 daTHp 6 Aaumpus Ompwives. If
the Churches are Avyviac and their
IDLE
48 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Til x
I Kat to ayyé\o THs ev Capdcow éxxAynotas
Ries, \ € \ J -
ypanlov Tade Never 6 EX wv Ta ENTA TVEVUUATA TOU
ms \ \ ¢e \ > /
Geou Kal TOUS ETTTA ag TEpas.
Nees \\> -5/bs ef
odd wou Ta Epya, OTL
III 1 rys] rw syrr Prim | om exxAnovas syr | ore 1°] cae Q 6 8 14 29 g2*** gs al Ar
Kat ore syr8¥ arm* Prim
angels aorépes, the Head of the Church
may fitly be the aornp o mpwivds, the
brightest of stars, whose advent ushers
in the day; cf. 2 Pet. i. 19 €ws ov
nuepa Svavyacn Kat poodopos avareiy
ev tais*Kapdias vor. Thus the pro-
mise points to the Parousia, and yet
does not exclude the foretastes which
are given to the faithful in the growing
illumination of the mind and the oc-
casional flashings upon it of the yet
distant light of “the perfect day”
(Prov. iv. 18).
Iii. 1—6, Tur AppRess To THE
ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN SARDIs.
I. ths év Sapdecw] A little over 30
miles §.E.S. of Thyatira the messenger
would reach Sardis (Sdpétes, Sapdecs,
Sapdts, Sardis), now Sart, the old
capital of Lydia, lying at the foot of
Mount Tmolus. Under Roman rule
it recovered some of its ancient im-
portance, becoming head of the local
conventus (Ramsay, Hist. Geogr.
p. 120); and though in a.p. 17 it
suffered severely from an earthquake,
through the liberality of Tiberius
(Tac. ann. ii. 47) Sardis rose rapidly
from its ruins, so that Strabo (625) is
able to characterize it as médus peyadn.
Like Thyatira, it was famous for its
woollen manufactr ures and dyeing in-
dustry (cf. Smith, D. B. p. 1140), and
the ancient system of roads of which
it was a meeting-point secured for it
the trade of central Asia (cf. Ramsay,
Hist. Geogr. p. 42 ff., Encycl. Bibl.
4286). The chief cult of Sardis was
that of Cybele, two columns of whose
temple are still visible (Murray,
Turkey in Asia, p. 305). The in-
habitants bore a bad name in antiquity
' for luxury and loose living, as indeed
did the Ly dians generally (Herod. i. 59,
Aesch. Pers. 41). The Church of
Sardis lingered to the fourteenth cen-
tury, but did not play a distinguished
part in Christian history; among its
early Bishops, however? appears the
name of Melito (fl. 165—195: Hus. .
E. iv. 13, 26; v. 24), the earliest inter-
preter of the Apocalypse. See the
Introduction, p- Ixiv.
rade Reyer 0 6 ex@v «th.] Cf. ii. eran
0 Kparav Tovs emta dorépas. . Here
éyov is preferred to «pardy because
Ta émta mvevpara precedes. Not only
are the churches in the hand of
Christ, but the spirits also belong to
Him; it is His to guide or withhold
the powers of the mvetpa Cworrorov, On
which the life of the Churches depends.
The Ascended Christ ‘has’ the spirits
of God in virtue of His exaltation,
cf. Acts il. 33 vwadeis thy Te emay-
yeXlay TOU Tvevpatos TOD dyiov haBov
mapa TOU mar pos eLexeev TOUTO, Eph.
Iv. 7 f. vi b€ Exdor@ nov edn 9 7 xapus
Kara TO JLETPOV THs “Sapeas TOU Xpearov
xrA. A further view of the relation of
the seven Spirits to the glorified Christ
is given in ¢. v. 6, where see notes.
old cov Ta épya, Ort KTA.} On oida
o. tT. €. See li. 2 note. Here the words
introduce almost unqualified censure :
the Church at Sardis presented to the
eye of Christ the paradox of death
under the name of life. For the constr.
dvopa exerts OTe (ns cf. Herod. vii. 138
ovvojia etye Ws em “AOnvas eRavvet, and
for the general sense 2 Tim. iii. 5
€xyovres poppacw evoeBeias rHv de Svva-
pu avTijs Hpynjsevot. Kai vexpos et: ef.
Mt. vill. 22 des rods vexpovs Oayra
Tous €avTay vexpor's, Le. xv. 24 ovros
6 vids pov vexpos Hv Kat avétnoev, JO.
V. 25 &pyetat wpa kal viv €or ore
of vekpol...Qjcovow, Rom. vi. 13
Pe ay @ 44 ee
BIT; 2) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 49
vl af e/ ~ \ \ m 4 / -
menue 2
Gvopa exes O71 Gis, Ket vexposcety *yivouypnyopey,
Kal oTnpioov Ta Nowra a EuEehov arroOavety: ov yap
/ Sf / > / - =
eUpnka cou epya memAnpwueva evwTiov To ObEod
2 yevou 130 | ornpicov ACP 93* 95 96%" al (-Sov RQ 1 14 37" 80 al)] rnpnoov g
13 25 27 28 29 30 al syr*" | rous Aowrous a syr arm* | eveA\ov SACP mines (-dev
I 2(7) 16 vg syr Vict Prim Ar -\Xes Q (nu.) 268 14 19 91 (94 97) alP'42° (me) syrs™) |
amobavew SACP 1™% 7 38 al™ vg me syrr aeth (-Ovnoxew 28 36 79 Ar)] aroBad\ew Q
268 14 (gr) 95 alP'4” (-Barew 17 49 91 96) | evpyxay Q | epya AC 1™] pr ra NPQ
minfreomn Andr Ar
@oel €k vexpavy (avtas. Sardis, while
retaining the Christian name, had
relapsed into the state of spiritual
death from which Christ had raised
her (Eph. ii. 1, 5; Col. ii. 13). Victo-
rinus; “non satis est Christianum
dici et Christum confiteri, ipsum vero
in opere non habere.”
2. yivov ypnyopar, kal ornpicoy KTA. |
After vexpos e¢ we expect the call
avaora ek Tov vexpov (Eph. y. 14). But
amid the general reign of spiritual
death Christ detected vestiges of life,
though they were on the point of be-
coming extinct (ra Nowra a EwedAov azro-
Oaveiv). There was therefore still room
fora final appeal. For yivov yp. (Syr.s¥
was sag) See ii. 10 note: an effort
must be made to restore vigilance,
and to maintain it when restored ; on
yenyopewv cf. Me. xiii. 34 note. The
word is frequently on the lips of
Christ in the Synoptic narrative of the
last days of His intercourse with the
Twelve. It has been pointed out that
it is specially suitable in an address
to the Church at Sardis; twice during
the history of that city the acropolis
had fallen into the hands of an enemy
through want of vigilance on the part
of its citizens (viz. in B.c. 549, 218;
see Hastings, D. B. iv. 49; Ramsay,
Letters, p. 376 ff.); and a similar
disaster now threatened the Church
of Sardis from a similar cause. But
more than vigilance was needed;
the Church must set herself to work
for the establishment of any faith,
love, or works of piety that were left :
ef. Ez. xxxiv. 4, 16 ro nodernkis ovuK
Ss. R.
evuoxvoare...To exkhurov evicxvow KA.
Ta Aowrd=Ta eAeyupeva, not = Tos
Aoumovs (v. 4), but more generally,
whatever remained at Sardis out of
the wreck of Christian life, whether
persons or institutions: all must be
preserved and set on a firmer basis—
a principle of reconstruction worthy
of the notice of Christian teachers
who are called to deal with corrupt
or decaying branches of the Church.
Srnpifew, like BeBaody and Gepedioor,
is a technical word in primitive pasto-
ralia; ef. Acts xviii. 23, Rom. i. 11,
EVA 25,0 Dh. Ub 2, 13, 2 hone
3, Jac. v. 8, 1 Pet. v. 10, 2 Pet. i. 12.
This frequent reference to the need
of ornprypwos in Christian communities
planted in the heart of a heathen
population will readily explain itself
to those who are familiar with the
history of Missions.
On the form orypicoy see WH."
Notes, p. 177; W.Schm. p. 105, Blass,
Gr. pp. 40, 42. “A éwedAdov dvobaveiv:
the imperfect looks back from the
standpoint of the reader to the time
when the vision was seen, and at the
same time with a delicate optimism
it expresses the conviction of the
writer that the worst would soon be
past; for another explanation see
Burton § 28. The plural is used
because the things that remain are
regarded as living realities ; on the aug-
ment see W. Schm. p. 99, and on the
aor. inf. after peAAw, Blass, Gr. p. 197.
ov yap etpnxa cov épya xrhd.| Cf.
Dan. vy. 27 Th. éoraén ev fvy@ kal
evpeOn votrepovoa. Works were not
4
50 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[IIL 2
/ eo: - af \ Sf
3 mou: Suvynpoveve ouv Tws EetAndas Kal nKov~as, Kal
/ \ / Dhak o \ / e/
TNPEL Hee He HOne OY: €av ony un ONY Opies i
¢€ > Cos) c t >
ws KNETTHS, KaL OU MH YVwS TOLavy woay nEw eT CE.
2 om wou i 81 161 syr’” arm Prim
3 eynmovevoov 130 | om ouvy 1° & 14 syr8¥
arm aeth Prim Ar | yxovoas kat etAnpas syr&” | om xac Type Q 2 6 14 49 al*tmu
aeth'*t Ar | ovy 2°] de 36 syr8¥ Prim | ypnyopnons] petavonons S* (yp. S°-*) (me) arm
Prim perav. kat wn ypny- met | n&w]+emre ce SQ min?! ygeleamiipss4,6 syrr arm Ar |
yvws CP 1 10 28.31 32 36 37 48 49 51 80 81 gt 96 161 Ar] yrwon NAQ 2 7 8 14 29
35 38 al vg (nescies) Prim (non scies) | rovav] aay & | nia gs
wanting to this Church, but they
lacked the mAnpwpa which makes
human actions acceptable in the sight
of God; in some unexplained way
they were ‘deficient’ Cf. the use of
mArnpotoba in Col. ii. 10 eore ev avt@
memAnpopevor, and the Johannine
phrase iva 7 yapa vpar 7 memAnpopery
(Gow xvi, 24, 1 Jo; i 4, 2-J0. 42):
here ov...7emAnpwpéva may be inter-
preted by vexpos ef above; ‘works’ are
‘fulfilled’ only when they are animated
by the Spirit of life. Ody evpnxa recalls
Me. xi. 13 7AGev ef apa te evpnoe ev
avrn, kal...ovdev evpev ei xn Prada, Le.
Mil. 7 epyoua (nT@Ov Kaprov...kal ovx
evpioxw: the perf. implies that at
Sardis the search was not yet ended.
Lov epya, ‘works of thine,’ i.e. ‘any of
thy works’; a more sweeping censure
than o. ra é, ‘thy works as a whole’
Tov Oeov pov: cf. Mc. xv. 34, Jo. xx. 17,
Eph. i. 17, Heb. i. 9, and the phrase 6
Oeds Kai maTnp Tov Kupiov yar I. X.
(Rom. xv. 6, etc.; see Hort on 1 Pet.
i. 3). The Son of God (ii. 18) does not
forget that He is also Son of Man, and
as such stands in a creaturely relation
to God. Yet this relation is in some
sense unique, 2s pov shews (not nav);
cf. Jo. l. c. Gedy pov Kai Oedv tpav.
3. pynuoveve ovv mas etAnhas KTA. |
Ody resumes and coordinates, as often
in the Fourth Gospel (Blass, Gr.
p. 272 f.) and in the Apoc. (i. 19, ii.
5, 16, iii. 19). In order to stimulate
the Church in her work of self-
recovery, her thoughts are sent back
to the first days; cf. the appeal to
the Church at Ephesus, ii. 5 pv. ody
cay
moOev mémtwxes. EiAnpdas represents
the faith as a trust; cf. Mt. xxv. 20 fff.
o Ta wévre TaAavta AaBay...0 Ta duo...
0 TO €v TadavToy eiAndas: I Cor. iv. 7
Ti dé yes 0 ovk €AaBes; Even the Son
confesses (ii. 28), EiAn@a mapa tov
Tatpos pov. EtAndas kat jkoveas: the
aor. looks back to the moment when
faith came by hearing (Rom. x. 17,
cf. 1 Th. i. 5 f., ii. 13); the perf. calls
attention to the abiding responsibility
of the trust then received. Tnpet kat
peravonoov: ‘keep that which thou
hast received, and promptly turn from
thy past neglect.’
eay ody B1 ypnyopnons KTA.| Ody is
again resumptive, looking back to
v. 2 yivov ypnyopev, to which the
succeeding imperatives (arnpivor, pvy-
poveve etc.) are subordinate. “Hé@ ws
kXerrns, not speedily only (rayv, ii.
16), but stealthily, at an unexpected
moment. For the figure cf. Mt. xxiv.
43, Le. xii. 39, 1 Th. v. 2, 2 Pet. iii. 10;
Apoc. xvi. 15. Kdémrns is doubtless
preferred to the less ignoble Ayoris,
because the point of comparison is the
stealthiness of the thief’s approach.
In His relation to the faithful the Lord
is the opposite of both (Jo. x. I, 7).
Kal oU pi) yas kth.] On od pn yrds
see Blass, Gr. p. 209 f.; yuoon (&Q)
is a grammatical correction. The
whole sentence is another echo of the
Synoptic tradition; ef. Me. xiii. 35
ovk oldaTe yap MOTE 0 KUpLos THs oikias
épxerat, Le. xii. 39 ef 75et...mola dpa o
kdérrns epxerat, eypnyopnoer av. Tlotay
opav (Prim., Vulg. gua hora), strictly
‘during what hour’; but the acc. is
oe ee
>
4
t
’
a1T.."5 |
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 51
\ f Soh ? / « >
4aAa Eyes Oriya ovouata év Capderiv a ovK 4
/ \ / ’ ~ \ /
€uoAuvay Ta luaTia aAVTOV, Kal TEplTaTHTOVTW MET
> ms > ~ of / / >
éuou év evkois, OTL aELol Elow.
on /
50 VIKWY, OUTWS 5
4 adda] aX PQ min?! om 1 al" arm | exw me arm | ev Lapdecw] pr kat 1 Prim |
a] «117 28 37 38 46 79 80 81 88 161 vg mearm Tert Prim Ar | avtwy] eavrwy C+ cum
mulieribus me aeth | om per euov arm
5 ourws S*AC min”? vg me syrr arm aeth
o
Prim] ovros X*"PQ 1 6 7 8 14 (16) 28 29 31 34 36 38 47 48 50 al
used occasionally even in classical
Greek in answer to zére; (see Blass,
Gr. p. 94).
4. dda Eyes oAlya ovopata ev
Sapdeow xrd.] Beatus: “notandum
est quod Dominus ait: Multi sunt
vocati, sed pauci electi; et pusillus
est grex cui compromittit dare here-
ditatem.” Bede: “proprias enim
oves vocat nominatim.” For ovo-
para=‘persons,’ see Acts i. 15 dxAos
évopdrayv, Apoc. Xi. 13 dmextavOnoar...
évopara avOparev. Deissmann (Bible
Studies, p. 196 f.) shews that €xacrov
dvona was freely used in papyri of the
second century A.D. in the sense of
‘each individual.’ OZ is a needless
correction; the sense is clear from
the context (€uoAvvay, aéwi eiow).
Ovk euodvuvay ra ivaria atdroy: even in
days of general defilement they re-
mained pure. Modvvey differs from
puaivew as inguinare from maculare
(Trench); in the Lxx., while peaivew
usually represents legal defilement
(N1DD), podvve (5y33, Sap) stands for
actual pollution, as with blood (Gen.
XXXVI 31, Isa. lix. 3, Thren. iv. 14)
or with pitch (Sir. xiii. 1). Here the
reference is doubtless to heathen im-
purities into which the Sardians had
plunged, spiritual deadness having
issued in indifference to moral evil.
For the metaphor j. ra iparia see Jude
23 pucodrvres Kal Tov amo THs capKos
€omA@pevoy yit@va, Apoc. Vil. 14, XXii.
14; the inaria of the Christian life
are the profession made in Baptism
(Gal. iii. 27) which at Sardis had been
besmirched by too many in the mire
of the streets. The few who had
kept them clean and white (cf Tob. iii.
15 ovK €“oAvva TO Gvoud mov...€v TH yn
THs aixpwadwotas pov) should be suitably
rewarded: wepurarjcovow per €uod ev
Nevkots (SC. iwariow, cf. Mt. xi. 8 év
padakots, and see vv. 5, 18, iv. 4; Latt.
in albis). For the general sense of
the promise see note on the next
verse. In repirarncovow there may
be a reference to the story of Enoch
(Gen. v. 22 DTONTNN Di Plal 7PM,
LXX. evnpéatnoev de “Evox TO Gea, but
Aq. wepierdre. ody tr. 6.), but more
probably the writer has in view the
peripatetic ministry in Galilee (Jo. vi.
66), and the call Sevpo dxodovder por.
GE Wile 75 SAV: 15-4
“Agioi eiow: contrast c. xvi. 6.
’A€vorns In the good sense is else-
where in this book attributed only to
God and Christ (e.g. iv. 11, v. 9): but
a relative ‘worthiness’ is predicated
of the saints in Le. xx. 35, Eph. iv. 1,
Phil iti 27;. Coli: roj-n Thieme
gd be
5. 6 vik@Y, ovTwS TeptBadeirat KTH. |
The promise of v. 4 is repeated in
general terms, corresponding with
those of the promises appended to
the other messages to the Churches.
‘The conqueror, whoever he may be,
shall be clad after the manner afore-
said (for this use of ovrws cf. xi. 5,
ovtas dei avroy droxtavOjva: Jo. iv. 6,
exadelero ovrws, is not apposite, nor
is there any need to read otros for
ovrws), ie. clad in white garments.’
On the Roman use of the white toga
see Ramsay, Lxp., 1904, ii. 164. In
Scripture white apparel denotes (a)
festivity (Eccl. ix. 8 év ravri capo
éotwoay ivaria cov Aevkai.e. ‘be always
gay’), (0) victory (2 Mace. xi. 8 eda
4—2
52 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[1Il. 5
~ ? ¢ / = \ \ /
mepiareiTa év uatiows AeuKots, Kat OU py Eade w
\ af b) 7 5) Cw if om > \ €
TO dvoua avTou ek THs BiBAov THs Cwns, Kat Opo-
/ \ oS > / lal y
NoyiTw TO Ovowa avTOU Evwirloy TOU TaTpOS MOU
\ 5) / o~ if vod
6 Kal évwriv Twy ayyeéNwy avToU.
6s / 3:
oO €exXwWV OUS
> / / \ =~ / a /
akovoaTw Ti TO mvevua Eyer Tals exKANoLaLS.
4 \ = > I > 2 Wi 5) /
7 Kat Tw ayyeNw Tis Ev Piraderpia EKKANoO Las
5 mepiBadderar C syrr | evwmrov 1°] eumpocdev & | ev Ty BiBdw QI
7 THs] Tw
Prim | ev Bidadergua SCPQ (-pera min?!)] Philadelphiae g vg syr®" Prim | exxAnowa A
mponyovpevos adtay edurmos €v hevk7
€oO7qTe KTA.), (C) purity (Apoe. vii. 9 ff);
(d) the heavenly state, Dan. vii. 9 Th.
TO évOupa avTov woe xidv AevKOV; SO
iApoes iv. "4; Vit 11, xix. 11, 14); All
these associations meet here: the
promise is that of a life free from
pollution, bright with celestial glad-
ness, crowned with final victory. The
glory of the risen body may enter into
the conception; see Mt. xiii. 43, 1 Cor.
XV. 43, 49,. 54, 2 Cor. v. 2, Phil. ili. 21,
Enoch Ixii. 15 f, xe. 32.
TlepiBadreoOat occurs again with a
dat. but without év in c. iv. 4; for the
construction mepi8. resee Vil. 9, 13, X- I,
Rl MALT, XVI ARVIN. 16, XK... 0035
kal ov py e€adreiyo TO bvopa avTod
-xtA.| A Divine register of men is
mentioned first In Ex. xxxii. 32 f.
eEddewov pe ek THs BiBAov cov js
éypayas. As a civic register contains
only the names of living citizens, so this
Book of God is a BiBdos Cavray (Ps.
Ixviii. (Ixix.) 29), the ‘living’ being in
this case the righteous (Mal. iii. 16, Dan.
xii. 1). The conception established
itself in Jewish thought (1 Sam. xxv.
29, Ps. Ixviii. 29, cxxxviii. 16, Neh. xii.
22 f., Isa, xlviii. 19, Jer. xxii. 30, Ez.
xiii. 9, Enoch xlvii. 3 (where see Charles’
note), Pirge Aboth 2, Targ. on Ez.
i. c.), and appears in the N.T. (Le. x.
20 Ta dvomaTa UpaY evyeypanTat ev ToIs
ovpavois, Phil. iv. 3 oy Ta dvopata ev
BiBrA® Cons, Apoc. xiii. 8, XX. 15, xxi.
27). The blotting ont of names from
the Book of Life is frequently referred
to; beside the passages cited above
see Deut. ix. 14, XXV. 19, XXIxX. 20.
Ov €€adeiyyo implies that the book is
in the hands of Christ; ef. xiii. 8, xxi.
27 év TH BiBriw ths (wis Tov apviov.
This promise is singularly appro-
priate at the end of the present
message. The ‘few names’ in Sardis
which are distinguished by resisting
the prevailing torpor of spiritual
death find their reward in finally
retaining their place among the living
in the City of God.
kal Opohoyiow To Gvopa avTov KTA. |
A further grant to the conqueror.
Not only shall his name be found in
the register of the living; it shall be
acknowledged before God and His
Angels. Another reminiscence of the
sayings of the Ministry (Mt. x. 32, Le.
xii. 8); 6 wav here answers to da7us
(ds Gv) dpodoynoer ev epyot (Mt., Lec.).
The reverse of the picture, 6 dé dpynaa-
pevos pe...amapynOnoerat, is mercifully
withheld; even in the message to
Sardis the last note is one of unmixed
encouragement and hope. “Eve@mtov
Tov matpos pou: Cf. v. 2 ev. tT. Oeov pov.
7—13. THe MeEssAGE TO THE
ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN PuHILa-
DELPHIA.
7, ths év PAadeAdia] After a run
of alittle less than 30 miles from Sart
the railway from Smyrna reaches Ala
Shehr, ‘the white city,’ the modern
representative of Philadelphia. The
ancient city, founded by Attalus IT.
(Philadelphus) who died in B.c. 138,
commanded the trade of the rich
yoleanic region lying to the N. and
>,
TI: 7]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 53
/ cy € G ? ae
ypawvov Tade Never 0 &ytos, 6 aAnOwwos, 6 Exwv THY
~~ G > \ \ / \
Krew Aaveid, 6 dvoiywy Kal ovdels KNELoeL, Kal KNELwY
7 0 ayos o adndwos CPQ min*reo™™ yg me syrr arm aeth Prim Ar] o adnfwos o
ayios SA | rnv KNew (om Tyv N*)) tyv Krecda 1 al™ | Aavecd] adov 7* 16 33 45 codd
ap Andr et Ar tov rapadeccov arm pr rou SPQ min*reo™ Andr Ar pr tov oxov me |
0 avovryw] kat av. % Or} | KNecoec] Krecee r 6 31 36 49 Q2™£ al vg (me) syrr arm Prim
+aurnv Q min®+e un o avovrywy Q 7 14 91 93 94.95 al | om ka 3° RT A vg | om
Kat KNewwy gt | KAewy] kNevec C 31 g2™£ al g Vg syr arm anon*™
N.E.and known as the Katakekaumene
(Burntland), from the cinders and
scoriae with which the ground was
strewn. Philadelphia itself was sub-
ject to frequent shocks of earthquake
(Strabo, 628 wodis bradeAdera ceicpav
mAnpns); like Sardis it was rebuilt by
Tiberius after the great earthquake
of ap. 17 (Tac. ann. ii. 47), and sub-
sequently it bore on coins for a
time the name of Neocaesarea, but
the old name reasserted itself or
perhaps never went out of common
use. The city was not a large one,
the fear of earthquakes driving most
of the inhabitants into the surrounding
country (Strabo, Z. c.), and the Church
was probably proportionately small,
at least within the walls. As was
natural in a vine-growing district, the
worship of Dionysos was the chief
pagan cult; but the difficulties of
this Church arose from Jewish rather
than pagan antagonists, and the mes-
sage contains no reference to direct
persecution from without or heresy
within the brotherhood. It offers a
strong contrast to the Sardian utter-
ance which precedes it; for the
Church at Philadelphia the Lord has
no censure and scarcely a word of
warning. It is interesting to note
that in later times, “long after all the
country round had passed finally
under Turkish power, Philadelphia
held up the banner of Christendom”
(Ramsay, Letters, p. 400). The modern
city has its resident Bishop, five
churches, and about 1000 Christian
inhabitants.
rade Neyer 6 Gytos, 6 adnOivos] ‘The
Holy, the True,’ Vg. sanctus et verus;
not, as Arethas, o aAnOwis ays, ‘the
True Saint.’ Cf. vi. 10 6 deamorns 6
ay.os kal adnOwos. ‘O adyos, a Divine
title (Hab. iii. 3, Isa. xl. 25), is applied
to Christ with the qualifying words
tov Oeov or mais tr. 6. in Me. i. 24,
Jo. vi. 69, Acts iv. 27, 30, and here
absolutely. ‘O adAn@wos is used of Him
again in iii. 14 6 murrds Kal adnOwos,
XIX. II micros KaXovpevos Kal adnOwos.
’AAnOwos is verus as distinguished from
verax (adnOns); ef. Orig. in Joann.
t. ii. 6 mpds avridtactoAny oKias Kal
TUmov kat eikovos, 1.e. the ideal, con-
trasted with all imperfect representa-
tions or approximations; see Jo. iv.
37, Vii. 28, viii. 16, and see Lightfoot
on i Th. i. 9, Westcott on Heb. x. 22,
and Trench, syn. 8. The Head of the
Church is characterised at once by
absolute sanctity (Heb. vii. 26 rovotros
yap juiv erperev apxiepevs, Sovos akaxos
dplavros Keywpiopévos aro TOY auapTw-
Aor), and by absolute truth; He is all
that He claims to be, fulfilling the
ideals which He holds forth and the
hopes which He inspires.
6 €x@v THY KAeiv Aaveid xrr.] Cf. Isa.
xxii. 22, where it is said of Hezekiah’s
faithful vizier (2 K. xviii. 18 ff.), Eliakim
the son of Hilkiah: ddcw ry xreida
oixov Aaveid emi Tod @pov avrov, kat
avoiger kat ovK €otat 6 drox\eiwy Kat
Keioes Kal ovK €otat o avoiywy (codd.
Qr, with M.T.). Eliakim, with his key
of office (Andreas, cvpSorov ris e&-
ovaias) slung over his shoulder, is the
antitype of the exalted Christ, set over
the House of God (Eph. i. 22, Heb.
iii. 6), and exercising all authority in
54 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
\ 5) ) 7
8 Kal ovdels avoiryel.
0 ber:
Soida wou Ta Epya: iooU dédwKa
’ i , / ? / rat ’ \ /
évwridv cov Ovpav dvewyuernv, nv ovdes duvaTat
~ / J \ af / \ I /
KA€loal aVTHVY* OTL PLKPaY ExELS Ouvapuy, Kal ETHPHoas
7 avovyer] avoter (X)Q min*® me Ar
8 ra epyalt+Kae Tuy micrw me | dedwxa]
+0 130 | avewypnerny ACQ min?] nvewynevny RP 31 35 38 87 | nv] kar r g2™S alPaue
om & 49 vg | om aurny & 49 vg arm Prim | pixpay] pr ov 38 waxpay 14
heaven and on earth(Mt. xxviii.18), and
even in Hades (Apoc. i. 18, cf. Rom. xiv.
9, Phil. ii. 9 ff.). Thy KAretv Aaveid, ef.
v. 5 7 pi¢a A., xxii. 16 1) p. Kal TO yévos
A.; the reference to David recalls the
long series of prophetic hopes now
fulfilled in the exaltation of the Christ.
Compare Mt. xvi. 19 dec oo Tas
kAeidas tis Bacideias Tey ovpaver.
The grant to the Church in the person
of St Peter is less comprehensive, for
the keys of the Kingdom unlock but
one of the great areas of the House
of God; moreover it is significant
that the Lord does not say to him 6
€av kAelons...kKAecoOnoeTau: 0 eav avoiEns
avotxOnoera, but 0 éav Snons, 6 eav
Avons, changing the metaphor; the
supreme power of shutting and open-
ing is kept in His own hands (cf. Mt.
xxy. Iof, and comp. the Te Deum:
“tu devicto mortis aculeo aperuisti
credentibus regna caelorum”). The
ancient interpreters blend the present
passage with c. vy. 5 ff, and thus
unduly limit the meaning of this
power: cf. Hippolytus (Lag. 159): ra
pev ovv mada eodbpayiopeva viv dia THs
xXapitos Tot kKuplov TavTa Tois ayiows
qvéwyer: adros yip fv n Tehela oppayis
kal kdels 7) exkAnoia [? TH exxAnolal, 6
ayotywy Kal ovdels KNele...08 Iwavyns
héyetr kat maduy 6 avtos dyno Kai eidov
...SiBALov...eoppayiopéevov. On kdew
=kheida see i. 18 note; the v./. ddov
for Aaveié is from the same passage.
8. oida cov ra épya] No description
follows as in ii. 2, 19, iii. 1. The Lord’s
oiéa is here one of unqualified approy-
al (Andreas : rovréotw, dmodéyouar),
needing no specification, since there
are no deductions to be made. This
tacit witness is the more remarkable
in view of His claim to be 6 days,
6 adnOuvos.
idov dédaxa ev. o. OUpay dvewypernv
ktv.] The ‘key of David’ has already
unlocked a door, which nowstandsopen
before the Church. Cf. Isa. xiv. 1 f.
dvoiEw éumpoa bev avtov Oupas, kat TOAELS
ov auvkdeccOnoovrat... Ovpas yadkas
cuvtpiyo kal poxdovs atdnpovs ouv-
k\adow. The metaphor of the ‘open
door’ was familiar to the Apostolic
age: cf. Acts xiv. 27 (the door of faith),
1 Cor. xvi. 9, 2 Cor. ii. 12, Col. iv. 3 (the
door of speech and preaching); see
Lightfoot on Col. Zc. The latter is
here probably in view (Arethas: 7
Tov OwWackadtkod Knpvypatos etoodos) ;
the faithfulness of the Philadelphian
Church found its reward in fresh
opportunities of service, on the prin-
ciple of the Lord’s familiar saying
“Os exer dobncerat avrg. The position
of Philadelphia on the borders of
Mysia, Lydia and Phrygia, and “on
the threshold of the eastern country”
(Ramsay, in Hastings iii. p. 831;
Letters, p. 404 ff.), gave this Church
peculiar opportunities for spreading
the Gospel. If she had already
availed herself of these, the ‘open
door’ would readily explain itself;
her opportunities were to be regarded
as Christ’s gift (6éS@xa) and she was.
assured of its continuance (ovdeis
dvvatat KNeioae avTny).
“Ore puxpav €yers Ovvayuy resumes the
thread broken by the parenthetic
clause (Sod ddaxa...Kreioar avtnv. “I
know thy works...that thou hast” ete. ;
cf. oida...6r¢ In ii. 2, IT, 25.) The
Church had little influence in Phila-
delphia ; her members were probably
drawn from the servile and com-
4
Ly
i
III. 9]
/ \ > hy \ » /
pou TOV NOYoV Kal OUK NpYyTw TO OVOMa pov.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 55
%tdouU g
con a ~ a - = /
O10@ €k THS TUvaywyns TOU TaTava, TwY NEyOovTwY
\ > / i Ys \ ? \ 5] \ /
€avtovs ‘lovdaious e€ivat, Kat ovK elolv adda Vev-
\ / \ e/ / \
SovTat—ioov Tromaw avTous iva iEovew Kat TpoTKU-
/ ’ / lo ~ \ ad /
VHOOVOLY EVWITTLOV TWYV 1 OOWY JOvV, Kal YVWOLV OTL
g didw AC] ddwue PQ min™ 4 dedwka & dabo vg Prim | nfwo. Q min”! Andr Ar
néw 1 | mpooxuynowow Q 7 14 38 91 95 130 al Andr Ar | ywow ACPQ 1 6 7.38 gt 95
al?! syr arm aeth Andr Ar] ywoorra: 15 36 syr8""'4 ywwon & 14 arm Prim + 7avres me
mercial classes; cf. 1 Cor. i. 26 ov
mo\Aot duvaroi. And under these cir-
cumstances (for the slightly adversa-
tive force of cai see WM. p. 545, Blass,
Gr. p. 261), the word of Christ had
been kept (ef. ii. 26, iii. 3), and there
had been no backwardness in confess-
ing His name (for ovx dpveicOar see
li. 13). ’Ernpnaas, ovx npvnow, point
to some period of trial, now for the
moment gone by; its character may
be conjectured from the next verse.
9. iSovd ddd ex THs cuvaywyns KTA.|
Andreas: ¢é£es, gnoi, pucdov ris
Opodoyias Tov e€uod ovopatos THY TOY
Iovdaiwy éemiotpodny te Kal peravo.ay.
The opposition implied in erypyoas
kal ovK Hpvnow came at Philadelphia,
as at Smyrna, from the Jews ; cf. ii. 9
oida...r7v BXacdnpiay cx Trav heyorvTwr
*Jovdaious eivat éavTovs, Kal ovK eicir,
GANA cuvaywy) Tov carava, a descrip-
tion repeated here with the addition
of ad\A& Weddorra, which contrasts the
Philadelphian Jews with 6 adn@wos
(v. 7): they are Wevddrupor, and their
claim is a sin against truth. The
construction is broken by the ex-
planatory clauses trav Neyovtwy xrh.,
but starts afresh with (Sod romow
avrovs. For d:d6vac and sroceiy in this
sense see Blass, Gr. p. 226, and for
the form 886, WH. Notes, p. 174.
“Iva nEovow Kal mpooxuryymovew xr.
is a phrase borrowed from Isaiah
(xlv. 14, xlix. 23, lx. 14, ef. Zech. viii.
20 ff.); the prophet’s anticipations of
the submission of the Gentile nations
to Israel will find a fulfilment in the
submission of members of the syna-
gogue (on éx r. a. see ii. 9, note) to the
Church, the Israel of God. Tpooxu-
vey evariov trav today describes the
cringing attitude of a beaten foe,
familiar to us through the Assyrian
sculptures ; in what sense the picture
was realized in the conversion of Jews
and pagans may be gathered from
1 Cor. xiv. 24, where an azu.cros enter-
ing a Christian assembly éAéyxerac
Um0 TavT@Y...Kal oUTws Teco emi
mpocwmrov mporkuynoe TO bed, array-
yedrAov ore” Ovrws 6 Beds ev vyuiv eoriv.
It is noteworthy that twenty years
later the Philadelphian Church was
more in danger from Judaizing
Christians than from Jews (Ign.
Philad.6 éay S€ ris iovdaiopov éEpunvedy
viv pH akxovere avtov* duewov ‘yap
é€otw mapa avdpos Teptrouny exovTos
xpiotiamopov axovew 7) Tapa axpo-
Bvorov lovdaionov). Was this the result
of a large influx of converts from
Judaism in the previous genera-
tion ?
For other instances of the fut. ind.
after iva in the Apoc. see vi. 4, II,
WAN, 3) es 4 hey RU. TS > Ve,
14; and cf. Blass, Gr. p. 211 f.
kal yrdoow ott eyo Hyarnod oe} The
change to the aor. conj. perhaps indi-
cates that the purpose of the whole
action now comes into view. Both
the phrase iva...yvdow and the words
eyo jyarnod oe are from Isaiah ; for
the former see Isa. xxxvii. 20, xly. 3,
et passim; for the latter Isa. xliii. 4.
The aor. (contrast i. 5 r@ ayaraévrc)
carries the love of Christ for the
Church back into an indefinite past;
50 THE
5) 5) / A
10 eyo nyamnoa Ge.
UTTOMOVNS MOU,
APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[III. 9
10° ’ / \ / ~
OTL ETNpHTas Tov oYyoyv THS
/ , > c/ lad
Kayw o€ TnPNTwW EK TNS Woas TOU
- ~ / of \ > > /
TEWAT MOU THS peNAoveNs Epxer Oat €7l THS OLKOUMEVNS
e ‘ \ ~ ? \ = a
OAs, TEATAaL TOUS KaTOLKOVVTaS ETL THS YN.
112 Y ’ Ql e/ Se /
11 “€pyouat Taxv' KpaTel O Exes, Wa pnoels Aan
g om eyw Q min*® Prim Ar
Io ort] ka A pr kat 33 | om Typycw N | om 77s
wpas me | Tous KaToikouvtas] pr mayTas me
II epxouat] pr cdov 28 36 97 al
ygfudem harllipss arm geth | wa pndes AaBn] wa uy AaBy Tis Taxv 7 16 45.
cf. Jo. xiii. 1, 34, 1 Jo. iv. 10, where
see Westcott’s note.
10. éru érpnoas rov Aoyoy THs UT0-
ovis pou] Not ‘my word of patience,’
ie. my commandment to exercise
patience, but ‘the word of my
patience,’ i.e. the teaching which found
its central point in the patience of
Christ; cf. 2 Th. iii. 5 ry vmopovny
Tou xpiorov, Heb. xii. 1 f. dv varoporns
Tpéxopev...apopartes eis... Ingody...0s
imépewev oravpov, Ign. Rom. 10 €p-
pwabe eis tTédAos é€v vmropovn “Incov
Xprorov. The vmopovn rev ayiov
(Apoc. xiii. 10, xiv. 12) is the echo
of the Adyos THs Uroporns Tov xpioTod.
Kayo oe tnpjow: by the benigna talio
of the Kingdom of God (as Trench
observes) one rypnors is followed by
another; Christ on His part (the kai
of reciprocal action, as in Mt. x. 32
dpodoynow Kayo ev ait@) pledges
Himself to keep those who have kept
His word. Cf. Jo. xvii. 6, 11 roy
Aoyov gov TeTHpykay...maTep ayLe, TH-
pyoov avrovs. The promise, as Bede
says, is “non quidem ut non tenteris,
sed ut non vincaris [ab] adversis.” ’Ex
THs Opas Tov Teipacpov THs pweAdovons
épxecda: ‘from that season (cf. Sir.
XViii. 20 &. emioxom7s, Dan. xi. 40 od.
ouvrercias, Apoc. XiV.7 7 0. THs Kpioews)
of trial which is coming upon the whole
habitable earth’; ie. the troublous
times which precede the Parousia.
In the foreshortened view of the
future which was taken by the Apos-
tolic age this final sifting of mankind
was near at hand, not being as yet
clearly differentiated from the im-
perial persecution which had already
begun. Cf. Andreas: ryv dpay d€ tod
Telpagpov* ElTe WS aUTika Taperoperny
THY Tov aceBav THs Pouns TO THYiKavTa
Bacikevoavrey Kata Xpiotiavay Siokw
elpnkev...1) THY emt TuYTEAEla TOU aidvos
TAYKOG MOY KATA TOY TLTTOY TOU avrt-
xplorov Kivnow eye. To the Phila-
delphian Church the promise was an
assurance of safekeeping in any trial
that might supervene—an appropriate
promise, see Ramsay, Letters, p. 408 ff.
It is at least an interesting coin-
cidence that in the struggle with the
Turk Philadelphia held out longer
than any of her neighbours, and that
she still possesses a flourishing Chris-
tian community ; see note on @. I.
The phrase of xatoixodvtes ent Tips
yis (in LXX.=]7JN7 °30") occurs again
in vi. 10, Vill. 13, XL 10) Gxilig Sams
xvii. 8, and always, as it seems, means
either the pagan world or the world
in contrast with the heavenly state.
Of. Enoch xxxvii. 5, with Charles’ note.
Il. &pxoua tay’] The great ze
pacpos will be followed by the Pa-
rousia, and the Parousia is near (cf.
ii, 16, xxii. 7, 12, 20) The short
ness of the interval is urged as a
motive for persevering: the Advent
is the limit of the Church’s vopovn.
kpdret & éxeus xtA.] The promise
of safekeeping (v. 10) brings with it
the responsibility of continual effort
(kpdret). Hach Church has its own
inheritance (6 ¢yers), which it is called
to guard on pain of losing its proper
crown (rov orepavoy gov: cf. 2 Tim.
iv. 8 dméxecrai pow 6 THs Sikavoodyns
PEE See,
Pepe NT
’
III. 12]
\ / /
TOV orepa VOV @ou.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
57
as rd / > \ /
O VIKWY, TOLMOwW avTOV aTVAOY 12
> ~ lad cal Y 49F: > \ ’ / »/
€v TW vaw TOU Geov pov, Kat EEw ov py EEENOn ETL
/ ret \ \ of - - \ \
Kal yparw €7T aUTOV TO OVOMa TOU Jeou fou Kal TO
/ la / - - — - >
dvoua THs TOAEwWS TOU BEov pov, THs KaLVHAs *lepou-
!
12 avroy 1°] aurw &* (-rov R“*) | om ev R* (hab &“*) | om pou 1° 11 29 36 syré™ |
om ers & ms arm | om em avrov C 28 | om tov Geov ov kat To ovoua Q | om Kae To
ovoua ans Toews Tou Peov ov I 12 syr*" | Geou 3°] marpos me
orépavos—on orépavos see ii. 10 note),
which may be taken from it and given
to another; cf. Mt. xxv. 28 apare ody
adm avrov TO tddavroy Kal déte TO
éyovre ra dé€ka radavra. AaBy, Prim.
accipiat, not adéAnra or adapracn ;
the picture is not that of a thief
snatching away what is feebly held,
but rather of a competitor receiving
a prize which has been forfeited. The
vacant room left by. the lapse of a
Church may be filled by the rise of
another; cf. Rom. xi. 17 f.
12. 6 viKav, Tomow attoy atvdov]
The discourse turns, as at the end of
each address, to the individual mem-
bers of the Church. ‘O vkév...avrdv,
cf. ii. 26, iii. 21 ; the anacoluthon may
in this case be “very awkward” from
the grammarian’s point of view (Blass,
Gr. p. 283), but it adds to the move-
ment of the sentence; it is only
necessary to write rov vikéyta Troujow
orvdoy in order to see what we have
gained by the boldness of the Apoca-
lyptist. In orvAov é€v ro vad a refer-
ence has been found to the brazen
pillars ‘Jachin’ and ‘Boaz’ which
stood before the sanctuary in Solomon’s
temple (1 K. vii. 15, 21, 2 Chr. iii. 15 ff.);
or to the porticoes of the Temple of
Herod, or even to the magnificent
colonnades which surrounded the
Artemision at Ephesus. All these,
howeyer, are excluded by év ré vad,
for they were external to the sanctuary.
It is better therefore to start with
the metaphorical use of the word in
Scripture and in Jewish and early
Christian literature. In Prov. ix. 1
we read: 7 codia olxoddunoey eat
olkov, kai vmnpewev orvdous éxra (cf.
Jud. xvi. 29 rots dv0 Kiovas Tov olkov
ep’ ovs 6 oixos fiorjxer). In the N.T.
the word is used as a pure metaphor,
see I Tim. iii. 15 exxAnoia...aTvAos Kal
édpaiwpa ths adnOeias, Gal. li. 9 “Taxw-
Bos kat Kndas kai Iwavns, of Soxotvtes
otvAo. etvac; cf. Clem. R. Cor. 5 of
péyeoroe kat Sixacoraroe otvAor. The
personal use is common in Rabbinical
writers, by whom a great Rabbi is
described as poly 7312Y (Schoettgen on
Gal. 7. c.). There is a double fitness
in this metaphor ; while a pillar gives
stability to the building which rests
upon it, it is itself firmly and per-
manently fixed; and this side of
the conception often comes into view
(cf. Isa. xxii. 23, lvi. 5, Sap. iii. 14
SoOjaerar yap avt@...KAjnpos ev va@
Kvpiov), and is paramount here. With
év to va cf. Vil. 15, XXi. 22, notes,
and for rod Geod pov see iii. 2, note.
"E&q ov pr) e€€AOy Ere: Contrast xxi.
27, xxii. 15. As the pillar cannot be
moved out of its place while the
house stands, so a lapse from goodness
will be impossible for the character
which has been fixed by the final
victory. A Avyvia may be removed
(ii. 6), but not a arvaAos.
kal ypayrw én’ avrov To dvoua KT. ]
Each pillar in the sanctuary (Arethas:
emt Tov vontrov orvAor) is to be inscribed
by the hand of Christ with three
names, the Name of God, the name
of the new Jerusalem, and the new
name of Christ. (1) The Name of
God was ‘put on’ every Israelite in
the priestly blessing (Num. vi. 27
eriOjcovew To Gvoua pou ert Tovs viods
‘IoparA); on members of the Israel of
58 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
poche ec
/ / a ~~ \ ~
cadne, 1 KaTaBaivov7a €K TOU ovpavov amo TOU
a \ \ / \ /
13 Geou Mov, Ka’ TO OVOMA MOU TO KQLVOY.
13 rexy/ a
oO EX WY Ous
> / / \ lo t ~ > /
adkovoaTw TL TO TvEevUa AEyEL Tals exKAnoLaLs.
\ ~ / la /
14 4Kal Ta ayyeAw trys €v Aaodikia éxkXnoias
12 9 KataBawovoa S*AC(P) 1 12 15.25 28 37 40 45
51 130] 7 kataBawee Q minP!
Andr Ar rns kataBawovons N°* | ex] aro 2 6 7 16 29 31 35 al Ar om 7 | om pov 5°Q
6 7 14 38 95 130 al?! vg arm
13 ous] aures vgfudem g]
14 Tys ev Aaodixta
exkdX. RAC (PQ -xeva) 7 94 al Andr Ar] rns exkd. Aaodikewy 1 eccl, Laodiciae vg me
syré¥ arm aeth (Prim)
God it is to be inscribed by the Spirit
of the great High Priest (cf. 2 Cor. iii. 3
€oTe emLoTOAT Xpiorod...evyeypaypevn
...mvevpatt Oeod (dvros), i.e. their lives
and characters are to be dominated
by the sense of their consecration to
the service of God as He is revealed
in Christ. (2) The name of the new
Jerusalem (cf. xxi. 2 tHyv modkw THY
aylav eldov “lepovcaAnp Kawny), the
successor of the old Jerusalem which
was already of the past, not however
a vea “I. like Hadrian’s Aelia, but
a kawn, instinct with the powers of
an endless life (cf. ii. 17, note), and
like Christ Himself of heavenly origin
(7 kataSaivovoa xri., cf. xxi. 2, and
see Jo. vi. 33; the idea is found al-
ready in Gal. iv. 26 1) dvw “IepovoaAnp,
Heb. xii. 22 mpocedndvOare I. érov-
pavio). To bear the name of the
City of God is to be openly acknow-
ledged as one of her citizens, a privi-
lege already potentially belonging to
the members of the Church (Gal. 2. ¢.
qris é€otiv pntnp nuov, Phil. iii. 20
Nay yap TO ToXiTevpa ev ovpavots
vmapxet, Heb. 7. c.), but not as yet
confirmed or proclaimed. (3) Christ’s
new hame—ro 6voya 76 kawoyv empha-
sizes the caworns—can scarcely be one
of the names or titles familiar to the
Church from the first (Jesus, Christ,
Son: of God, the Lord, etc.); if any
such designation were meant here, it
would rather be the Johannine title
Adyos ; Chix 12 exov dvopa Yeypap-
pévoy 0 ov dels oldev €i By avTos...Kat
KekAnTat TO bvoupa avTov ‘O Noyes! TOU
deov. But the ‘new name’ of Christ
is more probably a symbol for the
fuller glories of His Person and Cha-
racter which await revelation at His
Coming (Andreas: ro év Trois dyious ev
T@ pédAovTe aide yvwpiCopevor) ; cf. ii.
17 6@0@ avTé dvoya kawov. Both the
victorious Christian and the victorious
Christ will receive a new name, i.e.
sustain a new character and appear
in a new light; c& Col ani
1 Jo. iii, 2. There are interesting
parallels in the Rabbinical writers ;
cf. Baba Bathra, f. 75. 2 “tres ap-
pellari nomine Dei, iustos, Messiam,
et Hierosolyma”; Bereshith Rabba
in Gen. xviii. 17 “ Abrahamus etiam
noyit nomen noyum quo appellanda
erat Hierosolyma.” Ignatius (Philad.
5) draws a picture which presents a
striking contrast to this: éay de...mept
"Ingov Xpictovd p17) AaA@ow, obToL €or
oTjAai eiow Kal Tao vexpav ed ois
yéyparrat povoy ovopata avépereay.
*IepovoaAnu : so the name is written
in the Apoc. (iii. 12, xxi. 2, 10); the
Gospel of St John has uniformly
*IepocoAvuua (see Introduction, c. xi).
Ramsay (Letters, p. 409 ff.) finds
in ». 12 areference to the name Neo-
caesarea assumed by Philadelphia in
honour of Tiberius.
14—22. THE MESSAGE TO THE
ANGEL OF THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA.
14. THs ev Aaodikia] Forty miles
S.E. of Philadelphia the road from Sar-
dis reached Laodicea-on-the-Lycus.
The valley of the Lycus has been
described by Lightfoot (Colossians, p.
a ae oe
[ae
hae el pe a aly OE
IIL. 15]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 59
yparvov Tade Neyer 6 aunv, 6 apTus 6 TiaTOs Kal
? / € > \ ca / ol 6 _
adnOivos, 1 dpxn THs KTicews Tov Oeor.
Solda 15
I4 0 waprus] pr kac S* (om N**) | ka adnOwos APQ min?! vg me syrs” arm aeth
Prim Ar] kar 0 adn0. SC 2 0 adnf. 7 14 16 28 45 79 80 8yr | 7 apxn] pr ac N syré”
amapxn 28 79 am apxns arm | xricews] exkAnoras N* (xr. N*) miorews 94 OM arm
I ff.), and more recently and in some
respects more fully by Ramsay (Cities
and Bishoprics of Phrygia, p. 1 ff. ;
there is a useful map in his Church
in the Roman Empire, pp. 472—3).
Laodicea (Aaodixeca in literature and
inscriptions, but in mss. of the N.T.
Aaodixia is well supported at each
occurrence of the name; Lat. Zao-
dicea, and in the N.T. also Laodicia,
Laudicia) was founded about the
middle of the 3rd cent. B.c. by Antio-
chus IT., and named in honour of his
wife, Laodice. Under Roman rule
the city flourished, and became a
centre of commercial activity. Cicero
repaired to it for monetary transac-
tions (ad fam. iii. 5, ad Att. v.15);
and the neighbourhood was noted for
the manufacture of woollen carpets
and clothing (Ramsay, Cities, p. 4o ff.).
So opulent were the Laodiceans under
the earlier Emperors that after the
great earthquake which overthrew the
town in A.D. 60-1, it rose from its ruins
without being compelled to accept an
Imperial subsidy (Tac. ann. xiv. 29
“tremore terrae prolapsa nullo a nobis
remedio propriis viribus revaluit”).
The Church in Laodicea was perhaps
founded by Epaphras of Colossae (Col.
i. 7, iv. 12f.). St Paul had not visited
the Lycus valley down to the time of
his first Roman imprisonment (Col. ii.
1), but brethren at Laodicea were
known to him by name (Col. iv. 15),
and he had addressed a letter to the
Church there (¢. 16 rhv éx Aaodixias,
unless the circular now entitled Ipods
*Eqecious is intended ; for the apocry-
phal letter Ad Laodicenses see Light-
foot, Colossians, p. 393 ff.). The ruins
which strew the site of Laodicea are
known as E£ski Hissar; it is now
without inhabitant, but a Bishop of
Laodicea is mentioned as late as A.D.
1450 (Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics,
P. 79).
rade éyer 6 aunv krd.] The personal
Amen, whose character and nature
are in themselves a guarantee for the
truth of His testimony. The com-
mentators refer to Isa. lxy. 16 moNS
YON, LXX. rov eov Tov adn Owov, Symm.
apparently, roy dedy aunv. But it is
simpler to explain 6 auyy as referring
to our Lord’s repeated use of the
formula auny apny Aéyo viv, coupled
with His assurance éya eijc...7) aAjOeva
—1 avroadnOeca, Or 7) ovawwdns adnOeca,
as the Greek fathers express it. Cf.
ii. 16, note. ‘O paprus 6 miords looks
back to c. i. 5; for 6 addnOwos see
iii. 7; 6 pw. 6 adnOivos is the witness
who fulfils his ideal, whose testimony
never falls short of the truth.
1 apx) THs KTicews tov Geod: cf.
Col. i. 15, 18 mpwroroKos macns KtTicews
...08 €oTw 7) apyn—a passage doubtless
familiar to the Church of Laodicea
(ef. Col. iv. 15). This title of Christ
rests on Proy. viii. 22, Lxx. Kupsos
extisev pe [Sc. tv copiay | apyny oday
avrod <is Epya avrov, but readjusts the
conception ; He is not, as the Arians
inferred, €v ray krecparwy, but the adpy7
THs KTivews (Andreas : 7) arpoKaTapKTixh
airia kat dxrioros), the uncreated prin-
ciple of creation, from whom it took its
origin—the principium principians,
not the principium principiatum.
The whole tendency of the Johannine
writings and of the Apocalypse in
particular (cf. Introd. c. xiv.) forbids
the interpretation ‘the first of crea-
tures” ‘H apx7 is applied to our
Lord again in c. xxi. 6 éy® rb ada
60 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[IIL 15
\ >! J Sf \ a of /
Gov Ta &pya, OTL ovTE Wuypos ef ovVTE CEerToOS.
16 dpedov Wx pos nS 1 CexTos.
c/ e/ \
6 ouTwWS OTL yALapos
15 om ort 28 152 syré” | om Wuxpos ev ouvre syr*™ | om ex &* (hab N*) | whedov
PQ | om ogedov...ferros A 1 47 | ns] ets (sic) Q 16 32
16 ovTws ort] ort ourws & om
ovTws 130 syrs” om ovr. ore arm | xAcepos N* (xAcap. R%*) 130: cf. W. Schm. p. 50
Kal TO @, 7) apxn Kal TO Tédos: cf.
xxii. 13, which adds o mpa@tos kal 6
éaxyaros. In its present connexion
7 apyn perhaps carries the further
thought of preeminence, cf. Gen. xlix.
3 ‘PouBny mpwrorokos pov, av loxvs pou
kai apy? Téxvov pov, the head of the
family as well as the first in point of
time. The Creation is subjected (Heb.
ii. 8) to the Eternal Word with Whom
it began. Tov dceod reserves the su-
preme proprietorship for the Father ;
cf. 1 Cor. viii. 6 6 marnp, €€ ob Ta mavra,
Hph. iv. 6 eis Geos Kal watnp Travrar, 6
ért mavtwv. Elsewhere 7) xriovs stands
by itself, e.g. Rom. viii. 19 f.
15. ot0a cov ra €pya, dru xtA.| The
Amen, the Head of the whole Creation,
bears witness to the condition of the
last of the Seven Churches. The
solemnity of the title prepares for a
searching and severe criticism. From
the faults of the Churches at Ephesus,
Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis the
Laodicean angel seems to have been
free. No Nicolaitans, no Jezebel,
infested Laodicea. But his error, if
less patent, was even more vital.
Judged by his works he was neither
frigid (puxpes, icy cold: ef. Sir. xliii.
20 Yuxpos avepos Bopens mvevoe. Kal
maynoera Kpvotandos ad’ vdaros ; Mt.
X. 42 mornpiov Wuyxpod), nor at boiling
heat (Cearos, am. Xey. in Biblical Gr eek,
‘boiled’i.e. boiling hot, Syr. ssassaw).
Le. the Church was neither wholly
indifferent, nor on the other hand
‘fervent in spirit’ (cf. Acts xviii. 25,
Rom. xii. II 7@ mvevpare Céovres), but
held an intermediate position between
the two extremes. Cf. Sohar, Gen.
f. 83 “tres dantur classes hominum,
sei enim vel iusti perfecti, vel impii
imperfecti, vel intermedii.”
dpedov Wuxpos As 7} ¢ecros| For
dperov (=aerov), utinam, used as
a particle and followed by a verb
in the ind., see 1 Cor. iy. 8, 2 Cor.
xi. 1, Gal. v. 12, and im the Ixx,
Exod. xvi. 3, Job xiv. 13 (={A? 2),
08.6 8) = 19), 4 Regn. v. 3,
Ps. .cxvili: (ex1x:) 5) ‘OnN) ; and ef.
Blass, Gr. p. 206 f, and W. Schm.
p. 102, note. Andreas (citing Greg.
Naz.): 6 pev yap uxpos kal Tijs Ceovans
miotews dyevotos ev eAmids modAakts
gorar Tov Tuyeiv avtas. Of. Gregory
the Great, reg. past. iii. 34 “qui vero
post conversionem tepuit, et spem
quae esse potuit de peccatore sub-
traxit. aut calidus ergo quisquis esse
aut frigidus quaeritur, ne tepidus
evomatur.” XAcapés is neither boil-
ing nor cold, ‘tepid’; like ¢eards, the
word is a az. ey. in Biblical Greek.
The yAcapés is the Christian who
is without enthusiasm (Arethas: os
perovoius €haBe mvevparos ayiov d.a Tov
Barrioparos, éoBece d€ TO Yapiopua).
Num. xiv. 2
16. ovrws dre yAuapos et kth.) A
draught of tepid water provokes
nausea, and a tepid Christianity is
nauseous to Christ (weAA@ o€ epéoat
€x Tou or. pov); He prefers the frigid
indifference which the Divine Love
has not begun to thaw. There is
probably an allusion to the hot springs
of Hierapolis, which in their way over
the plateau become lukewarm, and in
this condition discharge themselves
over the cliff right opposite to Laodicea;
cf. Strabo, 903, karayruxpd Aaobdu-
keias ‘leparroXus, érov Ta Oepna vdara.
It is but six miles across the valley
from one city to the other, and the
cliff over which the xAcapov vdep
tumbles is visible for a great distance,
ee
|
|
|
IIL. 18] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 61
i Sf \ / / > ,
el, Kal OUTE CeaTOs OUTE Yuxpos, UEM\AW TE EuETaL
? an / / 17 ef / / [] / / =
€K TOU OTOMATOS LOU. oTe eves OTL []lNovetos 17
\ / / \
€iue Kal mwemAoVTHKa Kal ovdEY ypElav EXW, Kal OUK
. \ eek \ \ \
oidas OT GU Ef 0 TaNalmwpos Kal EMELVOS KAaL TTWYOS
/ / /
Kal TudAos Kal yusvos, “cuuBovrevw Tor dyopaca 18
16 ovre 1°] ov minfre3? gyrrvid | ferros ovre Yuxpos NCQ min*re!? me syrs” arm
Andr Ar] ¥. ovre & AP 17 18 (19) vg syr®” om ro vg>*"* aeth Amb Ambrst Prim |
Wuxpos}]+ec N*(*) | weddw oe ewerar (euty N°") ek 7. oT. wou] mavoa T. oT. pw. S* | Tov
oTouaTos | THs Kapdtas me 17 om o7e 2° SPQ minre4> yged syr arm aeth (hab AC
16 17 28 31 alg vg syrs") | ovdev AC 12] ovdevos SPQ min?! Ar | cu ec o raXauwpos]
ran. ec S* | om xaz 4° gt | edewos (eAcew. SPQ min?! Andr Ar)] pr o AQ min‘re30 Ay
_ it in the course of ages.
adnGwos 130
owing to the white incrustation of
lime which has been deposited upon
The allusion
is the more apposite, since the letter
for Laodicea was practically addressed
to the other Churches of the Lycus
valley, to the Church of Hierapolis
as well as to Laodicea and Colossae.
On the hot springs of Hierapolis see
Ramsay, Cities, ii. p. 85 f.
17. Ort Néyers Gre Wovoros eipe KrA. |
The Laodicene Church was not only
tepid ; it was contented to be so, and
thought highly of its own condition.
External circumstances were favour-
able to this state of feeling ; the city
was one of the most prosperous of the
Asiatic towns (Ramsay, Cities, i.p. 38f.).
_ The Christian community carried the
pride of wealth into its spiritual life,
“T am rich,” it boasted, “and have
gotten riches (mem\ovrnka),” ie. my
wealth is due to my own exertions.
Cf. Hos. xii. 8 (9), efmev "Eppa
TIAny memAovrnxa, eUpnxa avayruyiy
enauvT@, Zech. xi. 5 evAoynrds Kipuos,
kai memAoutnkapev, I Cor. iv. 8 dn
kexopecpevor eoté; On é€mAouTHoaTe ;
In ovdev xpeiav exw, ovdev is the ace.
of reference (cf. Blass, Gr. p. 94, and
cf. Petr. Ev. 5 ws pndev rovov éywy) or
of content (Blass, p. 91, where however
the note should be cancelled) ; oddevds
is an obvious correction, ef. 1 Th. iv. 12.
The Church brags like a nouveau
riche, but in complete ignorance of
the true condition of affairs.
ovk oldas bre ov Et 6 Taaimwpos KTH. |
Contrast Christ’s oiSa (v. 15). Sv is
emphatic, ‘thou that boastest,’ and the
article that precedes the predicates
(cf. Blass, Gr. p. 157) strengthens
the picture: ‘it is thou that art
the (conspicuously, pre-eminently)
wretched’ ete. For tadairwpos ef.
Rom. vii. 24, and for éXeewds ‘pitiable’
see Dan. ix. 23, x. 11, 19 (Lxx.), 1 Cor.
XV. 19 €Neewworepot mavrwy avOparrwy
eopev: the form ¢dewds, given by AC,
is perhaps to be preferred here ; see
however Blass, Gr. p. 23. The next
three adjectives state the grounds for
commiseration; a blind beggar (ef.
Mc. x. 46), barely clad (Matt. xxv.
36 ff, Jac. ii. 2, 5; for this sense of
yupvos cf. Jo. xxi. 7), was not more de-
serving of pity than this rich and self-
satisfied Church. On rrexés see ii. 9,
Me. xii. 43, note; the mrwyxds is the
direct opposite of the mAovatos, ef. Le.
xvi. 19 f., 2 Cor. vi. 10. It is possible
that each of the epithets alludes to
some local subject of self-complacency.
On other local allusions see the next
note.
18. cupSovtei@ vor ayopaca ot
SupBovrevew (rwi) is to give counse
(Exod. xviii. 19, Num. xxiv. 14, 2 Regn.
Xvii. 11, 15, Jo. xviii. 14); cupBovdrev-
ecOa, to take counsel together (Sir. ix.
62 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[III. 18
Fy qn / > \ €
si €{40U xpuotov Ge lal mais EK TUpOS iva 7 Nou-
THONS, Kal imate NevKa iva mrepiany Kal
pavepw6h y aloyuyn
KoANoupiov = éyXpioat
\
bn
4
THS yUMVOTNTOS Gov, Kal
\ /
TOUS 6pOadpous gov wa
18 map enov xp. SACP 1 28 36 49 79 al™4 g vg syrr] xp. Tap euov Q 6 7 8 14 29
38 alfere30 me Ar om zap euou 31 34 35 87 97 Prim | ex wupas Q | wepiBadrdy 13 14 28
79* 80 87 92 Ar | aoxvvy] acxnuoown P 1 36 | Koddoupioy AP 10 17 30 32 36 49 51 81
gI (130)] KoA(A)upcoy NC(Q) 2 6 7 8 14 31 35 (38) 82 87 g2*** alfre?? Ar al kovA(A)ouprov
(1) 28 29 79 (802) | eyxpeoae S (evxp.) AC 7 16 18 28 36 45 syr8"] eyxpicov P 1 49 79
gt 92™8 96 130 al Andr wa eyxpion Q (-cec) min?4%° Ar | om Tous of8. cou syr®”
14, Isa. xl. 14, Mt. xxvi. 4, Acts ix. 23).
There is perhaps a reference to Isa.
ly. I dcoe pr) exere dpyvpiov...dyopa-
gate...dveu apyupiov kat tins: for
adyopacat map enor cf. 2 Esdr. xx. 31
ovUK ayopapev map avtav, and for
ayopa¢ew in this metaphorical sense,
Mt. xxv. 9 f. The allusions to local
conditions are here even more dis-
tinct. Xpvoioy presents a contrast to
the wealth of the Laodicene rpazre-
Cirac; iuaria Aevkd, to the black fabric
for which the neighbourhood was
famous (Ramsay, Cities and Bishop-
rics, p. 40 “a fine kind of wool, soft in
texture and glossy black in colour,
grew on the Laodicene sheep...a kind
of small cheap cloak...was manufac-
tured at Laodicea and called Laodicia,
or amd@ ipatia”); While xoddovpioy
probably refers to the school of
medicine attached to the neighbour-
ing temple of Asklepios, and the eye-
powder (réppa @pvyia) used by its
physicians (Ramsay, p. 52). It is
possible to make too much of these
coincidences, which may be in part
accidental, but at least they are
interesting and suggestive.
As to details. With remvpmpeévov
ex smupos, cf. Ps. xvii. (xvili.) 31
Ta Roya Kupiov memup@peva, Prov.
xxiv. 28 (xxx. 5); the thought is of
purity attained by removing dross (cf.
Ps. Ixy. (Ixvi.) 10 émtvpwoas jas os
mupovta To apyvpuov, Zach. xiii. 9, Isa.
i. 25 mupeow [oe] eis KaBapor), per-
haps with reference to the frery trial
which attends the process (ef. 1 Pet.
i. 7 1TO Sokipuov vpoy TS mioTews
TONUTYLOTEpOY ypuGiov...dva upos...
SoktaCopévov). °Exk mupos is nearly =
aro or vo 7., but hints at the metal
coming out of the fire intact. “Iva py
davepwOy xrd.; an O.T. idea, cf. Exod.
xx. 26, Nah. iii. 5, Ezek. xvi. 36 ; there
is perhaps special reference to Hzek.
XXili. 29, LXX. KoAAovpioy (or koAdv-
ptov, cf. Boissonade, anecd. i. 237,
collyrium Hor. Sat. i. 5. 30, the
nodp of Jewish literature), a di-
minutive of xoAAvpa, is (1) a small
roll of bread (3 Regn. xii. 24 ff.),
(2) from its roll-like shape, a kind of
eye-salve made according to Celsus
(vi. 7) from the poppy, the acacia, and
other flowering plants ; here possibly
used with reference to the local
powder already mentioned. For ey-
xplew of applications to the eyes see
Tobit ii. 10 (8), vi. 9, Xi.7; itis Instruc-
tive to compare the construction of
the verb in Tobit with that employed
here ; cf. Jo. ix. 6 (eméxpicey AD).
With regard to the interpretation,
the gold which is to be acquired is
doubtless faith with its accompanying
works (Le. xii. 21 eis Gedy mAovrar,
Jac. li. 5 wAovolous ev miore, I Pet.
i. Zc. 1 Tim. vi. 18 mAoureiy ev Epyors
xadois); the white raiment is a life in
Christ unspotted by the world (Gal.
iii. 27, Jac. i. 27), which alone can
escape disgrace under the fierce light
of the Parousia (2 Cor. vy. 10); the
eye-salye which stings while it heals is
IIL. 20]
Brérns.
/ ss \ / q
GAeve ovv Kal ueTavonoov.'
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
63
> AVY / \ - / \ /
Méyw doous Eav Piiw ENeyyw Kal TawEvw* 19
> A cd 5) \
°ldou EoTHKa ETL THY 20
1g ogous] ous vg syré” Prim | eay] avy & 36 | Smreve ACQ min?2* Ar] f\wrov XP
1 altm Andr {dou 6 11 31 Snryoov gt | om ow 7 12 16 28
the edeypos of the Holy Spirit (Jo.
xvi. 8 ff.), which destroys self-deception
and restores spiritual vision. ‘To buy
these from Christ is to seek His gifts
at the cost of personal ease or self-
esteem: cf. Phil. iii. 7 drwa jv por Képdn,
Taira Hynpa Sia roy ypioroy Cnuiay.
19. €y@ dcous eay PirG xtr.| The
plain speaking of this letter was not to
be attributed to aversion on the part
of Christ, notwithstanding His péAA@
ge éueoa ; rather it was evidence of
friendship and love. ®:A@ (Bengel:
“Philadelphiensem yyarnoev, Laodi-
censem dict”) is perhaps deliberately
preferred to the less emotional and
less human ayam7a@ (i. 5, iii. 9; ef. Jo.
Seen Svk 27, XX. 2, xxi. 15 ff.),
notwithstanding the use of the latter
in Proy. iii. 12 (LXX. Ov yap ayaa
Kupwos eAéyyer) which supplies the
groundwork of the thought. °Edéy-
x® kal madevo: two stages in one
process ; €Aeyéis aims at effecting by
words or thoughts what maidela ac-
complishes, where é\eyéis fails, by act ;
maideia is édey&s brought about
through external means. The two
verbs are perhaps a double rendering
of M3)’ in Proy. 7. ¢., where édéyyee
is read by B but madever by NA; or
madevw (and the reading acdever)
may have been suggested by the pre-
ceding verse in Proy. (vié, 1) dAcy@pec
mawdelas Kupiov). For édéyyew it is
instructive to compare Eph. vy. 13,
2 Tim. iy. 2, and St John’s use of the
verb in Jo. iii. 20, viii. 46, xvi. 8; on
madever a good note will be found
in Westcott on Heb. xii. 7; ef.
H. A. A. Kennedy, Sources, p. rot.
Perhaps the deplorable condition of
the Laodicene Church was due to
lack of chastisement; there is no
word of any trials hitherto under-
gone by this Church. The needed
discipline cameat length under Marcus
Aurelius, when Sagaris, the Bishop of
Laodicea, was martyred (Eus. Hi, £.
iv. 26, V. 24).
(neve ovv Kai peravdnoov| Cf. ii. 5,
iii. 3 prvnuoveve ovv...kal preravongoy.
In the present case not memory but
enthusiasm was at fault. ZnAevew is
a late and rare form for (nAodr, as
kukAevew (XX. 9) for xuxdoty (WH.
Notes, p. 178), but with the sense ‘be
zealous’ ; for other exx. of late verbs
in -evew see WM., p. 114, Kennedy,
Sources, p. 43, Introd. to the O. T. in
Gk, p. 503. Zndreve looks back to
Cearos (v. 15 f.; Bengel : “et Ceards et
(pros est ex (é”), dwelling upon its
ethical meaning: ‘prove thyself to
possess (pres. imper.) a whole-hearted
devotion for the Master.” So doing,
the Laodicean Church would arrive at
a better mind (eravdénoor), and be no
longer ‘tepid’ but ‘fervent in spirit.’
20. idod €ornxa eri thy Ovpay Krr.]
Arethas: aSiacros, @noiy, 7 €un ma-
povoia. The voice is that of a friend
(v. 19); there is perhaps a reference
to Cant. v. 2 dav adeAdidod pov,
kpoveremitny Ovpav’ avoréov pot, adeAy
ov, ) wAnaiov pov. In this light the
homiletic use of the passage, which
sees in it a picture of our Lord
knocking at the hearts of men, and
which Holman Hunt’s great painting
has made familiar, finds its justifica-
tion. But as they stand in this con-
text, the words are eschatological
(cf. Mt. xxiv. 33 eyyus éotw eri Gupais,
Jac. Vv. 9 0 Kpitns mpd Tay Oupdy éEatn-
xev); the opening of the door is the
joyful response of the Church to the
last call, cf. Le. xii. 36 dpeis Spor
avOpwras mpordexyouevois Tov Kipiov
éauTov...iva €AOovros Kat Kpovoavros
64 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[III. 20
/ / / . / 5 a \
Gupav Kal KpOUW" €ay TRS, aKOVO1 THS Pwvrs Mou Kal
> , \ / > / \ > \ \
dvoiEn Tnv Oupav, eloeNevTOMaL TpOS avTOY Kal
‘
/ > lat \ \ wan) >
21 C€LTVNTW PET AUTOU Kal AUTOS MET EMOoU.
70 VIKWV,
/ ? > / > 5 - > lo) / €
OWTW avuTW Kabioat MET E€MOU EV Tw Goovw MoU, Ws
\ \ ? / \ > /
Kayo éviknoa kal éexabioa peTa TOV TaTpOS [Pou EV
20 0M akoven THs pwns mov kat Or Hil | avorEn] avorEw & avoizec syr8” | ewredev-
coum] pr kac SQ min*re3> syrew Prim (om AP 1 6 13 17 18 19 28 36 37 38 79 80 81
161 vg syr me arm aeth Or Hil Ar)
ev0éws dvoiEwow avto. The pictureis
exactly reversed in Le. xiii. 25, where
the Master shuts the door and the
servants knock in vain; cf. Mt. xxy.
to f.
€ay Tis axovon THs Povns wou KTA.|
If any Church (or individual) gives
heed to the call of Christ (cf. Jo. x. 3
Ta mpoBata movis avrov axove., 16 f.,
XVili. 37 mas 6 @y é€k THs adnOcias
dkxovet ov THs Pwrys) and opens the
door, Christ will enter that dwelling
(Jo. xiv. 23 mpos avrov éhevoopeda kal
povny trap auT@ moooueba, Eph. iii.
17 KaTounoa TOV xpLoroy Oia THs Tio-
Tews €v Tais Kapdlats vay ev ayarn),
and exchange with such an one the fel-
lowship of intimate communion (cf. Jo.
Vi. 56 6 Tpw@yav jLou THY gapka Kal rivey
pov TO aima ev epol péver Kay® €v avT@)
in that endless feast of Love of which
the Eucharist is the earnest (Mt.
XXV1. 29 €ws Tis Tuépas e€xeivns Grav
avTo Tivo ped vuady Kawoy ev TH
Bacwrelia Tod matpds pov).
EicépyecOar mpos twa, to enter a
man’s house; cf. Me. xv. 43, Acts xi. 3.
Aeixvjow is preferred to dpiotnow
partly because the detrvoy came at
the end of the day and was the
principal meal and the usual occasion
for hospitality, but perhaps chiefly
with reference to the cupiaxéy Setmvov.
Origen’s ov yap detrat eioaywyns kal
mpeTev pabnpatov.(in Joann. t. Xxxii.
2) is ingenious but far-fetched.
21. 6 ukdr, Odo avT@ kabioa per
ewov krA.| An extension of the promise
made to the Twelve in Mt. xix. 28
brav Kabicn 6 vios Tod avOpwrov emt
Opovoy d0€ns avrov, kabnoeaOe Kal vpeis
emt Oa@dexa Opovous: cf. Le. xxii. 29 fF.
kayo Svatribepat vpiv, kabads Si€Oero pou
6 matnp pov Bacidelay, va éoOnte Kat
minte emt THs tpamwé(ns pov ev TH
Baowdeia pov, Kat Kkabnobe emi Opovev
tas Owdexa puAds Kpivovres Tov Iopanh,
where, as here, the enthronement
follows immediately after the mention
of the heavenly feast. The @povoe
however (cf. ii. 13, note) are not places
on the triclinium, but thrones of
dignity and judicial power, cf. 1 Cor.
Vi. 2 f. ovk otSare Gre of aytot TOY KOopoY
KpLVOUGLY ;...0UK olOaTE OTL ayyéAous Kpt-
voopev; The Apocalyptic promise adds
that the conqueror shall not merely be
enthroned like Christ, but be His
aivOpovos. Mer enov might imply
association only, but ev 76 Opdv@ pov
implies a share in the same throne,
i.e. in the glory and powers of Christ's
own triumphant humanity.
as Kaye eviknoa ktr.| Of. Jo. xvi. 33
eyo veviknka Tov Koopov, I JO. V, 4
aitn eat 7) vikn yviknoaca TOY KOO POY,
7 miorTis nua. Here évicnoa looks back
upon the historical fact of the Lord’s
victory as past and complete ; vevixyxa
in Jo. U. c. regards the victory as
abiding in its effects. The rewards of
victory are not the same in the case of
Christ as in the case of the disciple ;
the disciple becomes ovvOpovos with
Christ in Christ’s throne, whereas the
Lord is ovv@povos with the Father; cf.
li. 27f.ddc0@ avTG...05 kayo eiAnpa mapa
Tov matpds pov. *Exaéica like evixnoa
is the historical aorist ; the session fol-
lowed at the moment of the Ascension,
TTL 22]
“” / > r
waned) Opovw @UTOU.
< é
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 65
yf Ss 5 / / \
*6 EXWY OUS akovTaTwW TL TO 22
lol / ~ b) /
mveuma Neyer Tais EexKKAnoLaLs.
22 ovs] aures vgt*! arm Prim
whilst the victory was achieved by the
Resurrection; see Mc. xvi. 19, Eph.
feo, Heb, i. 3, Vill. 1, xii 2. The
ultimate source of the conception is
Ps. cx. 1; on its meaning see Apringius
ad l.: “quid est in throno Dei sedere,
nisi quiescere et gloriari cum Deo et
eius adsistere tribunalibus beatis, at-
que immensa praesentiae illius felici-
tate gaudere?” With the parallel os
kay® kth. ef. Jo. xv. 10, xvii. 18, xx.
21, Apoe. ii. 28.
Looking back over the seven Adyo
(ii. 1—iii. 22), it is easy to see that,
widely as their contents differ, they
are constructed upon a common plan.
Each begins with the formula T@
ayyh@ TO (Tis) ev...ekkAnoias ypawyov
Tade Aéyer 6..., and ends with the call
‘O éyav ovs «rd. followed (1—3), or
preceded (4—7) by a promise to the
Christian victor (r@ vixdvre ddaw aiTo
(1, 3), Or 6 viKdr...d@0@ a’T@ (4, 7),
OY 6 uke Toujow atrov (6) OY 6 Kay
followed by a verb expressing the
reward to be received (2, 5)).
Even in the contents of the several
messages a certain uniformity may be
detected. After the opening words
each Adyos begins with oiSa—oida cov
ra épya (1, 4—7), olSa cov thy Oivw
(2), or oida mod Karorxeis (3); i.e. each
is based on the Speaker's knowledge
of the conduct or circumstances of
the several churches. The distinctive
merits and faults of each community
are then set forth, together with
suitable encouragement and reproof.
Lastly, advice is given as to the
future: prvnuoveve odv...xal peravonaoy
(1, 5), neTavonaor ovv (3), (ydeve otv Kat
peravonoor (7), 12) PoBov...yivov murros
Gxpt Oavarov (2), 0 eyere xpatnoate or
Kparet 0 éyers (4, 6).
Yet uniform as the Adyou are in
Ss. R.
their general structure, they present
a rich variety of detail. As each
Church passes under review, it re-
ceives a judgement which is evidently
based upon a full knowledge of its
condition, both external and spiritual.
Smyrna and Philadelphia gain un-
qualified approval; Ephesus, Perga-
mum, Thyatira, are commended, but
with reservations (€y@ xara ood [oA‘ya]
ort...): for Laodicea there is only
censure, and Sardis would fall under
the same category, were it not for a
few loyal Christians (€yers odiya ovo-
pata xt\.) whose fidelity is not over-
looked. But the discrimination goes
further. The Supreme Pastor descends
into the minutest particulars which
affect the well-being of the several
brotherhoods: the decay of love at
Ephesus, redeemed in part by hatred
of Nicolaitan laxity ; the fidelity of
the Smyrnaeans under the _ bitter
reproaches of the self-styled Jews;
the concessions to Nicolaitanism which
marred the zeal of the Pergamenes ;
the indulgence shewn at Thyatira to
a prophetess who, like a new Jezebel,
initiated her disciples into “deep
things” of Satan ; the deadness of the
great majority of the members of the
Church at Sardis; the patient efforts
of the Philadelphians to spread the
faith of Christ in the teeth of Jewish
opposition ; the tepid, nauseous Chris-
tianity of the prosperous and self-
satisfied Laodiceans. Nothing has
escaped the Eye of flame, which reads
the secrets of men and of churches.
Even in the formulae with which
the Aoyor are opened and closed there
are variable elements, which shew the
same discrimination. Each rade \éyec
is followed by a title of the Speaker,
usually borrowed from the vision of
c. i, which has special significance
5
ye
66
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [(PVeme
I ‘Mera Tavta cidov, Kal idov Bipa jvewypern Ev TO
> lo \ \ / ed yf € /
OUpAaVva, Kal 7 Pwvy yj TEWTH HY Kova Ws TaXTLYYOS
n~ / / fer \ /
Aadovons peT Euov, Aeywy “AvaBa woe, Kat deiEw
IV 1 ecdov P min?! Ar] cdov SAQ 7 14.92 | avewyuern Q min™™™ | Kar 2°]+c50u S
Prim | om 7 mpwry syré’ | cadmeyya syrr | Nadovons] Aadovoay N Prim edhadyoev
syr8” | Neywy R*AQ minP!430] Neyouoa N-*P 1 38 49 79 91 130 al™™ Kar Aeyouca
fot 36 Kat Aeyouons 7 16 om P arm?’ Prim | avaBnde A
when we consider the circumstances
of the Church addressed. Hach
promise to the victor places the
final reward in a light which gives
it special attractiveness under the
circumstances in which the local
Church is placed. Thus the Ephe-
sian Christian, tempted to participate
in pagan banquets, is promised that,
if he conquers, he shall eat of
the fruit of the Tree of Life; the
Smyrnaean, called to face martyrdom,
is assured that he shall not be hurt
of the Second Death; the Pergamene,
if he rejects the eiSwAodura, shall taste
of the Hidden Manna. If it is not
always easy to discover the appro-
priateness of the form which the
victor’s prize assumes, there is reason
to believe that the problem would
be solved were our knowledge of the
special circumstances less incomplete.
IV. 1—11. THE VISION OF THE
THRONE IN HEAVEN.
I. pera raira cidov|] This formula,
which occurs again Vii. I (4. rodro), 9,
XV. 5, XViii. I, serves to introduce a
new Vision of special importance, cat
eloov (y. I etc.) being used in other
cases. Here pera raira refers to the
vision of i. 12 ff. (kal émiorpéwas etdov
kth.) Which, with the messages to the
Churches arising out of it, has oc-
cupied the first three chapters. The
vision of the glorified Christ walking
among the Churches on earth is fol-
lowed by a vision of the Court of
Heayen.
Oipa rvewypérn ev tT ovpava| Not
as in lil. 8 the door of opportunity,
or as in iii. 20 the door of the heart,
but the door of revelation ; cf. Enoch
XIV. 13 kat ido GddAn Ovpa avewypern
katévayti pov. The conception of the
opened heavens occurs first in Ezek.
i. I jvoiy@ncav of ovpavol Kai cidov
opacers Geov: cf. Me. i. 10 eidev oyt-
Couevovs Tovs ovpavous, JO. i. 51 oeabe
Tov ovpavoy avewyora. In this vision a
door only is opened (cf. Test. vit patr.,
Levi 5), and not heaven as a whole,
i.e. the vision is limited to the Seer ;
only one who has been lifted up into
the heavenly places can see what is
passing within. The perf. part. jve-
ypevn implies that the door stood open,
ready for the Seer’s coming.
Kal 1) pov 1 mpeTn nv jKovca KTA.|
“The first voice which I heard” is
apparently the voice of i. 10 jKovea...
paovny peyadny os cadmvyyos, Where see
note; cf. Victorinus: “id est spiritus
quem paulo ante quam filium hominis
...se vidisse fatetur” ; Bede: “similis
utique priori voci quae dixerat Quae
vides scribe in libro.” Now it comes
again to prepare John for the second
great vision, and calls him up to the’
height where the Angel stands. Aé-
yor, a constructio ad sensum ; behind
the trumpet voice there is a person-
ality who speaks. *AvaBa (= avaBn@e
W. Schm., p. 115, cf. karaBa Ar. an.
35, Vesp. 979; peraBa, Mt. xvii. 20)
recalls the summons at the Lawgiving,
Exod. xix. 24 f.; for od¢, ‘hither’
(Blass, Gr. p. 58 4), chy Jopyumes:
xx. 273; for deffo, the Hierophant’s
(Benson, Apocalypse, p. 15) offer of
guidance, see i. 1, XvVil. I, XxI1 Qf,
xxii. 1, 6. “A det yevéo Oar (i. 1, XXii. 6)
ELL, RTS My Re
4
IV. 3]
ad -~ / \ ~
go. a bet yeverOar peta TavTa.
/
€V TVEUMLAaTL*
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 67
/ /
7eVOEws eyevouny 2
ers \ / a ’ - > -
Kal idou Opovos ExerTo Ev TH Opava,
Wem ay God aby, eg oa: 6, /
Kai emt TOY Upovoy KaUnpevos, *Kal 0 KAaUNMEVOS OMOLOS 3
I a] ooa A o syré¥ 2 evdews] pr kat P 1 7 130 al***™ syré” arm aeth car me |
om kat €. T. Op. KaOnuwevos me | exc] pr o &* | ror Opovor] rou Opovou P 1 28 36 77
gt 96
3 OM Kat o KaOyuevos 1 6 8 14 31 38 130 al me syr*” arm aeth Vict Andr Ar | om
opovos 1°...Tov Opovou &*
comes from Dan. ii. 28 f, 45. The
vision that follows is an anticipation
of a future which is yet to find its
accomplishment (era tadra). WH.
connect pera taidta (2°) with evdéws,
but the analogy of i. 10 and Dan. /.¢.
(Th.) seems to be decisive in favour of
the usual punctuation.
2. evdéws eyevouny ev mvevparc] ‘At
once,’ as the words were spoken, ‘I
found myself in the Spirit.’ The state
of spiritual exaltation which preceded
the first vision (i. 10 note) has returned,
but in greater force ; then it gave the
Seer ears to hear and eyes to see;
now it lifts him up and places him by
the Angel at the open door.
kal idovd Opovos & €KELTO é€v TO oupav@
xth.] When he looked in, the first
object that met his eyes was a throne
and One seated on it. The Person is
identified by 7. 8 with the God of
Israel (i. 4, 8), Who is represented
in the O.T. sometimes as making the
heaven His throne (Isa. lxvi. 1; ef.
Mt. v. 34f, xxiii. 22), sometimes as
enthroned in heaven (Ps. x. (xi.) 4
Kupwos, €v odpavd 6 Opdvos avrod; cf.
Enoch xiy. 18 ff. €Gew@povv dé Kai eidov
Opdvov vyndov xrhr.). The imagery of
the Apocalypse requires the latter
symbolism, in which the Throne is
distinguished from the sphere in
which it stands.
éxetro = €r€On (cf. Dan. vii. 9), ‘stood,’
rather than ‘was set up, a rendering
which permits the English reader to
suppose that the placing of the throne
entered into the vision. For xeto@ac
in this sense cf. Jo. ii. 6, xix. 29,
Xxi. 9, and see Blass, Gr. p. 51. In
this book emt rév @povoy can scarcely
be distinguished from the more exact
ent tov Opdvov Or eri TO Opovw; for
the gen. see iv. 9 ff., v. 1, 7, 13, Vi 16,
vil. 15; for the dat., vii. 10, xix, 4,
xxi: 5; for the acc., iv. 45 vi 2) 4a
Xs 16, xx. A:
3. kal 6 KaOnpevos xtd.| The de-
scription rigorously shuns anthropo-
morphic details. The Seer’s eye is
arrested by the flashing of gemlike
colours, but he sees no form: ef. Exod.
XXIV. 10 eiSov Tov tomov ov iornKet
6 Ocds tov “Iopand (Heb. simply NS
Sy TON), Kal Ta Ur TOUS 7ddas av-
ToU woel Epyov mAivOov camdeipou, Kat
Gomep eiSos oTepedpatos Tov ovpavod
Ti Ka@apiorntt. Less reserve is mani-
fested in Ezek. i. 26 ws eidos avOparov,
Dan. vii. 9 madaids epav exabnro...
n Opié ths Kehadfs adtod wel Epiov
kadapov ; cf. Enoch xlvi. i, Ixxi. to,
In the great Christian apocalypse
there is no need for anthropomorphic
descriptions of Deity; one like a Son
of Man is always at hand to whom
they are naturally transferred (see i.
14, note) ; ; ef. Andreas: ereidn S€ Tov
marépa Tov opadévra evraida rapictnat,
TwpmatTiKov avT@ Xapaxtijpa ov weperi-
Onow aorep ev TH Tporepaia Tov viov
‘ ,
onmTaotd,.
The Enthroned Majesty was like in
appearance (spd = HNW?, aw)
to the light of two precious stones,
the Ai@os taomes and the oapdiyr, and
their brilliance was relieved by a
circle of emerald green. The three
stones are named together as samples
of their kind by Plato (Phaed. 110k
capdia kat iaomdas Kat opapaydous Kai
mavta Ta Tovavra), and hold an honour-
5
68 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Vers
opacer NiOw idoOTlol Kal capoiw, Kal ipis KUKAOOev
qn 7 e/ € / y
4 ToU Opovou Opmotos pace Tuapayoivw.
\ /
4xal KuKAOGEV
os / ’
TOU Opovou Ooovous €lKOGL TET TAPES, Kal €7rl TOUS
3 Nov vg syrr | cardi] +Kar cuapaydw Q 13 26 41 42 44 130 (sed om Kar
capdiw) | capdww P x 36 al | cpus] cepecs N*A 28 79 arm aeth | xuxdoder] kukAw 36 38
47 | ouoos 2°] AP 1 67 11 12 30 36 79 vg me syr Prim ovows X-*Q min™t™ Ar
omoa 7 1014 1617 18 31 47 al | opacer cuapaydiw] opacis cuapayduwwy Q mine
opace: cuapaydwy 14 SYIY ws opacis cuapaydou 38 47
4 0m kat 1° Q mint gyr |
Opovous 1° NA 34 35 87 121] Opovoe PQ min?! Andr Ar syr’+ vidi arm‘ anon®"s
able place in Biblical lists of gems ;
thus, ace. to Exod. xxviii. 17 ff., the
capdvwov and the emerald stand in
the first row of stones in the High
Priest's breastplate, and the taoms
in the second: among the precious
stones which adorn the person of the
King of Tyre (Ezek. xxviii. 13) the
same three stones stand first, third,
and sixth respectively; and of the
twelve foundation stones of Apoc. xxi.
19 the iacmes is first, the emerald
fourth, and the cdpédoy sixth. The
laoms (D2), said to be a Persian
word, B. D. B. s. v.) appears to have
been translucent like glass or rock-
crystal (Apoc. xxi. II kpvaraAXiovte
(where see note), Pliny, H. NV. xxxvii.
115 “semper translucent”), whereas
the modern jasper is opaque; the
opal has been suggested (Hnc. Bibl.
8. v.), but it is excluded by the same
consideration. The capd.ov (DIK, ‘red-
ness,’ cf. Epiph. de gemmis muparbs
T@ €l0ec Kal aiparoedys) is perhaps
the carnelian, or other red stone (see
Hastings, D. B. s.v.); ace. to Pliny,
HN. l.c., it derived its name from
Sardis, where it was found. Most
of the engraved gems of antiquity
were of ‘sard,’ see King, Antique
Gems, p. 5.
In the vision the flashing lustre of
the taoms and the fiery red of the
sard are relieved by the halo (cps) of
emerald which encircled the Throne
(kukAodev tod Opovov, cf. vv. 4, 8).
From Homer downwards fps is the
rainbow ; the Lxx. however use rééov
in this sense (Gen. ix. 13, Ezek. i.
28), and {pis is perhaps preferred here
and in x. I because it may also be
used for a complete circle, e.g. a solar
or lunar halo. The conception is
borrowed from Ezek. @. ¢. és épacis
Togov, orav 7 ev TH veéAn ev Tpepars
VEeTOU, OUT@s 1 aTdaLs Tov déyyous
xuxrdobev, But the circle of light
seen by the Apocalyptist was like
(for 6uouos, used as an adj. of two
terminations, cf. WM. p. 80, Blass,
Gr. p. 33) In appearance (see v. 3) to
an emerald (cpapaydive se. hide), povo-
evdns cuapaydifovea, as Arethas says.
Spapaydwos seems to be dz. dey., but
opapaydirns Aidos occurs in Esth.i.6A,
and opudpaydos id. is used by Herod. ii.
44, iii. 41. Archbp Benson translates
‘like to a vision of emerald,’ taking
Ou. opacer cpap. as if it=cpapaydadns,
but 6p. opacet AiO above does not lend
itself easily to this construction ; ef.
however Vg. similis aspectui lapidis
iaspidis...similis visiont smarag-
dinae. In Exod. xxxvi. 17 (xxxix. 10)
cpapaydos =Np)a, which suggests a
brilliantlike rock-erystal (see Hastings,
D. B. iv. 620); on its identification
with the emerald see King, Antique
Gems, p. 27 ff. Since fps is sub-
stituted for rdfov, it is precarious
to press a reference to the rainbow
of the covenant (Gen. ix. 12 ff.); but
opapayd. (see note on xxi. 19) may
perhaps represent the mercy which
tempers the revelation of the Divine
Majesty.
4. Kal kux\dbev Tod Opdvov Opdvous
eikoot Técaapes| Sc. eiSov, unless with
WH. we read Opdvoc; see their note
a
:
Vs & |
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 69
Opovous €LKOCL Tego upas 1 peo BuTEpous kaOnpuevous
/ e / coat \? \ \ \
mepteBAnuevous tuaTtous NEvKOLs, Kal ETL Tas KE:adas
> od / ~
aUTWY oTepavous ypucous.
\ ~ /
Skat €k Tov Opodvou éx- 5
/ > \ \ \ \ / \
TOPEVOVTAL aATTPAT al Kal Ppovat Kal Bpovtat: Kal
4 Opovous 2°] + evdov 49 91 96 al” | eckooe rego. 2° ante Opovovs pon A 17 18 19 pr
tous Q 67814 al™ Ar | reocepas A | uarcors Nevkors] pr ev RQ min?! om cu. & arm‘ e
XeuKors 130 (OM rrepifeBX.) | xpuceous &
5 Tou Opovov 1°] Twv Opovwy syré* | Bpovrac
Kat pwva Kat aorpamat I 29 38 95 Bp. k. aoTp. kK. p. Syré¥
(p. 138). Téooapes acc. is well sup-
ported, see WH.? Notes, p. 157, Blass,
Gr. p. 26.
Beyond the emerald halo there is
another circle round the Throne, an
environment of four and twenty other
thrones on which are seated four and
twenty Elders, white-robed and gold-
crowned. The Elders are not ovv-
O6povor (iii. 21), but mepiOpomor or
mdpedpor, forming the yepovoia of
Heaven. There may be a reference
to the Elders of Israel in Exod. xxiy.
II, who aPOnoav ev TO rorw Tov Geod,
and to Isa. xxiy. 23 Baowevoes Kvpwos
...evarioy Tov mpecBurépwv do&acOn-
gera. But the number is at first
sight perplexing. As a symbolical
number 24 occurs in the Apocalypse
only, and there only when these
Elders are mentioned (iv. 4, 10, v. 8,
xi. 16, xix. 4). It has been supposed
to refer to the 24 courses of the sons
of Aaron (1 Chron. xxiv. 1—19); but
the Elders do not fulfil any special
priesthood, though they take their
part (iv. 10, y. 8) in the worship of
Him Who sits on the Throne. Gun-
kel suggests (Schinfung u. Chaos,
p. 302 ff.) that they answer to the
24 stars of the Babylonian astrology
(ef. Diod. Sic. ii. 31 pera dé rdy Cpdia-
kov KUKAOv €lkoow Kal TérTapas adopi-
fovow dorépas, dy rods pev nuioes ev
rois Bopelos pepect, Tous dé nuloers ev
Tois votios TerayOa daci Kal rov’Twy
Tovs pév dpwpevors Tov (avrwyv eivat
katapiOpovor, Tods de adaveis Tots Tere-
Aeutnxdor mpocwpicba vopitovow, ois
Stxaoras tay SAwv mpocayopevovow) ;
but the parallel is only partial, and the
whole question of the Apocalyptist’s
indebtedness to Babylonian sources
needs further investigation. Mean-
while a key which seems to fit the
lock is supplied by the earliest Latin
commentator on the Apocalypse, Vie-
torinus, who sees in the 24 Elders
“duodecim Apostoli, duodecim Patri-
archae”; similarly Andreas and Are-
thas. The symbol appears to be based
on the number of the tribes of Israel ;
the dodexadudroy is represented by 24
Elders, two for each tribe, the double
representation suggesting the two
elements which coexisted in the new
Israel, the Jewish and Gentile be-
lievers who were one in Christ. Thus
the 24 Elders are the Church in its
totality, but the Church idealized
and therefore seen as already clad
in white, crowned, and enthroned in
the Divine Presence—a state yet
future (4 Set yevéoOa), but already
potentially realized in the Resur-
rection and Ascension of the Head;
cf. Eph. ii. 6 cuvnyetpev nas Kal ovvexa-
Aicev abt@ ev Tois €roupavias,
5. Kat éx rod Opovov éexmopevovrat
dorparai xtA.| The eye of the Seer
returns to the central Throne. What
he sees there reminds him of the Law-
giving ; cf. Exod. xix. 16 éyivoyvro geval
kai aotparai, and Ezek. i. 13 éx Tov
mupos e&eropevero dotpany. The same
imagery occurs again in xi. 19, xvi. 18,
and (with the order Spovrat cai dwvat
kat dotparai), in viii. 5. The thunder-
storm is in Hebrew poetry a familiar
symbol of the Divine power and glory:
70 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [IVa
e \ / \ / > / > /
ET TA apr aces Tupos KQLOMEVAL EVYWTTLOV TOU Opovov,
c/ > \ \ , co ~
6 & éiow Ta éExrta TrvevpaTa Tov ODeod.
6 Nv eo
Kal E€VWT7TLOV
fa / / € / € / /
Tou Opovov ws Oaracoa vadivn Opoia Kpyotaddo,
Wd i? la / \ / las , /
Kal EV MEOW TOU Opovou Kal KUKA@ TOU Opovou TET TENA
5 om mupos syr8" | rou Opovov 2°]+avrov Q(*)°"" min™ syrr | a ei N°-*P 1 36 84
94 Syr] ac ecw Q min?! syr8 g ve"™ a ect A kas evow 130 Kar 14 92" | ra erra] om
ra Q min™t™ gyrrvid Andr Ar
6 Opovov]+avrov 7 40 46+70v Oeov me | om ws
1 80 94 161 al syr3¥ aeth Prim | vedkwy g 10 35 38 al | xpvoradd\w] BnpvAdw arm |
eupecw A 130 | om Kat KuKAW Tov Opovov 28 29 30 98 vgh*!* me arm” | recoapa SPQ
chle:2) 1 sam: 1, 10, Ps) xvii oft,
Job xxxvii. 4f.
kat émra Naumades updos KTA.| Aap-
mades occur also in Hzekiel’s vision
(Zc. os ois hayrddwv); but whereas
Ezekiel’s torch-like lights flashed
hither and thither (cuvotpehopeéever
ava pécoy Tov Cawy), these burn stead-
ily before the Throne, and they are
seven in number, corresponding, as
the Seer recognises, with the Seven
Spirits of God (i. 4, iii. 1). They are
Aaprrades, not Avyvia as ini. 12, where
the reference is different; the idea
presented here is rather that of the
dornp péyas Karopevos ws Naps (C. Vill.
Io), except that the torch-like star is
seen falling across the sky, whereas
these torches blaze perpetually before
the Throne of God.
6. kal evdmov Tod Opdvov ws Oddacoa
xtv.] In Exod. xxiv. 10 the Elders
see under the Feet of God doei pyov
mivOov cardeipov, Kal Bomep eidos
OTEPE@paTos TOU ovpavod TH KabapLo-
tri, and this conception is repro-
duced in Hzekiel (i. 22, 26). But
instead of the ‘firmament,’ the Seer
of the Apocalypse sees a glassy Sea
before the Throne. The idea of a
celestial sea was current in Jewish cir-
cles, cf. Enoch xiv. 9, Secrets of Enoch,
ed. Charles, p. 4; Test. wii Paitr.,
Levi 2, where a sea greater than any
on earth is seen suspended between the
first heaven and the second: ef. Gen.
i. 7 Tod datos Tov éemdvw Tod oTEpEd-
patos, Ps. ciii. (civ.) 3. The Apoca-
lyptic sea is vadivn, a pavement of
glass resembling an expanse of water ;
comp. a legend in the Qur’én (xxv.),
that the Queen of Sheba mistook
for water a glass pavement in Solo-
mon’s palace. The Seer, still looking
through the door, sees between him-
self and the Throne a vast surface
which flashes back the light that falls
upon it, like the Aegean when on
summer days he looked upon it from
the heights of Patmos; ef. xv. 2 «idor
os Oddaccav varivny peptypéevny Tupi.
Though of glass, the sea was pola
kpuoTaAda, not semi-opaque, like much
ancient glass, but clear as rock-crystal.
Kpvoraddos may be ‘ice,’ both here
and in Ezek. i. 22, but the mineral is
more probably intended in a context
which mentions precious stones ; the
metaphor occurs again in XxXil. I
woTapov...raumpov ws Kkpvaraddov. The
costliness of glass in ancient days
enhances the splendour of the con-
ception; cf. Job xxviii. 17 LXX. ovK
ig@Onoetar avTh xpuatov kai vados.
But the Sea of glass is not only a
striking and splendid feature in the
scene; it suggests the vast distance
which, even in the case of one who stood
at the door of heaven, intervened be-
tween himself and the Throne of God.
Kat ev péo@ TOU Opovov... TéaoeEpa
(oa krrd.] Cf. Enoch xl 2, Apoc. of
Baruch Vi. 11 (ed. Charles). The
exact position assigned to the (@a is
not easy to grasp. Ev péo is from
Ezek. i. 5 ev To peo@ (TOU Tupos) os
opotopa Tec odpoy (dor, where some
cursives and versions of the Lxx. add
ee
PARIS Sa
'
iad
i
|
*
TV. 7]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 7%
Coa yenovta op0aduar Eurpoobev Kal omurbev, TKal 7
\ a \ 5 of / \ \ /
TO Cwov TO T PWT OV OMOLOV A€ov TL, Ka@t TO OeUTEPOV
~ / / \ \ / - Sf \
C@ov buowv poryw, Kal TO TpitTov Cwov Exwy TO
, ¢ > / \ \ , > /
TPOOWTOV Ws avOpwrov, Kal TO TETAOTOV Cwov OMLOLOYV
6 opPaduovs 16 28 36 | evmpoobev SAP
7 om kat 1° syré* Prim | exwv AQ 7
28 30 32 33 34] exov SP min?! | ro mpocwrov] om ro Q min™*™ Andr Ar | ws
avOpwrov A 11 13 36 vg syr&" Ir Prim] ws ogovov avOpwrw & avOpwrov Q min™t™4 ws
avOpwros P i 7 28 al syr | om {wor 4° Q min™t™ (om (wor quater aeth, ter Iri" Vict)
kal KUKA@ Tov Opdvov, but probably from
the Apoc. But ev ré p. in Ezekiel
=MDIMD ie. ‘out of the midst of the
fire,” which has no parallel in the
present passage. The words must
therefore be interpreted independent-
ly. As they stand here, followed by
cal KUKA@ Tt. Op., they seem to imply
that the figures are so placed that
one of the ¢#a is always seen before
the Throne, and the others on either
side of it and behind, whether station-
ary or moving round in rapid gyra-
tion ; the latter is suggested by Ezek.
L i12f Z@a (Syr-e¥ | asi) clearly
answers to Ezekiel’s Mi, who in
Ezek. ix. 3, x. 2 ff., 20 ff., are identified
with the Cherubim. The Cherubim
are previously mentioned in Scripture
in connexion with (1) the story of the
Fall (Gen. iii. 24), (2) the Ark (Exod.
xxy. 18 etc.), (3) the inner chamber
(W233) of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings
vi. 25 ff., etc.), and (4) in the Divine
title ‘He that sitteth upon the
Cherubim’ (Ps. lxxx. 1, xcix. 1, Isa.
xxxviil. 16). The Ark and the Oracle
had but two representations of
cherubic figures ; in Ezekiel they are
four and yet one, and seem to sym-
bolize the power which in its world-
wide and manifold operations upholds
and pervades while it transcends
Creation. The Apocalyptist abandons
the complexities of Ezekiel’s imagery ;
the wheels and lightning-like move-
ments of the (oa disappear, and so
does their mysterious unity: the
‘living creatures’ of the Apocalypse
are four distinct organisms. But in
the main no doubt he presents the
same idea; the ¢¢a represent Creation
and the Divine immanence in Na-
ture. Cf. Andreas: 61a rév reaodpov
mpocwreyv Snovrvta THY Tay Tecodpev
aro.yei@y Tov Oeov Snucovpyiav Kai
ouvTnpnow.
yépovra opOardpav eumpooder kai
omiabev] Cf. Ezek. i. 18 of vdrot adrav
mAnpes opOarpayv kuxdobev Tois tréo-
wapow, X. 12 kal of y@tou a’Ta@y Kal ai
Xeipes avtav Kal ai mrépuyes avTay Kal
of Tpoxot mAnpets opPOarpav kukdrdbev
Trois Téaoapow Tpoxois. Again Ezekiel’s
description is simplified, while the
main thought is preserved; the (da
are full of eyes before and behind
and (v. 8) around and within. The
symbolism sets forth the ceaseless
vigilance of Nature, or rather of the
immanent Power which works under
visible forms. Téyew, a somewhat
rare word in Biblical Gk generally
(xxx.8, Mt.*, Le.!, Paul!), occurs seven
times in the Apoc. (iv. 6, 8, v. 8, xv. 7,
xvii. 3 £, xxi. 9); on the construction,
see Blass, Gr. p. 102.
7. kal TO (doy TO mpa@Toy dpo.ov
Aéovte krv.] Cf. Ezek. i. 10 (x. 14) wai
OLoiwals TOY Mpog@TeY avTay* mpbc-
wmov avOparov ... A\€ovTOS ... KOTXOV...
aerov, Where the forms are the same,
but the order differs. The four
forms suggest whatever is noblest,
strongest, wisest, and swiftest in
animate Nature. Nature, including
Man, is represented before the Throne,
taking its part in the fulfilment of the
Divine Will, and the worship of the
72 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [Every
p) > Ui 8 \ \ / tas ra) pes
8 aeTw TeToMEvM. *Kal Ta TecoEpa Cwa, Ev Kal’ EV
> - of > \ if e/ / Neti
avTwVv eyxwv ava wTepuyas €&€, KuKAOVEV Kal ExwOev
/ > > \ read af
YEMovaLV bpOaduor * Kal avaTaVoW OUK €ExOVoLY
/ \ \ /
HMEpAaS KaL VUKTOS NEYyoTES
7 mweTwuevov I 7 28 alpaue 8 om kat 1° syr&” | ra Tecoepa] om ra Q 1 8 32 38
47 48 50 80 alPve Andr Ar | ev kad ev avrwy AP min™*™®] ey exacroy avtwy & 38 syrr
ev kab ev Q ev Kad eauTo I g2™+eoTws 34 35 68 87 (syré*) | exwy Ai 27 13 16 30 al]
exov Q min**™ eyovra P 38 50 ecxov S g2™8 arm Prim | ava] ato Twv ovuxww (cf
me) avrov kat eravw syré" id | rrepvywr Q | KukNofev Kae erwhev] KuKN. Kar eEwOev QI
kukN. Kat eEwOev kat ecwbey Q minPP™ KuKoPev 28 33 35 38 98 ante se et retro Prim
intus et foris al tr ap Prim in priora et retro anon®s (cf arm) | yeuovra 1 38 Ar | ouk
exovow] ouk e€ooay & non habebant g vg*™ demipss Vict anon*s Prim | Neyovres] NeyovTa
8 29 49** 93 96
Divine Majesty. On the early (Iren.
iii, 11. 8) but unfortunate identifica-
tion of the (éa with the rerpaevay-
yeduor, see St Mark?®, p. xxxvi ff, and
Zahn, Forschungen, ii. p. 257 ff. "Exav
TO Tpocwmov ws avOpdmov: see WM.
pet32;
8. év Ka” év abray éxov ava TTEpv-
yas €€| ‘Each one of them having
severally six wings.’ Ezekiel (i. 6)
gives each of the ¢@a four wings ; six
is the number assigned to the Sera-
phim in Isa. vi. 2, a passage which
the Apocalyptist, who does not iden-
tify his (@a with either the Cherubim
or the Seraphim, has constantly in
view. The wings, if our interpretation
is right, represent the velocities of
Nature, as the eyes represented its
sleepless vigilance. For eis ca@ (kara)
eis see Mc. xiv. 19, note ; and for ava,
used as a distributive adverb, WM.
p. 496f, Blass, Gr. p. 122, Abbott,
Johannine Grammar, §§ 1890, 2281.
“Exor, not xo, here and in v. 7, per-
haps because the ¢@a are invested with
intelligence (vy. 6, xxi. 14, and see
WM. p. 660); yet cf. duovor bis (v. 7).
The remarkable reading of Syr.sv
(Asa mis\, c=) seems to have
arisen from Ez. i. 27 (Lxx.); see
Gwynn ad loc,
Kukobev kai €owber yeu. 66. It is
tempting to connect kxvkd. with the
previous clause, especially if we read
with Q kai €EwGev kai Eowbev: ef. Vict.
“habentes alas senas in circuitu et
oculos intus et foris”; but Ezekiel
i, 18 (x. 12) seems to decide in favour
of the punctuation given in the text,
and xkvxdodev corresponds with €p-
mpoobev x. dmicbev (iv. 6). "EowOev
adds a new feature, pointing to the
secret energies of Nature.
kal avaTravow ovK €xovow KTA.| While
man and the other animals divide the
twenty-four hours between work and
repose, and are allowed by the Creator
one day in seven for rest (Exod. xvi.
23 avaravors ayia T@ Kvpie), and the
individual worker rests at length in
the grave (Apoc. vi. 11, xiv. 13), the
wheel of Nature (Jae. iii. 6 rév rpoxdv
Ths yevérews), i.e. the Divine activity
immanent in Nature, pursues an un-
broken course: cf. Jo. Vv. 17 6 matnp
pov ews apre epyaterar, kayo epyatopat.
This ceaseless activity of Nature under
the Hand of God is a ceaseless tribute
of praise. Cf. Enoch xxxix. 12 “those
who sleep not bless Thee”; xxi. 7
“round about were Seraphim, Cheru-
bim, and Ophanim; these are they
who sleep not and guard the throne
of His glory.” Arethas well remarks:
ov TO €yxoroy TE Avdmavow ovK €xovew
maptoTa, G\Ad TO Trepl Oeiavy vuv@diay
avévdorov.
Réyovres “Aytos Gytos aywos kKrA.]
Another loan from Isaiah’s description
IV. 9]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 73
J / ef / G \ ic /
Arytos aytlos aylos Kuptos oO Beds oO TAVTOKPaTWp,
SD Woe \ \ G > /
O nV Kal 6 wy Kal 0 EpxXoMeEvos.
9 \ e/ ) / \ coal / \ \ \
Kat OTay dwoovow Ta Cwa do€av Kat Tiny Kal g
evyapirtiay TH KaOnuevw eri TO Opovw TO CHvTH Els
8 ays ter] ays octies 8* 29 novies Q min®™ sexies 38 40 bis 12 51 | o Geos}
caBawd 7 17* 28 36 39 79 | 0 ravroxparwp] om o & 36 | o nv] os nv 130 | 0 wy Ka o ny
me g Swoovew AP (-c:) 1 28 36 38 79 al™™ ] dwowow RQ 7 12 14 16 32**
39 81 92 130 dwor 2 69 29 31 35 49 87 gr al*t™ syrs¥vl" | 7a reacepa Swa 68 87
syr8" | evxapiorecas A | rw Apovw NA] Tov Opovov PQ mine™*4 Andr Ar
of the Seraphim (vi. 3 exéxpayev €repos
mpos Tov €repov Kai €Aeyor “Ay.os ayLos
aywos Kuptos aa8aa6). The Apocalyp-
tist, as usual, does not tie himself to
his source; he inserts 6 eds after
Kuptos, changes caBaaé into mavtokpa-
twp, and adds 6 ny xr. from i. 8,
dropping altogether Isaiah’s wAnpns
masa 7 yn THs Soéns avrov, as less
appropriate in a tribute of praise
which is offered in heaven. On ravro-
kpdr@p as a rendering of MiNIY see
i, 8, note. The Liturgies retain the
Isaianic form (Brightman, pp. 18 f.,
50, 132, etc.; cf. Clem. R., Cor. 34),
which has also found its way into the
Te Deum; but they attribute the
Ter Sanctus to “Cherubim and Sera-
phim,” as if meaning to blend Isaiah’s
with Ezekiel’s vision, after the manner
of the Apocalypse. ‘O épyopevos (God
in His future self-manifestations) in
the mouth of the ¢¢a suggests the
aroxapadoxia of Creation (Rom. viii.
19 ff., Apoc. xxi. 1 ff.).
9. Kat drav dadcovoew ra (pa dd€av
ktd.] The difficult décovcw, which is
probably the true reading, is not
without example, see WH." Notes,
p. 178, WM. p. 388, Burton, § 308;
Viteau, Ltude, i. pp. 125, 227 ff,
and cf. Me. viii. 35, note. Translate:
“whensoevyer the living creatures
shall give” (i.e. as often as they give)
“glory...the Four and twenty Elders
shall fall” ete. The two actions are
coordinated as simultaneous. Nature
and the Church must ever unite in
the praise of God; when the one begins
its anthem, it is the signal for the
other to fall upon its knees before
the Throne. The Seer states this
fact, of which the vision made him
cognisant, in the form of a law. This
concurrence of the xéopos and the
exkAngia in the worship of God was
keenly realised by the Ancient Church;
ef. eg. the Liturgy of St Mark
(Brightman, p. 132), wavrore pev mavra
oe ayiater, dda Kal peta TavT@Y TeV GE
ayatovrwy Sé&a, Séomora Kupte, kat
TOY NMEeTEpoY ayragpovy avy avTois Up-
vovvtwy ctr. There is certainly not less
cause for its recognition in an age
which like our own is replete with
new revelations of the wonders of the
physical universe. Every fresh dis-
covery of physical science should
deepen the adoration of the faithful.
Ao€a kat TYAN (=) 133) is from
the Lxx. (Ps. viii. 6, xxviii. (xxix.) J,
xev. (xevi.) 7). The phrase is coupled
in the N.T. with apé@apoia (Rom. ii. 7),
érawos (I Pet. i. 7), Svvayss (Apoe. iv.
II, V. 12). Evyapioria, a word which
with its cognate verb is unknown to
the canonical books of the Lxx., occurs
in a theological sense Paul, Apoe.’,
and in both the Apocalyptic passages
is found in a doxology. While rips
and 86fa have regard to the Divine
perfections, evyapioria refers to the
Divine gifts in creation and redemp-
tion.
T@ (arte eis Tods aldvas Téy alavey
The Living Creatures and the Elders
offer their tribute to the Living God;
created life adores the Uncreated.
74 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [IV.9
10 tovs aidvas Tav aiwvewv, PmecouvTat ot eikoot TET-
Tapes Tpea UTEPOL évwmriov Tou KaOnuevou él TOU
Goovou, Kat TpocKkucovew TO CavTe Els TOUS aiwvas
Tov aiwvev, Kal Badovow Tovs aTepavovs avTwY
évwrioy tov Opovov, NEyovTES
11 ™”AEvos El, 0 KUpLOS Kal O Oeos nov, NaBeEiv
THy Od€av Kal THY Tyuny Kal THY OUVamLY? OTL ov
EKTLOaS Ta TaVTA, Kal Ola TO béAnpa cov noav
Kal ekTicOnoay.
g Tw awywy (om 130)]+apny & 32 g5* syre™ 1o mecouvvrat] pr kac & | om Tov
xabnuevov ere arm* Prim | rpocxwvncovew] adorabant vg me Prim | Tw ave (Tov
auwvos me)]+aunv & 32 syr8* | Badovow] Baddovow S*Q 112 17 28 30 130 al mitte-
bant vg"? me arm II o Kuptos kat o Beos nuwy AQ minfre# syrr arm* Ar] Kupte o
eos nuwy P 7 14% 16 28 36 38 39 47 79 80 130 VE aeth xupre o Kuptos K. 0 0. nu. R+0
ayvos Q min? syr arm Ar | rv Tyunv] om THv. 8 | ray duvauw] om tyv A | ra wayTa om
ra Q Andr Ar | dca GeAnpare (sic) A | noay SA minfre4 g vg (me) syrr aeth al tr ap
Prim Ar] ovx noav Q 14 38 51 etot P17 35 49 79 87 91 130 | om noay ac 36 Prim |
om xa exticOnoay A kat ecw arm?
On 6 Cav see i. 18 ; here it is evidently
a title of the Father (6 caOjpevos emt
tov Opévov), though not to the ex-
clusion of the Son, Who is the Father’s
avvOpovos (iii. 21), or of the Spirit,
Who is represented by the Seven
Spirits before the Throne. With ¢yv
eis Tovs aiavas cf. Deut. xxxii. 40, Dan.
ivergu (34); Apoc. x. (6, exv..7.
IO, Meoouvta of €lkoot Téooapes
mpeoBvrepot ktA.| Hitherto the Elders
have been silent assessors; now they
rise from their thrones (e. 4), fall upon
their knees, and prostrate themselves
(mpockuyyoovow, cf. 1 Regn. xxv. 23)
on the floor of heaven, in readiness to
offer their tribute of praise, laying
their crowns of victory at the foot of
the central Throne. The last act is
suggestive either of the homage paid
to an overlord, or of the submission
of a suppliant, seeking mercy from a
conqueror. Cf. Plutarch, Zucull.,
Pp. 522 Tvypayns 76 Siadyya Tis kepadjs
adedopevos €Onke mp0 Tay Today; Cicero,
pro P. Sest. 27 “hune Cn. Pompeius,
quum in suis castris supplicem abiec-
tumque vidisset, erexit, atque insigne
regium, quod ille de suo capite abie-
cerat, reposuit”; Tac. ann. xv. 29
“ad quam [se. effigiem Neronis] pro-
gressus Tiridates sublatum capite dia-
dema imagini subiecit.” In Jabbuk,
1 f. 55, Pharaoh and the Kings of the
East are represented as taking off
their crowns in the presence of Moses
and Aaron. The ‘crowns’ of the
Elders however were not dradjpara
but orépavor, symbols of victory and
eternal life, and in their case the act
is equivalent to an ucknowledgement
that their victory and their glory were
from God, and were theirs only of
His grace. Cf. Andreas: ov, pyoi,
Aéorora, Tév oTrepavarv THs viKns atTLos
kal xopnyos yéyovas. Arethas: ri ay
dAdo 7) THY KaTa TayT@Y viKknY TO ETL
7 AVT@V dvatibeact Geo ;
11. dé&tos €, 6 KUptos xtA.] The (oa
addressed the Creator simply as 6
Oeds 6 mavtoxparep. The Elders
recognise a relation to Him which the
Creation as such cannot claim. He
is (1) the Lord, the 137) of revelation,
i a
SORE EOE
= i ae Sa
Meet
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 75
\ a> > \ \ \ lon / : \ ~
* Kat etdov é€ri thy de Evav Tov KaOnpeévouv eri tov 1 VY.
Opovov BiBriov yeypaupévov Exwbev Kal dru bev,
V1 edov SP min?'] wov AQ 7
14 36 92 130: item apy 2 | ecwHev APQ min™™ "4
eumpoodey & Or? | omicfev SA 1 14 al syr] efwHev PQ min syrs¥ me arm aeth
Hipp" Andr Ar
and (2) their God (6 @eds par, ef.
ili. 12 6 Meds pov). On the use of the
nominatives 6 kvpios, 6 Oeds, for the
vocatives see Blass, Gv. p. 87. To the
66a and rizr which the (da ascribe to
God the Elders add dvvayis, ef. v. 12,
vii. 12, xix. 1, and the doxologies
in Mt. vi. 13, T.R., and Didache 8.
Glory, honour, and power are rightly
ascribed to the Creator of the universe
(ra mavra), which owes its existence
to His will. *Hoay kat éexticOnoay is
at first sight perplexing; we expect
exriaOnoav kal elon, cf. Acts xvii. 28 év
auto yap (opev kal kwovpeba kal eoper.
Ovx Hoar x. exer. (Q), ‘they were not,
and out of that state of non-existence
were called into being by the act of
creation,’ is an ingenious correction.
But the better supported joarv also
yields a good sense. It places the
potential existence of the universe
before its creation. The Divine Will
had made the universe a fact in
the scheme of things before the
Divine Power gave material expres-
sion to the fact. Thus joay looks
back to the eternal past, éxric@ncav
to the genesis of Nature. Both are
ascribed to the Father; His Will was
the cause (dia rd OéAnua cov), as His
Logos was the Agent of Creation:
cf. 1 Cor, viii. 6 jyiv eis Beds 6 rarip,
e& ov Ta Tavra...Kai cis K’ptos “Incoids
Xpiotos, 60 ob Ta mavra.
Of this chapter as a whole it may
well be said with Tertullian de coron.
15 “si tales imagines in visione, quales
veritates in repraesentatione ?”
VY. 1—14. THE SEALED Book anp
THE LAMB.
I. xat elSov emi ri defy xrd.]
Looking again at the Majesty upon
the central Throne the Seer sees a
book-roll upon (éri with acc., ef. xx. 1)
the open palm of his right hand.
BiBrlov, a roll of papyrus (Maunde
Thompson, Palaecography, p. 54 f.);
ci “Pst xxix, (xh) ev keparids
BiBAiov, Le. iv. 17, 20, and 2 Tim. iv.
13 where $.3\ia are contrasted with
peuBpava. The present roll was
‘sealed down’ and made fast (xare-
ohpayirpevor, ef Isa. ‘xxix, 1cos
Heer avayvavat, eoppayorat yap,
Sap. li. 5 xareoppayia6n, Kai ovdeis
pact with seven seals, as if to
ensure perfect security; cf. Ev. Petr.8,
where eméypwav érta opayidas
answers to Mt. xxvii. 66 nodadicavro
Tov tapoy oppayicayres Tov ior. But
secret as the contents were, the roll
was so full that they had overflowed
to the verso of the papyrus, so that
it was an omiOoypadoy (see Maunde
Thompson, p. 59, Hastings, iv. p. 946,
and cf. Lucian, vit. auct. 9 4 mypa...
HEoT?).. . omit boypaper Bu3riov, Juy.
Sat. i. 6 “summi plena iam margine
libri | scriptus et in tergonecdum fini-
tus Orestes”). The description is based
on Ezek. ii. 9 f. Sod yeip exrerayévn
mpos pé, kal ev attn Kesadrts BiBrX/ov-
kal aveiAnoev attny éevemiov éuor, Kal
ev avtn yeypapupéva Hy Ta Eurporbev
kal ra dic (INN) DB). But the
Apocalyptic roll is sealed against
inspection and not offered to the
Seer to read. It contains no doubt
the unknown future (i. 19 @ peAXee |
yiver@a); it is the Book of Destiny,
to be unrolled and read only as the
seals are opened by the course of
events. The prevalent view of the
ancient expositors, beginning with
Hippolytus (ed. Lag. p. 159 €\aBev ob
TO BiPXLov kai veer, iva Ta Tada Treph
avTov droxpvpes Aadovueva vov pera
76 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
2 kaTecppayicuevoy oppaytow énTa.
[V.1
\ Fa J
*kal €LOOV ay-
> \ / 5) lo / / af
ryeXNov 2B eae IeADUG COV aie ev Dare peyarn Tis aELos
> ~ i ~ y) oo
avoteat TO BiBAlov Kal NU@at Tas oppaytoas QUTOU ;
3 \ pS) \ > / > ~ > a Oe 5 \ _ -~
3 *kal ovdels EdvVaTO ev TH oUpave@ ovoE ETL THS YAS
2Q\ € y ~ ~ 5 a \ , 29\
ovoe VToKaTw TIS Yyns dvol~at TO iBAlov ovoE
/ ,
4 BNrérrEwv avTo.
x yf / e/ \ sf
4kal €xNatov 7oAV, OTL ovdELs aELOS
2 ayyedor] pr addov 35 87 syré" | kypuoc. coxvpov % 130 | om » Pi 28 36 130 al
vg arm Or | om peyadn 130 | 71s agtos]+eo7ev Q min™ g me syr Cypr Prim Andr Ar
3 edvvaro & mine] ydvvaro APQ min™™ | ev tw ovpayw]+avw Q 7 8 14 alstmu
syr | ovde 1° AP minfere33] gyre RQ min™ | ems trys yys] ev Ty yn Syr8" "4 | ovde 2° P
167 28 49 79 91] ovre Q min“*™ (om ovde vox. 7. y. B 130) | BiBAcov]+ Kae Avoat
Tas oppaytdas avrou syr®¥ Prim | ovde 3° AP 1 6 7
syrev
mo\Aoe 1 arm®44 geth zayres me
Tappnoias eri tay Swpdtay Knpvy6n),
that the opening of the seals means
the interpretation of the O.T. by the
coming and teaching of Christ, or the
allegorical interpretation of Scripture
(Origen philoc. ii. 1, Vv. 5 1) yap maca
ypapy ert 7 SnrAovpévn dia THs BiBrov
eumpoo Oey prev yeypaupérn Ova THY mpO-
XEtpov avtis exdoxnv, Oreo Bev dé Sia THY
dvakexwpnykviay kat mvevpatiKny) is in-
consistent with the account of the
process which is given in Apoc. Vi.
1ff. Apringius is nearer to the truth:
“liber hic praesentis est mundi totius
creatura”; and better still is the
comment of Andreas: BiSdiov rhv
mavoopoy Tov Oeov pununy voovpev...Kat
Tov Ocioy kptatav THY aBvocor. Zahn
(inl. ii. p. 596), followed by Nestle
(Text. Crit. p. 333), regards the
BiBXiov as a papyrus in book-form,
connecting kat omiOev with xare-
oppay.cpévov, But his reasons are
not convincing.
2. Kal elOoy ayyedov ioxupoy Knpvo-
govra xrA.| A “strong angel” (x. 1,
xviii. 21) is needed to be the herald
of a challenge addressed to the whole
creation. Tis déws; cf. ris ixavos; (2
Cor. ii. 16), The d&os supports his
claims on moral grounds ; the ixavés,
on grounds which prove him capable
whether morally or otherwise. In the
28 49 79 gt] ovre SQ minferes? car
4 totum vers om A 98 | kat 1°]+eyw Q min?! vg Prim Andr Ar | zodv]
present case moral fitness is the only
ixavorns. >AvotEa kai Avoar; the same
order occurs in v. 5. The hysteron
proteron, as in iv. 11 Hoav Kat éxtioOn-
cay, is apparent rather than real ; to
be able to open the book is the first
necessity and therefore takes the first
place in the order of thought.
3. Kat ovdeis eduvato ev TO odpava@
xtd.] The challenge is not taken up
by any being in heaven, on earth, or
in Hades. For this threefold division
of created life see Phil. ii.
pavioy Kal éemvyet@y Kal katayOoviey:
an earlier grouping in Exod. xx. 4
has under the third head év trois véaow
UmoKaT@ Ths yns, OY (. 11) THv Oadao-
cay. Ovdeis...ovde...ovdé implies a
quasi-ascensive scale, which has given
trouble to the scribes, and the mss.
waver between ovdé and ovre; the
point appears to be that as one after
another of the three regions declines
the challenge, the hope that it will be
met approaches a yanishing point ;
cf. Primasius: nec guisquam...neque
...neque...sed neque... In ovSeis...ovre
Bdérew (here and in @. 4) there is an
implied ovre before avoiEa, cf. WM.
p. 66. For avoiye in reference to a
roll see Le. iv. 17.
4f. Kwai &kAaov odd, Otte KrA.|
With the unrestrained emotion of one
IO e€mov-
eS Oe Oe ee ee pee
V. 6]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN TK
evpeOn avoifac TO BiBdlov ote PErEW avTo.
5 ne > - / / \ =
Kal eis €K Tav mpecPuTEpwv Eyer por My Kdate* 5
idouv éviknoev 6 N€wy O EK THS purrs ‘lovda, 1 pica
Aavets, avoiEa TO BiBNiov Kal Tas érra oppayioas
QuTOU.
6 \ 5 , / =~
Kal €lOov €v Meow TOU
Opovov Kal Twv 6
4 eupeOnoerac &* | avoitac]+Kar avayvwvar 1 36 49 g1 | ovre Bewew auto] Ka
Auoat Tas oppayidas avrov syré¥ Prim
5 0 Newy o] om o 2° N 14 28** syr8¥ + wy
1 | ex pegms arm™™ | avatar] o avorywy Q min®re# avoréer 13 syrr | ras erra cppayidas]
pr Avoac & vg"? syré¥ arm Ori™* Cyprt¢ Hier" om era 73 me syré¥ arm
6 ecdov
(tov 36 92 130 Ldwv Q g)] dou A+Kac dou 35 87 Vg
in a dream or ecstasy the Seer wept
at the result, whether because of his
own disappointment, or because of the
failure of creation to open the roll.
Its inability implied moral incapa-
city; ovdels eduvaro, because ovdeis
agios evpébn. His weeping continued
(€kAaov) until it was stopped by one
of the Elders (eis é€k rév mp.). Here
and in vii. 13 the Elder is merely an
interlocutor, as an Angel is on other
occasions (xvii. I, xxi. 9), and his
intervention has no symbolical mean-
ing. My) «Aaie occurs on the lips of
Christ in Le. vii. 13, viii. 52 etc. and
ti kAaies in Jo. xx. 13 ff. Higher
natures see that human grief is often
needless, springing from insufficient
knowledge.
idod evicnoev 6 Néwy KTA.] “Evixnoev
may be either ‘prevailed’ (A.V.)
_sloxvoey as in Ps. |. (li.) 6 Gras ay
...veKnons €v TO KpiverOai ce, and see
Ps. Sol. iv. 13 eviknoev oxoprioa ; or
‘overcame’ (R.V.), as in iii. 21. But
both the usage of the Johannine books,
and the position of evixnoev, which is
separated by a whole line from avoiEas,
are in favour of the latter rendering,
which places in the forefront the great
historical fact of the victory of the
Christ; ‘behold, a victory was won
by Him Who is the Lion, ete....which
gives Him the right to open the book.’
“O Aéwr 6 ex THs uAs “lovda refers to
Gen. xlix. 9 oxvuvos Aéovros, “Iovda...
avarecoyv exoiunOns ws €wv. In the
Blessing of Jacob Judah is the lion of
the tribes (cf. Prov. xxiv. 65 (xxx. 15)
okupvos éovtos ia yuporepos KTNVaV), AS
Dan is in the Blessing of Moses (Deut.
xxxiii. 22); and the noblest son of
the tribe of Judah is fitly styled the
Lion of that tribe ; cf. Hippolytus, ed.
Lag., p. 4, dca ro Bacdckov kai évdokov
@s éovros mpoxexnpvypevov. With o
ex ths d. “I. comp. Heb. vii. 14 mpo-
dnAov yap te €& “Iovda avareradkev 6
kvpwos nuov. His Judaean origin was
bound up in the primitive belief with
His descent from David. ‘H pita
Aaveid looks back to Isa. xi. 1 éfeXev-
cera pasdos ex Tis pi¢ns (Y13'D) “leraai,
kat dvOos ex ths pitns (WEED) avaBn-
aera, ib, 10 €orae ev TH Hepa exeivy 7
pita (we) Tov leaoai,Kal 6 avuctdapevos
apyew €Ovar; the latter verse is quoted
as Messianic in Rom. xv. 12. As the
Prophet foresaw, the stump of the old
tree of the House of David had sent
forth a new David to rule the nations.
The Apocalyptist evidently finds satis-
faction in this title of Christ, for he
repeats it in xxii. 16 €yad (Ingots) eipt
7 pita Kat Td yevos Aaveid (where see
note): ef. also c. ili. 7, note.
The Lion of Judah, the Son of
David, conquered the world (Jo. xvi.
33, Apoe. i. 18, iil. 21), and one fruit
of His victory is that it belongs to
Him to open the seals of God’s Book
of Destiny, i.e. to carry history onward
through successive stages to the final
revelation.
6. kat eidov ev peg@ Tod Opdvov KTA. ]
78 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[V. 6
/ > >
TET TAPWY Cuwy Kal €v MeTw TWY TPeo PUTEPOV apviov
\ y of y \ \
ETTHKOS ws ETPayMEVOY, EYWY KEepaTa ETA Kal
5) \ e / sf > Aware \ 7 = a
bpbadpous ExTa, ol Eiow Ta ETTa TVEUMaTa TOU DeoU,
6 om ev pecw (2°) syr®” ante twy reo. Swwy pon Prim | ecrynxos APQ min?']
eoTnxws SN 1 7 28 32 36 87 | 0m ws 31 50 95 me arm®* Hipp | ecpayuevor]
ecppayismevoy 7 31 32 38 | exwy NAQ 7 28 30 32 35] exov P min?! | o eow NA I 38
51 87 alla eo Q min™™ | om exra Ar 12 vgom*fu
The Seer, roused from his dejection
by the Elder’s iSov, looks again, and
sees, not a Lion but a Lamb (apvior).
The conception is from Isa. lili. 7 os
mpoBatov emt odaynvy xOn, Kal os
dpvos €vayTioy Tov Kelpovtos apavos.
>Auvos has passed from the Lxx. into
the other passages in the N.T. where
Christ is described as the Lamb (Jo.
i. 29, 36, Acts viii. 32, 1 Pet. i. 19), but
it does not occur in the Apocalypse,
which uses 76 dpviov as a title of our
Lord 29 times in 12 chapters. It is
possible that the Apocalyptist has
taken the latter word from a non-
Septuagintal version of Isaiah, 7. ¢. ;
or he may have had in view Jer. xi. 19
ws apviov akaxov aydopevoy Tov Ovec Gat.
The diminutive must not be pressed,
since dpyés has no nom., but the
contrast of the Lamb with the Lion
is sufficiently striking in any case,
directing attention to the unique com-
bination of majesty and meekness
which characterized the life of Jesus
Christ. Cf. Victorinus: “ad devin-
cendam mortem leo, ad patiendum
vero pro hominibus tanquam agnus
ad occisionem ductus est.” ‘Eornkos
os eopaypevoy: the sacrifice foreseen
by Isaiah and Jeremiah has taken
place and is yielding lasting fruits
(perf.), and there are indications of
the fact that it has been offered (os
éad.); yet the Lamb stands erect
and alive in the sight of Heaven (cf.
i. 18 €yevouny vexpos kat dod Cav etc).
The position which He occupies in
the picture is not quite clear, for
€v peo®...kal ev peom May mean either
‘between the Throne and the Four
Living creatures on the one hand and
the Elders on the other’ (cf. Gen. i. 7
ava pécor...kal ava pécov = Pst...13),
or ‘in the midst of all,’ the Centrepiece
of the whole tableau. But the relative
positions of the Throne, the ¢a, and
the Elders (iv. 4, 6), seem to exclude
the former interpretation, and the
latter is wholly consistent with the
general place assigned to the Lamb
throughout the Apocalypse. With
éatnkos cf. Acts vii. 56 Geapa...rov
vioy tod avOporov ex de&iav éoT@ta
tov Oeov, Apoc. xiv. I iSod To dpviov
éatos él To dpos Sidv. The position
is that of the Priest offering sacrifice
(Heb. x. 11), and the Lamb is both
Sacrifice and Priest. But perhaps
éor. denotes here no more than the
restored life and activity of the
Victim; cf. vii. 17, Xiv. 1.
€x@v képata énta Kat opOadpous
éxta xtd.| The horn as the symbol of
strength is an old Hebrew metaphor
which occurs first in Deut. xxxiii. 17,
where Ephraim is said to have the
horns of the DN, Lxx. povorépas (a
species of wild ox); ef. 1 Regn. ii. 1, 10,
3 Regn. xxii. 11, Ps. xvii. (Xviil.) 3, exi.
(exii.) 9. In the later books of the O.T.
the horn is the symbol of a dynastic
force (Zech. i. 18 (ii. 1) ff£., Dan. vil. 7 ff,
viii. 3 ff.); and in this sense it is used
in Apoc, xii. °3, xiii, 1, Di, Geyalinegpeee
(where see notes). The ‘seven horns
of the Lamb’ symbolize the fulness of
His power as the Victorious Christ; cf.
Mt. xxviii. 18 €866n prot waca eovcia
€v ovpare kal emi yns, JO. XVil. I ed@Kas
avt@ e€ovaiay raons capxos. In Enoch
xe. 37f. the Messiah appears as a
white D8 with great black horns (see
.
4
4
>
V. 8]
cod \ ad
amecTaNEvolr Els TaTav THY YHV.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 79
7kal nAOev Kal 7
eiAnev éx THs OeEras TOU KaOnuEVOU Ext TOU Opovov.
8
\ cd yf \ / \ / ~
kal oTe EXaBev TO BiBNlov, Ta TérTEpa CHa Kai oi 8
6 amecrahuevr A] arecra\ueva & 38 49 130 Ta areoradu. 1 79 me Hipp amo-
ore\opeva Q min*™*™ 7a amrosredn. 7 8 9 13 16 syre Vid
1**™5 7 36 (38) syr* syr’¥ me Prim
Charles, ad /.). With the fulness of
strength the Lamb possesses also the
fulness of vision, symbolized by seven
eyes; cf. iv. 6, 8, where the (da have
eyes before and behind, around and
within, yet do not possess the plenary
illumination ascribed to the Lamb.
The Apocalyptist has in view Zech.
li, 9 émt rov Ridov rov eva énra
dpOahpot elow, iv. 10 émta ovroe op-
@adpot eiow [Kupiov] of éemiBdérovtes
(DNDDIvD), He identifies the “seven
eyes of the Lord,” which are also the
eyes of the Lamb, with the “seven
Spirits of God.” The eyes of Christ
are ws PAOE trupos (i. 14), and the seven
Spirits (i. 4, note) blaze like torches be-
fore the Throne of God (iy. 5). But in
their position before the Throne they
are stationary, whilst, as the eyes of
the Lamb, they have a mission to all
the earth. The reading is uncertain;
we have to choose between drearad-
peva (N), drrooredNopeva (Q) and drec-
tadpévor (A). The last agrees with
Zech. 1. c. (pO. of értBderovres), and
has the merit of being the harder
reading. The sense in any case is
materially the same; the eyes, that is
the Spirits, are sent. *ArooréAXNeo ba,
it can hardly be doubted, has reference
to the Mission of the Spirit (cf. Le.
xxiv. 49 Sod eyd efaroatéAXw Thy
émayyediav Tov maTpds pou ed’ vpas,
Gal. iv. 6 éefaméorei\ev 6 Oeds TO
mvevpa Tov viod avrod els Tas Kapdias
jpov), though the Johannine Gospel
uses 7éurew in this connexion (xiv. 26,
xy. 26, xvi. 7). A mission of the Spirit
to the whole world carries us beyond
the earlier conception of His work, yet
see Jo. xvi. 8f. As the Spirit of Jesus
7 eXdnpev|+ro BiBrcov
8 ehaBer] ernpev 130 | rercapa PQ mine™n vid |
(Acts xvi. 7) and the “Eyes of the
Lamb,” His mission is oecumenical.
7. kat mAOev wai eiAndhev ek tips
defcas krA.] ‘And I saw Him go (aor.),
and now He has taken [the book] out
of the hand of Him Who sits on the
Throne.’ Cf. iii. 3 etAndas at jKoveas,
viii. 5 etAndev...xal éyeuirev, Xi. 17
etAnpas Kal ¢Bacidevoas; eipnxa is
similarly joined with an aorist in vii.
13 f., xix. 3. WM. (p. 340) holds the
perf. in v. 7, viii. 5, to be simply
aoristic; cf. Blass, Gr. p. 200, who
gives other exx. from the Pauline
Epp., and from subapostolic litera-
ture. On the other hand see Benson,
Apocalypse, p. 150f., who makes a
good case for retaining in the Apoca-
lyptic instances a more or less distinet
flavour of the sense of the perfect.
Here ciAndev may point (Weiss,
Bousset) to the abiding results of the
action, or it may be simply realistic,
as explained above. Realism also
explains the absence of rd Bi8réov;
the movement is so rapid that the
subject is left to be understood.
8. kal dre €XaBev Td BiBXiov xrdr.]
The aorist of ordinary narration is
resumed. When the Lamb took the
roll, the representatives of the animate
creation and of the universal Church
fell before Him. Upooxivners, though
not mentioned as in iy, 10, is perhaps
implied; cf. 7. 14, where after their
praise of God and of the Lamb the
Elders érecav xai rporextvnaay, “Exov-
res €xaotos is probably to be referred
to the Elders only, for though the
masculines might include the (@a
(cf. yor, iv. 7 f.), the particulars which
follow are not appropriate to the
80 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[V. 8
of / / »/ / =~
ELKOGL TEDO APES TpEo BUTEPOL ETTEO AV €VWITLOV TOU
5) i} oy ef / \ / a
GOVLOV, EXOVTES EKATTOS Kapa Kat Piadas yovoas
/ / e/ 5) € \ Lod
YyeMouvaas Oupiapator, al €lOlY al T POT EVV Al TWV
Q ayiwy.
9 \ 10 2S \ \ ,
Kal a OUO LY wOony KQaLVYHV A€yovTes
8 erecov Q min?! | exacros exovtes N ex. exaoTos avrww syré"¥id | xiPapas 1 7 29
36 49 51 gt 96 al vg| giaryy xpvoqy yepoucay syré” | xpvceas & | ae ecow AP
min?! syrr Andr Ar] a ecw XQ 36 | ae rpooevyar] om ar &* 6 14 130 al™ spocevyw
278 19 27 29 41 43 48 50 82 93
latter. Each Elder is now seen to
carry a xiOapa, i.e. a lyre or zithern
(the 33 of the O.T., in Daniel D1N'p
(Rri DINP)), thetraditionalinstrument
of psalmody (cf. Ps. xxxii. (xxxiil.) 2,
XCVii. (xcViii.) 5, exlvi. (exlvii.) 7, cl. 3);
the word is used again by the Apo-
calyptist in another description of the
celestial music (xiv. 2 os xidapwdav
KiOapiCovt@y ev tais KiOapats avTav, XV.
2 €yovras KiOdpas Tov Geov). Beside
their lyres the Elders had golden bowls
or saucers (ida, paterae, see xVii. 1),
full of incense, such as according to
Josephus were placed on the shew-
bread (antt. iv. 6. 6; in iii. 10. 7 he
calls them ivaxes, plates). Ouvjua-
para, pl., as usually in the Lxx. (Gen.
XXXVii. 25, 1 Chr. vi. 49, Jer. xvii. 26)
and elsewhere in this book (Apoe. viii.
3f, xviii. 13). Av probably refers to
Ovp. and not to duiadas, deriving its
gender by attraction (WM. p. 206 f.)
from mpocevxat: ad (SQ) is the correc-
tion of a scribe who has felt the
difficulty without realizing the true
solution. The prayers of the Church
are symbolized by the incense (Ps.
exl. 2 karevOuvOnT@ 1) mpomevyx7 jLov ws
Oupiapa every cov, Le. i. 10 may Td
TAHOG0s Hv Tov Aaod mpotevyopevoy ew
TH @pa Tov Ovpraparos), as its psal-
mody, already an important element in
Church worship (1 Cor. xiv. 15, 26,
Eph. y. 19, Col. iii. 16), is represented
by ‘the lyres. The Elders are fitly
charged with both, since they repre-
sent the Church, and in the act which
follows symbolize the Church’s adora-
tion of Christ. For ai mpocevyai, the
Q Kat adovow] adovres syré¥ 4 Prim
normal, familiar, acts of prayer, indi-
vidual or collective, see Acts ii. 42,
Rom. i. 10, 1 Tim. ii. 1, v. 5, 1 Pet. iit
7, and esp. Apoce. viii. 3 f.
The ceremonial use of incense in the
services of the Church, which might
have been suggested by this passage,
does not seem to have any ante-Nicene
support; Christians of the first three
centuries were probably deterred from
adopting it by the place which it held
in pagan worship (cf. Tert. apol. 30,
42, and other passages cited in D.C.A.,
s. © ‘Incense’). Even ‘Silvia’ (ed.
Gamurrini, p. 49) states the purpose
of the thymiamateria in the great
Church at Jerusalem to have been
merely “ut tota basilica Anastasis
repleatur odoribus.” The Apostolic
Canons, however, recognize incense as
a legitimate accessary at the offering
of the Eucharist (can. 3 @upiaua 76
Kalp@ Tis ayias mpoopopas).
9. kat adovow @dnv kawny] A ‘new
song’ (YIN TY, 61) Kaw), dopa Kawov,
vpvos Kkawods) is mentioned in Ps.
XXXli. (Xxxili.) 3, xxxix. (xl) 4, xev.
(xevi.) I, xevii. (xeviii.) 1, exliii. (exliy.)
9, exlix. 1, Isa. xlii, 10. Originally
denoting only a fresh song of praise,
the phrase lent itself especially to
songs composed for great occasions;
e.g. in Isa. 2. c. the new song springs
out of a prophecy of the new order
which is to be inaugurated by the
Servant of Jehovah; and similarly
Judith’s paean over the death of
Holofernes is a duvos xawos (Judith
xvi. 13) In the Apocalypse it is
appropriately used for the Church’s
V. 10]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
SI
"Agus i NaBeiv TO (3i3Xiov Kal dvoi~a Tas
-~ > ~ ef > / \ ’ /
oppayioas aUTOU, OTL ExPayns Kal HYyopacas
— r - / / > /
To Yew ev TW aiuaTl Tov EK TaTNs
: / 4 \ ~ \ of
yAwoorns Kat \aov Kat €Ovous,
urns Kae
\ /
Kal erolnoas 10
> \ col c cad / \ e ~ \
auTOUS TW Gew 1) A@V Baote.av Kal LEepels, Kal
‘ ‘
/ ? \ and ~
BaoiwWevovow él THS Ys.
9 avorkar] Avoa syrs” | om esPayns Kai 130 | Tw Gew (om 1 vgh*"!* Cypr)]+ quas
SPQ min?! me syrr arm Cypr Prim
10 avurous] nuas vg’! | rw dew nuwy om A |
Baoi\kecavy SA vg me Cypr Prim] Baci\es Q min°™ “4 syr arm aeth Andr Ar Saci\ecav
kat tepets Kat Baoiders syrs* | Baoi\evovoew AQ 7 14 28 29 35 38 al syr] Baci\evoovew
NP x 2 4 5 6 8 30 31 32 36 130 al g vgo™ Mharitol me syré¥ arm‘ Cypr Baot\evcopev
ygcledem arm! Ar Prim’! (regnavimus)
praise of Redemption (cf. xiv. 3); the
@d) Kawy answers to the dvopya cawov
(ii. 17, iii. 12), the "Iepovoadnp Kkawy
(iii. 12, xxi. 2), the ovpavds Kavos xal
yn kawy (xxi. 1), the xawva mavra (xxi. 5)
of the great Christian prophecy.
G&uos ef AaBeiv Td BiBXilov xrr.] The
Elders recognize in Christ the absolute
moral worthiness which has qualified
Him to take the Book of Destiny from
the hand of God and open its seals
(dvoi~a ras odp.=av. TO BiBdXiov Kat
doa Tas odp., v. 2). This a&corns is
based neither on His unique relation
to God, nor on the perfection of His
human life, but on the fact of His
sacrifice (é7e eodayns, cf. v. 6 ws
é€opaypevov). SpaterOa is used to
describe the Death of Christ only in
this book (vv. 6, 9, 12, xiii. 8), where its
use is due to Isa. lili. 7 ws mpoS8arov
eri oayny 7xOn; it is interesting to
find it occurring also in references to
the martyrdoms which were trying
the faith of the Churches of Asia
(vi. 9, xviii. 24). Other Apostolic
writings speak of Christ as ‘crucified’
or ‘sacrificed,’ or simply as having
‘died’ °Ayopatew, a Pauline word
(1 Cor. vi. 20, vii. 23, and in the
compound efay., Gal. iii, 13, iv. 5),
is used in this sense elsewhere only
in Apoc. (here and xiv. 3 f.) and in
2 Peter (ii. 1); it rings with echoes of
the Greek dyopai, familiar both to
St Paul and St John. The ‘purchase’
Ss. R.
was made with the Blood of the slain
Lamb (ev té aiuari cov, where év
denotes the price, as in i. 5 Avoavre
nas €v TO ai. avTov); see Acts xx. 28,
1 Cor. vi. 20, 1 Pet. i. 18 ff It was
made “for God,” the thing purchased
being destined for His service (Rom.
vi. 22, 1 Cor. 2. c.). In what it con-
sisted, ie what was purchased,
appears in the words that follow: é«
maons duAjs xTX., ‘representatives of
every nationality, without distinction
of race or geographical or political
distribution’; cf. vii. 9, xiv. 6 and the
similar enumerations in X. II, Xi. 9,
xiii. 7, xvii. 15. The origin of the
poe. eg perhaps to be sought in
Dan. Ay 7, Vs 16, Vi 252-0h Gene
4 Eedr, iii. 7 (16). The scope which it
assigns to ‘the redemptive virtue of
the Cross is less wide than that which
is contemplated in 1 Tim. ii. 3f., 1 Jo.
ii. 2; but the ‘new song’ refers only
to those in whom Redemption has
become effective by their incorpora-
tion in the Body of Christ. The
oecumenical mission of the Church is,
however, fully recognized; the Seer
sees in it a worldwide Empire ex-
tending far beyond the shores of the
Mediterranean and the sway of the
Caesars.
10. Kai €xoingas atrols ta bea
jmov xrd.) A further result of the
Lamb’s Sacrifice. Those whom He
purchased He made a Kingdom and
WOODSTOCK COLLEG®
82 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
ee or
\ ED Wen abs Jd € \ 5) / -
II “kal €l0ov, Kal nKovTa ws wrnv ayyehwy mo
/ > / \ om / \ o /
KUKAW TOU Opovov Kat Tw Cw Kal T@V TpETBUTE-
pov, Kal nV O ap.O os AUTWV puupiaves pupiadwy Kal
12 yiAiddes yiiddwv, *AEyovTEs ova peyary
Ir eddov &P min?!] doy AQ 7 14 92 | om ws APQ* 1 14 49 7o al vg me arm aeth
Prim (hab $Q** min**™ syr Andr Ar) | kuxXofev 1 | om Kat Twy mpecBuTEpwr...pupt-
adwy 1 | wupias...xuAcas syré¥ | om Kat Xin. XA. 38 130
95 97 vg Prim pr xa syr8”
priests unto God. Cf. i. 6 ezoinoer
jpas Baowrelay, iepeis TO Oe@ Kal TarTpi
avTov, XX. 6 €vovrat iepeis Tov Oeov Kal
Tov Xptorov, kal Baowevoovow per
avrov, and see notes on both verses.
The fact that this chord is struck thrice
in the Apoc. seems to imply special
familiarity on the part of both writer
and readers with the words as well as
the thought: possibly they entered
into a primitive hymn which may
have run: ézoincas nas Bacureiay |
iepeits TO Oe@ Kal warpi cov | kat Bact
hev[ lower emi tis y7s. In the present
passage the harder BaowWevovow (AQ)
is perhaps to be preferred; the reign
of the Saints had begun in the life of
the Spirit, though in the fuller sense
it was yet future: cf. Mt. v. 3, 5
avtayv eotiv n PBacidela...KAnpovoun-
covet THY ynv, 1 Cor. iv. 8 ywpis nuav
eBaowWevoate; Kai o:edov ye €Bactdev-
gare, wa Kal npeis vpiy oupBacirev-
ceopev. For the future, see Apoc.
RX Ome XK 5,
The ‘new song’ vindicates for Jesus
Christ the unique place which He has
taken in the history of the world. By
a supreme act of self-sacrifice He has
purchased men of all races and
nationalities for the service of God,
founded a vast spiritual Empire, and
converted human life into a priestly
service and a royal dignity. He who
has done this is worthy to have com-
mitted into His hands the keeping of
the Book of Destiny, and to break its
Seals and unroll its closely packed
lengths; to preside over the whole
12 AeyorTes] AeyorTwy 38
course of events which connects His
Ascension with His Return.
II. Kal e(Oov, kal nkovea was Povny
ayyéwv To\A@y KTA.] A new feature
in the vision introduced by a fresh
kal eidov (0. I, 2, 6, Vi 1, 2, 5, Os eOumme
etc.; cf. iv. 1, note). Except the
‘Hierophant’ (iv. 1), and the Strong
Angel of v. 2, this vision has been
hitherto without angelic appearances;
now at length the Angels are seen in
their myriads, forming a vast ring
around and therefore outside the El-
ders, who are themselves around the
central Throne (cf. iv. 4). The Seer
gives their numbers from Dan. vii. 10:
xXAuae yruddes E€Aecrovpyouv avTa@, Kal
pvpial pupiddes rapotnKercay avT@: cf.
Enoch xiv. 22 xvicdko pupiae pupiades
éaTnkaow éevertoy avtod ; tb. xl. 1, Ix.
1, Ixxi. 8, and Heb. xii. 22 f. rpoceAn-
Ai’Oare pupiaow ayyéhov: the source
of all these computations is probably
Deut. xxxiil. 2 xaréomevoev €& Spovs
Papay ody pupiaow Kadns (IP n237),
ex deEiwv avtov ayyedou pet adtod: cf.
Ps. Ixvii. (Ixviii.) 18. With the phrases
pupiades pupiadar, xiduades yurcadav
cf. Gen. xxiv. 60 yivov eis xAiddas
puptadov, Num. x. 36 yAdcddas pupia-
das, Apoe. ix. 16 Sur pupiades pupiadov,
The voice of this vast concourse
—a peyadn porn indeed—is a shout
rather than a song. There is no
mention of x.@apac or @67 here ; the
Angels simply acclaim the Lamb as
worthy.
12. déudv eotw TO dpviov xth.] Not
a&.os ef as in v, 9. The terms, more-
V. 13] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 83
/ / > \ > , \ ’ /
A€uov eoTW TO adpvioy TO EeEaxdaypuEvoY
- \ / \ cal \ / \
NaBeiv Thy Suva Kai TWOUTOY Kal copiav Kat
’ \ \ \ \ / \ > /
loyuv Kal Tyuny Kal dofav Kal €vAoylar.
‘ cal / rat > -~ > ~ \ cr
Skat Wav KTIOMa O EV TW OVpaVwW Kal él THs 13
-~ \ / - lod \ > - /
yns Kal UrokaTw THS yns Kal émi tHs Oartacons
\ \ ~ / Uy /
Kal Ta €v avTOls TayvTa, HKovTa NEyovTas
12 agiov RQ min™ 4 syr] atios A aétos ex syr8” | ecpayyevor] erppayipevor 58 |
mXovurov] pr rov Q min'™ 13 o]+eorw Pr 28 35 36 al™ "4 vg syr Prim Andr
(conj to Nestle) | exe rns yns] ev Ty yn 1 alY™™ syré” | om Kat vroxarw Ts yys & 12
14 33 47 95 ve™ me arm | em 7s Oadacons] Ta ev TH Oadacon & VE me syrr arm"
Prim + eorw A 6 78 130 al+a eorw PQ 1 30* 34 35 49 al Vg +o eorw syr8¥"4 | rayTa
nkovoa Neyovras P 6 32 go 130] mavra nk. Neyovra A I 12 mavras yk. Neyorras 2 7 8
alstmu mayra Kat nk. Neyovras & 30 34 35 36 87 98 al syrr mavta Kat ravras yk.
Aeyorras Q
over, are more general—ro eodaypevov
for dre éeodayns, and for ae To
BiBrioy the usual A. rv dvvayw Krr.
(iv. 11). The Angels stand outside
the mystery of Redemption, though
they are far from being uninterested
spectators (Eph. iii. 10, 1 Pet. i. 12),
and recognize both the grandeur of
the Lord’s sacrificial act, and its
infinite merit. The doxology which
they offer to the Lamb is even fuller
than that which in iy. 11 is offered
by the Elders to the Creator, for to
glory and honour and power it adds
riches, wisdom, strength, and blessing.
TiAotros, copia, icyvs, evdoyia, are
specially appropriate in a doxology
offered to Christ; cf. 2 Cor. viii. 9
éent@xevoev Tovows av, I Cor. i. 24
Beov Svvapw Kai Ocot codiav, Le. xi.
22 emav S€ iaxuporepos avrov [rod
lexvpod] emedOdy vixnon avrov, Rom.
XY. 29 €v mAnp@pate evAoyias XpioTod.
For mAotros and icyv’s in a doxology
see 1 Chron. xxix. 11 f. The seven
attributes form a heptad of praise
which leaves nothing wanting in the
Angels’ acclamation of the Lamb.
Arethas compares Mt. xxviii. 18 €5d6@n
po. maca eLovoia ev ovpave xrh., and
adds: r@ dpvia 1 ékovoia imép rod
€opaxOa déSorac trav erovpaviwy Kai
emtyei@v Kat KatayOoviwy (cf. Phil. ii.
9 f.).
13. kal may kricpa 0 ev TO ovpava
kth.] A still wider circle offers its
doxology. The whole Creation is
summoned from its four great fields
of life (cf. v. 3); the Sea is now added
explicitly. The gathering is no longer
representative only, but exhaustive,
not one created thing being omitted
(wav xriopa, Ta ev avTois mavra). Kriopa
occurs first in Sirach and Wisdom,
where it seems to be distinguished
from () xriow; in the N.T. (Jac. i
18, 1 Tim. iv. 4, Apoce. v. 13, viii. 9) it
is invariably concrete, ‘a creature,’ ‘a
created thing” The Seer does not
himself see Creation rising in its in-
numerable forms of life to offer its
doxology; this is no part of the vision
which comes to him through the open
door. But he hears the roar of the
great acclamation as it rises to heaven,
and it is heard also within the circle
round the Throne, for the (a re-
spond (v. 14). John’s nearness to the
Throne, or (what is the same thing)
the elevation of his spirit, enables
him to voice the purpose of universal
Nature; he becomes conscious that
it exists only to glorify God and the
Lamb.
6—2
sc
84 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [Voxe
A / ’ \ - / \ > > / et
Tw Kabyuev emt TH Gpove Kal T@® dpviey 1
2 Aimee No ve \ / 2
evAoyia Kal 1) Ty Kal 7 O0€a Kal TO KpaTos Eis
\ I-A =~ 2
TOUS alwVasS TWY alwywY.
\ a / - af > / \ €
14 “kal Ta Téecoepa Cwa EXeyov ‘Auyv, Kal ol mper-
/ fi Vers ,
BuTepor éererav Kal StpoweKuyncay,
13 Tw Opovw AQ 2 6 7 8] rou @povov &P 1 al™ Andr Ar | cat Tw aprw] om me om
kac &-* A syr | 7 evAoyia] om y P | xa 70 kparos] ravToxparopos &* om arm$ |
Tw awywry)]tauny Q 1 altt*™ aeth Andr Ar 14 Teccapa NPQ | edeyor 1 7
28 vg] Aeyorra Q min**™ syrs~ me Ar | auqv] pr ro Q minfre4? Ar | rpecBurepoc]
pr ecxoce Tecoapes vg? Prim | erecov Q minP449 Andr Ar | xac rpocexuvyoay]+ viven-
tem in saecula saeculorum vg*® Prim om 130
TO kaOnuevm eri TO Opovm kai TO
ae s zt
apvio| Cf. vii. 10. In xxii. 1, 3 the
Throne belongs to God and to the
Lamb conjointly (see iii. 21 note);
but the offering of the doxology to
Both in the same terms is scarcely
less significant. While the Angels’
doxology was sevenfold, the Creation’s
is fourfold, consisting of the last three
points in the former, with the addition
of kpdaros which takes the place of
ixxvs, active power being here in view
rather than a reserve of secret strength
(cf. Eph. i. 19, vi. 10). This fourfold
attribution of praise agrees with the
character of those who offer it, for four
is the number of the creature; see
Me. xiii. 27, Apoc. iv. 6, vii. 1; Iren.
lii. 11. 8 réooapa kdivata Tov KoOopou
ev @ eopev eiot, Kal Téeooapa KaboALKa
mvevuata. It is perhaps not without
meaning that each of the perfections
named is separately emphasized by
the article (7 evAoyia k. 7 Ti kK. 7
doa x. TO Kparos): contrast v. 12 Thy
Svvapiy kat mAovtov kKtTA. Eis rovs
ai@vas Tov aidvey gives infinity to the
whole ; the exaltation of the Lamb is
not temporary but enduring.
14. kat ta tésoepa (Ga devo
*Aunv| The heavenly representatives
of ‘animate creation confirm the dox-
ology which rises from the earth.
For €Xeyor ’Apuny ef. 1 Chron. xvi. 36
kal €pet mas 6 Naos "Auny, I Cor. xiv.
16 mas epet TO “Auny emi tH oH evyap-
toria = Justin, apol. i. 65 mas 6 mapar
Aads erevdnuct Aeywr "Apny: ib. 67.
The words are probably suggested by
the familiar ‘Amen’ with which at
Ephesus and elsewhere in Asia the
Seer’s own Eucharistic thanksgiving
had always been ended. The whole
passage is highly suggestive of the
devotional attitude of the Asiatic
Church in the time of Domitian to-
wards the Person of Christ. It con-
firms Pliny’s report “[Christianos]
carmen Christo quasi deo dicere
secum invicem,” and the statement
in Euseb. HE. v. 28 Wadpoi d€ dcor
kat dai adehar am apyns ro moTav
ypagetoa Tov hoyov Tov Oeov Tov xpio-
Tov vpvovat Geohoyourres.
kal of mpeoSurepot emecay Kal mpoo-
exuvnoav| The whole service of praise
ends with a fresh act of homage on
the part of the Church’s representa-
tives. Here as in iy. Io it is the
Elders who prostrate themselyes. The
deepest homage is due from the
Church, which has been redeemed and
made a royal priesthood unto God.
VY 117
FIRST SIX SEALS
I. kai efSov xrd.] The vision pro-
ceeds (on xai eidov see v. I, 6, 11).
The Lamb, who has already taken the
roll (y. 7), now opens the seals one by
one. The first four openings (vv. 1—8)
form a series, marked by a common
note ; each is preceded by an utter-
ance from one of the four (da, and
THE OPENING OF THE
ae
VL 2)
\ an vw / \ , , > - t \
*Kat eisov ore nvoiEev TO apviov play ek Tov extra i VI,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 85
lo ew 3 \ > - / /
oppaylWwr, Kal KovTa Evos EK THY TETTAapwY CwwY
AEyovTos ws pwr PBpovTns ”Epxou.
\ 7 \
2kal ElOOV, Kal 2
> Nt iet / \ e / 54ny ’ \ /
iOou tos NeuKos, Kal 6 KaOypuEvos er’ avTOV Exwv
/ > / - / \ > va ~
Togeov, Kal €000n aiTw@ oTEavos, Kal EEnAOEV viKwY
VI 1 ecdov CP min?! Ar] wov RAQ 7 14 92 | ore] ore Q min"rTe4? arm yg ther!
Andr Ar | om erra P t 6 28 34 79 al me arm! | devyovrTos] Aeyoucay & syr post Bpovrns
pon A 130 | dwyns P 1 6 31 dwrnvy B® 26 gt 130 Vg arm! | Bpovrwy syr8”™4 | epyou)
+ kat we SQ mine + et vide vg*!*™ syrr me aeth Vict Prim
2 ka. ed. XP 1
alm (Kar ov AC 7 36)] om Q min"re%? ygfudemharl* tollips Vict Prim Ar pr kat nxovga
syré” | vixwy] pr o A arm*4
followed by the appearance of a horse
and his rider, whose significance is
partly explained.
For piav ex, vos &x, see y. 5 note;
éx with a partitive genitive is especi-
ally frequent in the Apoc., cf. Blass,
Gr. p. 96f. The writer declines to
say which seal was opened first, or
which of the (6a began ; neither point
is material.- ‘Qs dary Bpovris, cf.
xiy. 2, xix. 6, and for the instrumental
dative see y. 12, Vi. 10; doryy (N),
gorns (P), are corrections. It is
unnecessary to create an irregularity
by reading dery (with Tischendorf,
Bousset, Nestle).
Each of the (@a in succession
thunders out his épxov (vv. 1, 3, 5, 7).
The scribes have understood this as a
call to the Seer, and many mss. ac-
cordingly add kat iSe, or cai Brére ;
see app. crit. But (1) dedpo would
have been the natural word to invite
the approach of the Seer; and (2)
no reason can be shewn why he should
have been called within the door and
across the Sea in order to witness the
visions which follow. Many ancient
interpreters, regarding the white horse
as the “verbum praedicationis ” ( Vie-
torinus, ef. Zahn, Lind. ii. p. 689),
explain Veni as the summons to faith
(e.g. Apringius : “ ren? dicitur invitatio
ad fidem”). But throughout the Apoe.
épxevOa is used of the comings of
God or of Christ (6 epydopevos, i. 4, 8,
iv. 8; €pyouat, ii. 5, 16, ili. 11, XVi. 15,
XXil. 7, 12, 20; €pyxerat, i. 73 €pxov,
xxli. 17, 20). The last two references
help to determine the meaning of
épxov here; the ‘Come’ of the (da
corresponds to the ‘Come’ of the
Spirit and the Bride, and of the hearer
and the writer of the book (xxii. 17, 20);
Nature no less than the Spirit in re-
deemed Man calls for the coming of
the Christ. Thus the fourfold épyou
of the (aa represents the amoxapadoxia
THs ktioews (Rom. viii. 19 ff.) which at
each crisis in the preparatory process
becomes yocal in the ear of the
prophet.
2. Kat eldov, cai iSod trmos AevKds
xt\.| The vision of the four horsemen,
distinguished by the colour of their
horses, who follow successively the
opening of the first four seals, has
evidently been suggested by Zech. vi.
1 ff., i800 réowapa Gppara...ev TO appare
7 mpare inmroe _Tuppot, kal ey To
appart T@ Sevtépw immoe peaves, Kal ev
™} dpyare TO TPIT} immo AevKol, Kal ev
™T® apuarte T® TETAaApT®@ imTTot moxiroe
Wapot (grizzled bay). Zechariah’s four
horses are “the four winds of heaven”
(v. 5), and their mission is to execute
judgement upon Babylon, Egypt, and
the other heathen nations of the
world. The Apocalyptist borrows
only the symbol of the horses and
their colours, and instead of yoking
the horses to chariots he sets on each
86 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
AW ie7, /
3 Kal lva ViKyo?).
[Vales
. 7 \ es
3Kal OTE nvoeev THY oppayiva THV
»>/ lal / »
devTépar, HKOUGO aA TOU devTEpou Cwou NEyovTos ‘Epyou.
2 Kat wa viknon] Kae evixnoey SB Me+Kar evik. 32 36 pr kat evex. Syr87 OM Kat ATM
Tert
3 THY oppaytoa THy devTepay] THY devt. opp. Q min?! Andr Ar | epxov]+Kae
we & 34 35 38 39 alPeuc+ et vide vgclefudemharitollips me (aeth) Vict Prim Andr
of them a rider in whom the interest
of the vision is centred.
In the first vision the horse is white,
the rider carries a bow and receives a
conqueror’s crown (aréedavos) ; he goes
forth, it is noted, as a conqueror, and
with the purpose of winning fresh
conquests (iva viknon, not ws vexjoar).
It is tempting to identify him with
the Rider on the white horse in
xix. 11 ff, whose name is ‘the Word
of God’; cf. Iren. iv. 21. 3 “‘ad hoc
enim nascebatur Dominus...de quo et
Toannes in Apocalypsi ait Exivit vin-
cens, ut vinceret.” But the two riders
have nothing in common beyond the
white horse ; the details are distinct ;
contrast e.g. the dsadyuara moda of
xix. 12 with the single orédavos here,
and the poudaia o€eta with the ro€or.
A vision of the victorious Christ would
be inappropriate at the opening of a
series which symbolizes bloodshed,
famine, and pestilence. Rather we
have here a picture of triumphant
militarism. The lust of conquest
which makes great Empires, whether
the Seer had in view the Empire of
the Caesars or the Parthian power
which menaced it (for, as Prof. Ramsay
says (Letters, p. 58), the bow points
specially to the latter ; cf. Mommsen,
rom. Gesch. ¥. 389), was the first and
most momentous of the precursors of
the final revelation.
In a Roman triumphal procession
the victorious general did not ride
a white horse, but was seated in a
four-horse car (Ramsay, Letters, l.c.).
Yet. white was the colour of victory;
cf. Verg. den. iii. 537 “quattuor hic,
primum omen, equos in gramine
vidi | tondentes campum late can-
dore nivali”; on which Servius
remarks, “hoc ad_ yictoriae omen
pertinet.”. Moreover the horses which
drew the quadriga were on occa-
sions white; see Plutarch, Camill. 7
TeOpimmov vmofevEauevos evKomwAov
even, kal dueEndace ths ‘Popns. He
adds, it is true: ovdevds TovTo moinoav-
Tos Nyeuovos mporepov ovd vaTeEpoy ;
but cf. Dio Cassius, H. R. xliii. 14
(C. Julius Caesar) ra émwikia ra
mpoewnpiopeva eri te evkay immer
kat pera paBdovxeav krr.
3f. Kal ore nvoiEev THY opayida THY
deurépay xrd.] As the white horse and
his rider vanish, bent on the career
of conquest (iva vknon), the Lamb
opens the second seal, and there
comes forth another horse, not white
but muppos, ‘blood red’ (cf. 4 Regn.
lil. 22 ra vdara ruppa (OND TN) @oEL
aiza); the word is used of the red-
brown of the heifer (Num. xix. 2), and
here, as in Zech. i. 8, vi. 2, of the roan
of the horse, not however without
allusion to its proper meaning. The
rider on the red horse has received
(e660) aito) a great sword, as a
symbol of his mission. Mayatpa may
be either a knife carried in a sheath
at the girdle (Jo. xviii. 10), or a
weapon for use in war (see Hastings,
D. B. iv. 634); this one is clearly of
the latter sort, and it is large of its
kind (jeyaAn).
Together with the sword the second
rider had received power to plunge
the world into war; his sword was
not the symbol of civil justice (Rom.
xiii. 4) but of bloodshed. “It was
given him to take Peace (rv eipyyny)
from off the earth and (to cause men)
to slay one another”—the negative and
positive sides of warfare. The con-
struction is rugged and broken, as if
in sympathy with the subject (r@ xad.
vi 6] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 87
in 9 cal Vv / / ‘ - / > >
4Kal €&nOev adXos tr7ros Tuppos, Kal TW KaOnuEVW ET’ 4
\ ’ / - -~ \ ’ / - ~ ‘
avTov €000y avTw@ Nafety THY Elpnyny EK THS YyHS Kal
/ > / / \ > / , - /
iva add\Andous spafovow, Kat €000n avTw payaipa
/ 5 YA A \ 10 \ /
peyann. Kal OTE Hvol~Ev THY TPpayiva THY Tpl-
/ ~ / / y
THY, NKovTa TOU TpiTOV Cwou EeyorTos "Epyxou.
ol
Kal
io \ io Yi ef , Wae Oy eae, ’ \
€l0ov, Kal toov twos pméAas, Kal 6 KaOnuEVos ér’ avTOV
7 \ > - \ ’ ~ 6 \ Sf c
EXov Cuyov ev TH XEIpt avrou. kat nKovTa ws 6
> ~ ~
pwrnv év werw THV TETTApWY Cowv NEyoucay XoinE
citov Onvapiov, Kal Tpets yotKes KpiOwy Syvaptou:
4 ka e&mOev] Kae t5ov Kae cdou ef. (34 35) (me) Andr | om addos 130 me syré™ |
muppos] mupos APQ 1 6 7 8 al®re4° me Andr | tw xafnuevw] pr ev A | ex avrov] er auTw
1 29 87 al | om avrw N°*A 31 | ex Ts yns]om Rom ex A 7 16 39 46 ar07. y. 1 36 al|
om Kat 3° Q min®'e* me syrs* aeth Andr Ar | cpagwow &PQ 1 al?! Andr Ar | ueyadn
paxarpa A 5 nvokev thy oppay.ioa Thy TpiTnY] nvokev Thy Tp. Tp. I 36 38 al nvoryn
n oppayis n TpiTn 28 73 79 Syr8™ | epxov]+Kac de RQ 68 g al™ Andr Ar+et vide
vgcledem harltollipsal gvy Vict Prim al | cae ed. NCP 28 47 49 al™ me (xac cdov Ar 7
36)] om Q min™ g vgledemharitollipsal syyew aeth Andr Ar | em avrov] er avTw 1
alnonn | om avurov 130 6 om ws Q min?! me syrr arm aeth Prim Andr Ar | ev
precw (eup. AC)] ex pecov syr®* | Swwv]+ws pwvnv aerov me | Sqvapiov bis] erarnpos
me | xpiOys Q min?! syrs™ Andr Ar | dyvapiov 2°] pr tou A
65607 av’t@ AaBeiv...cat iva add.
opagovow, 8C. of KaTotKourTes eri THs
yns). For ta with the fut. ind. see
WM. p. 360 f., Blass, Gr. p. 211 f.;
other exx. may be found in Apoc.
lil. 9, Vi. 11, Vili. 3, ix. 4 f., 20, xiii. 12,
16(?), xiv. 13, Xxli. 14.
If the first Seal has been inter-
preted rightly, there can be little
difficulty in explaining the second.
- Victory, white-horsed and crowned,
wears another aspect when viewed
in the lurid light of the battlefield.
Triumph spells much bloodshed and
slaughter in the past, and the main-
tenance and extension of an Empire
based on conquest demands more in
the future. On the sword as the
emblem of Roman domination see
Mommsen, rim. Gesch., 1. ¢.
5. Kat dre qvokev rHv odpayida ry
tpitny xtv.| The breaking of the third
seal lets loose a black horse. Blood-
shed is not the only attendant upon
conquest; Scarcity follows. The rider
on the black horse is not named, but
this description leaves no doubt who
he is. He earries in his hand, not
bow or sword, but the beam of a pair
of scales. For the meaning of (vyés
cf. Prov. xvi. 11 porn (vyod Sixavcoovvn
mapa Kupi@, Ezek. v. 1 Ajpyn fuyor
orabpiwv, xly. 10 Cvyos Sixawos kai peTpor
Sikavoy kat youE Sixaia €atw vpiv Tow
peérpov ; the mase. is found also in the
Lxx., wherever the gender can be de-
termined, and in Mt. xi. 29 f.
6. Kai HKovea ws hori ev pérw TOY
reco. (oov] Lest this rider should
not be sufficiently identified by his
equipment, there comes from the
midst of the ¢@a what sounds like
a voice (ws, cf..v. 11, Vi. I, xix. I, 6),
the protest of Nature against the
horrors of famine.
Aéyourray Xoim€ xrh.] The voice fixes
a maximum price for the main food-
stuffs. The denarius, the silver ‘franc’
of the Empire, was the daily wage
(Mt. xx. 2), and a choenix of wheat
88 THE APOCALYPSE OF 8ST JOHN
é~
of \ = \ / »/
nvoieev THY oppayi0a Thy TeTAPTHY, IKOVTAa
pa / / af
8 Tov TeTapTov Cwou NEeyovTos ”Epyou.
\ AV esi, \ \ i> \ 1O /
7 Kal TO EAaLOV Kai TOY OlVOY MH a KOS.
[VI. 6
4 \ ed
Ka@l OTE
\
wyyy
\* 3) \
Sal ElOOV, Kal
> \ ef / \ e , > / > ~
1O0U L777 OS VYAWPOS, Kal O KaOnpevos ET AVW AUTOU,
6 wyn]tou 130 | adccynoes (P) minnonn
7 Thy TeTaprny cppaytda 38 | om dwyyy
CPQ min*” me syr (hab NA 1 28 36 49 79 gt vg"le®™ syr8”) | Tov Teraprou fwov] om
Teraprou Syr®” to Teraptov fwov C | Neyoucay 1 | epxov]+Kxa de SQ min*re> Andr Ar
+et vide vgcledemtol me syrh aeth Prim
8 kac cd. P t 49 79 O1 al (Kat cdov RAC
7 28 36 92)] om Q 6 14 38 alstm4 ygcledemtolal aeth Andr Ar | om kat vdov syré”
Prim | irmovy yAwpov syr8* Prim | 0 ca@nuevos] om o C Tov xaOnuevoy syrs | erava
xXAwp me a
avrov] om avrouv CP 1 12 vgte™mh"! ex aurov 130
the average daily consumption of the
workman (Suidas: 1 yap yotw& nwepy-
ovos tpody, cf. Athen. ili. 20). Barley
was largely the food of the poor, as
being relatively cheaper than wheat,
cf. 4 Regn. vii. 18 Siverpov kpiOis
aikdov Kal pétpoy ceuidadews cikdov:
in N.T. times the proportionate cost
was probably as three to one, as the
Apocalyptist puts it here (yotmé cirov,
Tpeis xolvixes KpiO@y). Xoimé repre-
sents the Hebrew M3 in Ezek. xlv.
10 f. LXX., i.e., 60—70 pints (Hastings,
D, B. iv. 912); but the Greek measure
in view was something under two
pints ; the Vg. renders xoitmé here by
bilibris. The proclamation, then, for-
bids famine prices, ensuring to the
labourer a sufficiency of bread, and
warning the world against such a rise
in the price of cereals as would de-
prive men of the necessaries of life.
A similar embargo is laid on any
attempt to destroy the liquid food of
the people—r6 @\aoy Kai Tov oivoy pr
adtxyons—the prohibition is addressed
to the nameless rider who represents
Dearth. The oliveyards and vineyards
are not to suffer at all. In Zh. Lit-
teraturzeitung, 1902 (22, p. 591)
Harnack points to a decree of Domi-
tian in A.D. 92 which implies that the
grape harvest was abundant at a time
when there was a corn famine: ef. also
Rev. Archéol. sér. iii. t. xxxix. 1901
(Nov.—Dec.), pp. 350-374 (I owe
these references to Dean Bernard).
Wheat and barley, oil and wine, were
the staple food both of Palestine and
Asia Minor, and the voice from the
midst of the (@a deprecates any heavy
loss in these crops. Yet the very cry
reveals the presence of relative hard-
ships, and the danger of worse things ;
cf. Me. xiii. 8 foovrae Aoi apx7
@divey tavta. See Hastings, D. B.
lil. 432 a.
On dduety to ‘injure, hurt, see
ii. 11, note.
7f. Kai dre nvokev thy oppayida
Thy teraptyny KtA.| At the opening of
the fourth seal, after the call from
the fourth (gor, another horse is seen,
described as yAwpos, which the Apo-
calyptist substitutes for Zechariah’s
motkidos apos. In the uxx. and N.T.
xA@pos is the usual epithet of yopros,
Borayn, EvAov (Gen. i. 30, 4 Regn. xix.
26, Ezek. xvii. 24, Me. vi. 39, Apoc.
Vili. 7), and ray yAwpov is ‘vegetation’
generally (Gen. ii. 5, Apoc. ix. 4).
But “equus viridis” (Tert. pud. 20)
is scarcely tolerable, even in this book
of unimaginable symbols; yAwpos
must bear here its other meaning, ‘of
pale complexion’; the word is used
especially in reference to the grey,
ashen colour of a face bleached by
fear (cf. yAwpov Séos, Ll. vii. 479). The
‘pale’ horse is the symbol of Terror,
and its rider a personification of
Death (6 @dvaros, as in i, 18, ix. 6,
xx. 13 f, xxi. 4; cf ni@peayeeeee
54 f.), with whom follows—whether on
VI. 9]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 89
7 ’ ~ G / \ € os p) / ;
OVOMaA GaUTW O Gavaros, Kat O cons nKoAovber ET
> pe Vet Nad 5) ~ > / ’ \ \ , -
auToU, Kal €000y av’tois éEovcia ert TO TETapTOV THIS
-~ ’ - ’ e / oe 24 ~ ee! 0 /
YNS, ATOKTELVAL EV poppata Kat €v Atuw Kat €v VavaTw
\ \ lo ~ ~
kat uo Twv Onpiwy THs Ys.
9 \ cd 7 \
Kal OTE voreev THhv 9
/ -~ 5 € / ~ YY
TWEUMTTHV oppaytoa, €l0Ov UTOKAaTW TOU OuctacTipiou
8 0 @avaros (afavyaros A) PQ min?! Or Andr Ar] om o &C 16” 37 49 95 96 | axo-
Aovder 1 28 49 79 gt 96 al me Andr | wer avrov ACP minP**] avrw RQ min?” gyre”
arm‘ Ar | autos] avrw Q min?!449 vg syrr me arm aeth Prim | om ev 2°, 3° & | davarw]
OAwWer me | vro Twy Onpiwy] To Teraprov Twv 0. A
Q THY oppayioa THY TEuMTHY
(S*) 14 92 vec? | ecdov &°-* P min?! (cdov R*ACQ 7 (14) 32 (92))] + Kar C
the same or another horse or on foot
the writer does not stop to say or even
to think—his inseparable comrade,
Hades (i. 16, note, xx. 13 f.).
kai €006n avrois e€ovcia krh.] Cf. 2. 4.
A far wider commission is given to
the fourth rider than to the second ;
his authority extends over a fourth of
the earth (cf. viii. 7 ff.), and his oppor-
tunities of exercising it are manifold.
To réraprov shews that this is no mere
commonplace of human mortality, but
describes an unusual visitation, in
which Death is busy in various forms.
Ev popudaia...diu@...davato...07d TeV
énpiwv—the ‘four sore judgements’ of
Ezekiel xiv. 21: ras réocapas é€xdixy-
ges pou Tas movnpas, poudaiay kal
Auuwov Kat Onpia movnpa Kai Oavaroy:
ef. Lev. xxvi. 23 ff., Jer. xxi. 7, Ezek. v.
12—17, Xxix. 5, xxxiii. 27, xxxiv. 28.
In these O.T. passages 6 @avaros is
= 1371, pestilence; and such is doubt-
less the meaning of @avarw here, as
distinguished from other causes of
mortality. On poyudaia see Apoc. i.
16, note. The devastations caused by
wild beasts are perhaps mentioned
chiefly because they belong to Ezekiel’s
list of judgements. But they suggest
the depopulation caused by war,
dearth, and pestilence (cf. Deut. vii.
22), and so have a special fitness in
this context.
The first group of seal-openings,
now completed, describes the con-
dition of the Empire as it revealed
itself to the mind of the Seer. He
saw a vast world-wide power, out-
wardly victorious and eager for fresh
conquests, yet full of the elements of
unrest, danger, and misery; war,
scarcity, pestilence, mortality in all
its forms, abroad or ready to shew
themselves. This series of pictures
repeats itself in history, and the
militarism and lust of conquest, which
it represents both in their attractive
and repellent aspects, are among
the forces set loose by the hand of
Christ to prepare the way for His
coming and the final publication of
the secrets of the Sealed Book.
Q. kat Ore nvokey thy méurtny
oppayida}] The Lamb continues to
open the seals, but no ”Epyou comes
from the (da; the history of the
world-wide Empire has beenexhausted
by the first four. With the fifth seal
the Church comes into sight, in its
persecuted, suffering, state. While
the Empire was pursuing its victorious
course through bloodshed and death,
the Church followed the steps of ‘the
Lamb that was slain” The loosing of
the fifth seal interprets the age of
persecution, and shews its relation to
the Divine plan of history.
elSov vroxat@ Tov bvovarrnpiov KrA. |
An altar is mentioned also in viii. 3, 5,
ix. 13, Xi. I, xiv. 18, xvi. 7, Where see
notes. Though no altar appears in
the vision of c. iv., its existence is
assumed by the article, perhaps on
the ground that the heavenly worship
which the Seer had witnessed is the
go
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
(View
\ \ > 5) / inne \ / ~ -
Tas \wuyas Twov éeopaypevwy 61a Tov Noyov Tov GeEov
a 3)
IO Kal Ova THY papTupiay nV ELV OV.
ral expagay pwvin
t / U / J
peyary Nevyoutes” Ews rote, 0 deamoTHS 0 aytos Kal
Q Tw expaypyerwn (erppayicuerwy 7 16* 33 130 arm! peuaprupyKorwy Clem-Al)]
pr tTwy avOpwrwy XP 1 ro almomn me arm Tas ecpayyevas syrs” | Tov Noyor] To ovoma.
arm‘ | om dia 2° A 130 vgt! me Cypr Prim | vaprupiay]+rov apuov Q min*® syr
+Inoov Xpicrov 34 35 87+Inoov syr8¥+avrov arm aeth Cypr Prim | esxov &*
10 expagov P x 31 36 38 79 130 clamabant vg syr | dwvyy ueyadnv Q | om o decrorns
130
avrirurov of the earthly ; cf. Heb. viii. 5.
The altar here in view is the counter-
part of the Altar of Burnt Offering,
and the victims which have been
offered at it are the martyred mem-
bers of the Church, who have followed
their Head in the example of His
sacrificial death (rav eopaypéver ; cf.
vy. 6 ows eodaypévov). Their souls
(Wuxas) are seen “under the altar,”
because in the Levitical rite the
blood, which is the Wuxy (Ley. xvii.
Il 7 yap Wux}) maons capkos aipa
avTov eotiv), was poured out at the
foot of the altar (Lev. iv. 7 may ro
aia TOU moaxou éekyeet Tapa THY Baow
tov Ovavaornpiov: cf. Pirge Aboth 26).
They had been slain dca roy Aoyor rov
Ocod Kat dia THY paprupiay Hy eiyov—a
phrase repeated with a slight change
from i. 9, and found again with varia-
HONS MN Kis TT 17, KIX TO, XX 1A. oli
the two causes of martyrdom are to
be sharply distinguished, as the re-
peated va seems to indicate, the first
will be the martyrs’ confession of the
One Living and True God, as against
polytheism and Caesarism, and the
second their witness to Jesus Christ.
In mart. Polyc. 9 the test offered to
Polycarp is twofold: opocoyv [rv
Kaicapos TUxnY |, kat amo\V@ oe? )ot-
dopnaov TOV xX plorov. On e(dov...Tas
vuxas see Tertullian anim. § “animae
corpus inyisibile carni, spiritui vero
visibile est.”
10. kai éxpagav dovn peyddy KTX. |
Beatus: “animarum verba ipsa sunt
desideria” ; cf. Bar. iti. 4. As the blood
of Abel cried for vengeance on Cain
(Gen. iv. 10 pwr aiparos...Boa, ef. Heb.
xii. 24), so in the ears of the Seer the
souls of the martyrs(i.e. their sacrificed
lives) called aloud for judgement on
the pagan world. It was a quousque
tandem ? ‘how long, Master Holy and
True, dost thou not judge and avenge?’
For €ws wore see Me. ix. 19, and ef.
Exod. xvi. 28 €ws rivos; 2 Esdr. xii. 16
€ws tore. Aeororns, as a title of God
(=}78, °3598), in the Lxx. usually
occurs in the yoe., whether alone or
with Kupios (Gen. xv. 2, 8, Jer. iv. 10,
Dan. ix. 15); on 6 deamorns = déorora,
see Blass, Gr. p. 87. Christ is 6 pdvos
Seomotns kai kvpios nuov in Jude 4
(cf. 2 Pet. ii. 1), and receives the
epithets dy:os, adnOiwos in Apoe. ili.
7; but in a passage so full of O.T.
reminiscences as this is, the Person
addressed as dearorns is probably the
Father, as in Le. ii. 29, Acts iv. 24.
The martyrs being Christ’s are also
God’s (1 Cor. iii. 23), and the holiness
and truth of the Supreme Master
demand the punishment of a world
responsible for their deaths. The
words only assert the principle of
Divine retribution, which forbids the
exercise of personal revenge (Rom.
xii. 19 f. py €avrous exdiKovvTes...dAAa
Sore tomov tn opyn (sc. Tov Oeov),
yéyparta. yap “Epot exdixnors). But
it was long before this was fully
understood, and the Acts of the
martyrs relate many instances in
which the sufferers met their judges
with threatenings of the coming wrath,
not always free from the spirit of
vindictiveness ; even Polye. mart. 11
VI. 11]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN gI
, ’ , ey - x of t -~ > -
aXnOwos, ov Kpives Kal EKOLKELS TO aia nua@V eK Tw
Fe > \ ~ ad \ / 5] - € /
KQTOLKOUVTWY Erle THS NS; “Kal €000n avTois EeKaoTw II
\ / \ > / > - / ’ /
oToAn A€vKYH, Kal EppeOn auTols lva avaTavoovTat
10 adios] pr o 1 30** 87 | exdixnoes & | ex] amo P i 7 28 35 49
Ir ed00ncav
...gT0AaL Nevkac Vg arm! aeth Cypr>#* Prim al | auros exacrw] exagTrw avrwy 28 73 me
syrr om exaorw Q minP'4* om avras minP** Clem-Al | wa avaravoovrac APQ 1 7 8
28 36 79 98 al] wa avaravewvrac RC min?! avaravoacbe 130
shews something of this tendency. It
is not however to be read into this
quousque, as the fiery Tertullian more
than once implies; ef. Bede: “non
haee odio inimicorum, pro quibus in
hoe saeculo rogaverunt, orant, sed
amore aequitatis.”
Ov xpivets kat éxduxeis: ‘dost Thou
refrain from pronouncing judgement
and executing vengeance. Cf. Le.
xviii. 7 f. 6 d€ Beds ov pn rrowujon THY
exdiknow Tav exexT@y avTov Tay Bowr-
T@V AUTO ;...A€yo Vyiv OTL TomoeL THY
exdiknow avtayv ev Taxer—a passage
which goes far to answer many ques-
tions in theodicy. “Exdueiv rd aina
Tivos ek occurs again in xix. 2; ef.
exdiceiv (exdixatew) To aia in Deut.
xxxii. 41 A, 43, Hos. i. 4, Joel iii 21 A,
and exduceiy ek in Deut. xviii. 19;
other combinations are ékd. tua,
1 Regn. xiv. 24; mepi twos, 1 Mace.
xiii. 6; & rim, Jer. vy. 9, 293 emi Tuva,
omni 13, iy. 9, Soph. i. 8, 12 ff.;
amo twos, Le. xviii. 3.
II. kat €560n avrois éxaot@ ood
Aevxy] The present condition of the
martyrs is revealed. (1) They have
received a white robe (see iti. 4 f,
ive ay vil, Oy, 13, Xix. 14 and cf. Le
Blant, Les Actes des Martyrs, p. 240,
n. 2; On oroAn see Me. xii. 38, note);
the honowrs of victory have already
been conferred upon them individu-
ally (ékaorw), though the general and
public award is reserved for the Day
of the Lord. The Ascension of Isaiah
rightly represents the “white array”
of the Saints as stored up for them in
the seventh heaven, ready against the
day when they will descend with Christ
(iv. 16), after which all the righteous
are seen “in their celestial apparel”
(ix. 9 “existentes in stolis excelsis”).
But the martyr’s individual victory is
assured as soon as he is ‘with Christ’;
he knows himself a conqueror, while
on earth the Church recognizes his
victory by adding his name to her
hagiographies.
kal éppéOn avrois Wa avaravcortat
xrA.] On the other hand (2) for their
full reward, for the triumph which
they will share with Christ, they must
await the completion of the martyro-
logion. But their waiting is qualified
by two considerations; (1) it is but
“for a little while” (ére puxpov xpovor ;
cf. év rayet, raxv, i. 1, xxii. 6f., 12, 20
—the exact phrase occurs again in
another connexion, xx. 3; ef. Heb.
X. 37 pixpov dcov dcov); and (2) the
waiting is a rest ; they are not bidden
simply to wait (iva rpockaptrepnrwow),
but to enjoy repose (iva dvaravowvraty,
cf. xiv. 13 Wa dvaranoovrat ek Tav
kérov avtrev). The delay is itself a
part of the reward; to the Church
on earth it may be irksome, to the
martyrs themselves it is an dvaravors.
Further, the cause of the delay is
revealed. They are kept waiting €ws
TAnpwOdow of atvdovlo avrey, till
the number of their fellow-slaves is
fully made up. For this use of rAnpoty,
cf. Mt. xxiii. 32, 1 Thess, ii. 16; and
for the idea see Baruch xxx. 2
“aperientur promptuaria in quibus
custoditus erat numerus animarum
justarum ”; and ef. the Anglican Order
for the Burial of the Dead: “that it
may please Thee...shortly to accom-
plish the number of Thine Elect, and
to hasten Thy Kingdom.” The harder
92 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN (Vil
ETL Xpovoy pucpov, Ews mnpolwow Kal Ol DvYOOVAOL
aUTwWV Kal ol aeRpot aUTWY Ol pehAovres aTTOKTEV-
12 peoba ws Kal avTol. + “kat Eldov OTE ‘voteev THY
oppayioa THY EKTNV, Kal TET MOS peryas ErVEVETO, Kal
6 nALos éryEVETO peas WS TAKKOS TplX LOS, Kal 4
II ert Xpovoy puxpov] xp. ere m. A vgem tol ery ypovoy Q minfre4? Ar ews Kacpou Xp.
u. syré” om ere arm | ews]+ou 1 28 36 49 51 al | rAnpwOwow AC 29 g vgiP*®% syrs™
Cypr Prim] mAnpwowow NPQ x alfereo? Andr | om cat ante o curd. Q vg me arm!
Cypr | oc wed doves] pr kac Q min? Ar | amoxrevverdar RAC 2 17 18 19 130 al] azro-
xreweobat PQ 1 6 14 30 38 Of 92-+um avTou &* 12
14 32 92)] om 18 29 30 40 go 93 95 aeth | ore] pr kar P x 12 13 al vg*™ Prim |
ACQ 7
cetojos] pr cdou A ygcleharl#*lipss
reading tAnpécwow implies a scarcely
tolerable ellipse of rov dpopuor (Acts
MLD seCx 2d) 20 Tim. 1Vv.7) Ory Toy
aptOpov. Ot ovvdovdor avrov are the
rest of the saints (cf. Mt. xviii. 28 ff,
Col. i. 7, 1:7, Apoc: xix. 10, xxii. 9);
of adeAdot av’tay is limited by the
participial clause which follows to the
rest of the martyrs; xal...xai, both
the saints in general, and the martyrs
in particular. Oi peAdAovres azo. :
the Apocalyptist foresees an age of
persecution impending, cf. ii. 10, iii. 10.
The sufferers in the outbreak under
Nero are awaiting those who will suffer
under Domitian and under other per-
secuting Emperors who are yet to come.
On the form azoxrevverdar see W H.?,
Notes, p. 176, Blass, Gr. p. 41, 55.
There is a remarkable parallel to
this passage in 4 Esdr. iv. 35 f. “nonne
de his interrogaverunt animae_ ius-
torum in prumptuariis suis dicentes
Usquequo spero sic ? et quando venit
fructus areae mercedis nostrae? Et
respondit ad eas Hieremihel arch-
angelus et dixit Quando impletus
fuerit numerus similium vobis.” It is
difficult to believe that the Esdras
writer or his redactor has not here
been indebted to the Christian apoca-
lypse ; but see Enc. Bibl. ii., col. 1394.
Eze Kat eldov 6 OTE nvokev THY r oppayida
ziv extnyv xtX.] The first five openings
had revealed the condition of the
12 edov SP x al?! Andr Ar (ido
world and of the Church; the sixth
opening looks on to the troubles which
were expected to precede the end.
The sufferings of the nations and of
the Church were but an apy7 @diver
(Me. xiii. 8); with the opening of the
sixth seal the cosmical disturbances
of the last age begin ; cf. Me. xiii. 24 fff.
ev exeivats Tals nuepars peta THY Ohi
exeivnv xtA. First there is a great
earthquake, not one of the cevcpot
kata tomovs Of which Asia had much
experience in the first century, but
the final upheaval of Hagg. li. 6
(Heb. xii. 26 ff.): ere ama& eyd ceiow
Tov ovpavoy Kal THY yhy Kal THv Oa-
Nacoav Kai thy Enpav, kal ouvoeiow
mavra ta €6vn, Where the last words
supply the key to the meaning of the
symbolism: racial and social revolu-
tions are the cecopoi which herald the
approach of the end.
kal 0 jAwos eyévero pedas ws oaKKos
tpixwos, xtd.| The earthquake is
followed by the celestial phenomena
which find a place in all apocalyptic
descriptions of the last day: cf. Joel
its 530i 4 Heb.): oO pAvos peta-
otpadpyoetar eis oKoTos Kat 7 GeAnYN
cis aiua mpty edOeiv nuepay Kupiov, Isa.
xiii. 10 oxoticOnoetat Tov nAiov dva-
rédAovTos, Kal 7 oeAnYn od Owoe TO
pas avrns (Me. xiii. 24): a. 1 3
evdvaw Tov ovpavoy okOTOS, Kal ws
cakxkov Onow To TepiBodatoy avrod,
VI. 14] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 93
/ / > / t e 13 \ e , / -~
oweAnvn ON EyEVETO Ws aia, “kal OL aaTEpEs TOU 13
~~ Vv ’ \ ~ lal /
ovpavou Ereray els THY HV, ws ocuKH BadreL Tous
/ > a c \ / / /
oAvVOous auvTiHs UO dvémou peyaNou GELomErn, “Kal 14
€ > \ > / € / c / \
0 ovpavos amexwpicby ws BiBiov ENiTTopEVOY, Kal
~ v \ lad ’ ~ / ’ -~ /
Tay Opos Kal vHTOS EK THY TOTwWY avTaV exwnOyoar.
12 om on P 1 35 49 81 g1 96 | Om ws 2° arm 13 Tov oupavovu] Tov Beov A |
emrecov Q min?!430 | evs] ere & 47 Syr®” | Bader] Baddovca & 16 30 35 39 51 87 90 97
130 syrr Sadovoa 2 467 8 al | vo] aro 8 14 31** syr8” | cecouevn] carevomevy A 12
14 eAiogouevoy (eX. P min™”)] eXcooopevos N 1 6 8 31 38 gt al Ar eXcocovrac syrs™ *"4 |
vnoos} Bouvvos & insulae vg Vict Prim pr zaca syr®” | om autwy & 26 31 | exwnPnoar]
exwnoav &* amexewnoav A
Assumption of Moses, 10. 5 f. “sol non
dabit lumen et in tenebras conyertet
se ; cornua lunae confringentur et tota
convertet se in sanguinem.” Saxkos
tpixiwos, Vg. saccus cilicinus, made
of the hair of the black goat ; ef. Isa.
L 3, and Sirach xxv. 17 oxorot rod
Tpotwmov atts ws oaxxov. ‘Qs aiya
well depicts the deep copper colour
which the moon assumes when totally
eclipsed ; with 1 oeAnvn 6An contrast
C. Vili. 12 €mAnyy...7d Tpirov THs ce-
Anvns. Eclipses and occultations of
the heavenly bodies are treated in
Eccl. xii. 2 as symbols of old age and
failing strength: here they seem to
represent the decay of society, such
a period of collapse as followed the
ruin of the Empire, and may yet be
in store for our present civilization.
13. kai of dorépes Tov ovpavod ére-
gav «rh.} The stars fell from the sky
as unripe figs fall when the tree is
swept by a gale. Cf. Isa. xxxiv. 4
mavra Ta dotpa Teceira as pvAda e€€
aumédov, Kat ws minree PiANa ard
oukns, Me. xiii. 25 of aorépes Evovra
€k Tov ovpavov mimrovres. The Seer
saw the terrible vision realised (ée-
gav). "“OdvyGo are the green figs
(grossi) which appear in winter and
of which, while some ripen, many fall
off in spring : ef. Cant. ii. 11 ff. o yequar
maphAGev...7) ouKn e&jnveyxev odvvOous
avrns (35). It wili be remembered
that during the Ministry the fig-tree
supplied owr Lord with a parable of
the Last Things (Me. xiii. 28). Its
early greenness suggested the ap-
proaching end of the world’s long
winter, proclaiming "Eyyis 1d 6é€pos
€oriv. “Yro avéyou peyadov ceopérn :
ef. Mt. xi. 7 KaXapov vro av. oadevo-
peevov.
14. kal 6 ovpavos drexwpicbn Krr.]
‘The heaven was parted’; cf. Acts
XV. 39 @oTre amoxwpicOjvat avrouvs
dm’ ad\Andov. Here the exact sense
is determined by what follows: os
BiBriov Eioodpevov ‘like a papyrus
roll (v. 1) when it is being rolled up’;
ie. the expanse of heaven (2*)77, ro
otepewpa) Was seen to crack and part,
the divided portions curling up and
forming a roll on either hand. The
conception is borrowed from Isa.
XXXiV. 4 EAtynoerat ws BiBXlov 6 ovpa-
vos, cf. Ps. ci. (cii.) 27 weet epi Soraov
édigers avtovs. The writer of 2 Peter
explains the cause of the phenomenon
(ili. 12 ovpavot mupovpevor AvOnTovra
kal oToLxEela KaVTOUpEVa THKETAL).
kai may Opos kal vpoos KrA.] Cf. xvi.
20 maca vnoos ebvyev, Kai Spy ovx
evpéOnoav: the source is perhaps
Nahum i. 5 ta dpn éceicOnoay an
avtov, Kai of Bovvot éoadevOnoay, or
Jer. iy. 24. But to ‘move mountains’
was a proverbial expression for at-
tempting apparent impossibilities, ef.
Me. xi. 23, note, 1 Cor. xiii. 2 ; whilst
the residence of the Seer in Patmos
suggests a reference to the rocky
islands of the Aegean. The last
04 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VL 1s
\ € ~ ~~ ~ \ € lo \ e
15 kal ol Bacireis THS YNS Kal Ol MEYyLOTaVES Kal OL
, \ € / \ \ _
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- \ b] / of © \ > \ y
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\ > \ / = Die 16 \ / ~
10 Kal Els Tas TETPaS TWY OPEWY, Kal Aeyouoty TOLs
ot \ =~ / / b) LG ~ \ /
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€ oo > \ / lon / > \ lod {2
nas aTvO 7 POO WT7TOU TOU KaOnprevou €7rl TOU Opovov
15 om Kat o wey. me | Kat oc XA. ] om Kar A | Kae ov eoXvpor] om I 12 36 aeth om
o & 50.95 | om ka eX. S* arm‘ | edevdepos] pr mas Reo P 1 al™ (me) arm Andr |
meTpas] omns 130 omas me
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emt Tou Opovov APC x al™ Andr] em rw Opovw RQ min?4?5 Andr | om tov KaGyuevov...
TNs opyns Ssyxré
times held in store movements not
less improbable than the upheaval of
Mt Sipylos or Messogis or Cadmos, or
the submerging of Patmos or Samos,
or even the whole archipelago ; move-
ments, however, not disastrous in their
ultimate results, but issuing in a higher
order, cf. Arethas: «iAvypov twa kat
addayny ert TO Bedtuov.
vijoos, i.e. wav 0. kat maca v.; cf. WM.
p. 661.
15. kal of Baowdreis THs yas KTA. |
Seven conditions of life are named,
covering the whole fabric of society
from the Emperor down to the meanest
slave. For of Baoweis ths yrs, the
heads of states hostile to the Christ,
see Ps. ii. 2 ff., Acts iv. 26 ff.; the
Caesars are in view here, but not
exclusively ; of the other persons in
authority who are named the peyiora-
ves (magistratus) are the civil officials
(e.g. the persecuting proconsuls), while
the yAiapyor (tribunt) are the military
authorities (cf. Me. vi. 21, note); the
former word is frequently coupled
with Baoureis (Jon. iii. 7, Isa. xxxiv.
12, Jer. xxv. 18 (xlix. 38), xxxii
5 (xxv. 19), Dan. v. 2f Th, vi. 17);
yAlapyos is the Lxx. equivalent of
AON ’ and in the N.T. (eg., Acts
xxi. 31 ff, xxii. 24 ff., xxiii. 10 ff, xxiv.
22) usually represents the Roman
tribunus militum (see Blass on Acts
l. c.); it is therefore not necessary
to find an allusion in the use of the
Tlav opos xat
word to the Parthian as contrasted
with the Roman authorities (Mommsen
vy. 343 f. cited by Bousset).
kai of rAovowot KTA.] Not only officials
will be terror-struck by the signs of
the approaching end, but all classes of
society ; wealth and physical strength
will afford no security (for of ioyupot
see Jer. xxvi. (xlvi.) 5 f., xxxi. (xlviil.)
14); slaves and free—the contrast
indicates the deepest of class-distine-
tions in ancient life—will be huddled
together in the frantic attempt to
escape. “Exputyay éavrods xrh. is based
on Isa. ii. 10, 18 f.: eioeAOere els Tas
mérpas kat KpimreaGe els THY yijv..-kal
ri yelporoinra mavra Katakpryouow,
cloevéykavtes eis Ta oTHAaLa kal Eis Tas
oxlopas TOY TETpav.
16. kat Aéyoutw Tots Opec Kal Tals
mérpats ktA.| From Hosea x. 8 epovew
tois opecw Kadvware nas, Kai Tois
Bovvois Tecate ef nuas. The words
were quoted by our Lord on His way
to the cross, Le. xxiii. 30 Tore apEovrat
Aéyev Trois dpeow ktA. What sinners:
dread most is not death, but the
revealed Presence of God. There is
deep psychological truth in the remark
of Gen. iii. 8 éxpvBnoav 6 tre “Adap kat
} yur avtod ard mpoodmov Kupiov.
The Apocalyptist foresees the same
shrinking from the sight of God in the
last generation of mankind which
Genesis attributes to the parents of
the race. But there will then be a
Wits]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
95
Wee) \ - > - ce > / WV a « c / e ae
Kal amo THs Opyis Tov apuviov, ‘OTL HAOEV 1 Hepa 7 17
/ ~ 5 > ~ \ / / eed
peyadn THs opyns avTeY, Kal Tis OUvaTat oTAaOHVAL;
\ ond S / > / 9 _~
‘Mera tovtTo eidov Téccapas ayyéXNous éEoTw- I
5 a \ / / = a ~
eS. €7GE Tas Tecooapas ywvias THs YNS, KpaTOUVTas
16 azo 2°] ere 8&* | opyns] exons 130
17 avtwy XC 38 130 vg syrr] avrov APQ
min‘te°m. me arm aeth Andr Ar Prim | cra@qvac] ornvac 34 35 36 cwOnvac 40 48 Ar
VII x wera) pr kas SPQ min™""4 syrr arm aeth Andr Ar (om AC vg Prim) |
rovro] ravra P x 28 36 al vg me syrr arm‘ | evdov P min?” Ar] idov SACQ 7 14 32 92 |
Tecoapas] recoapes 1° et 3° A, 2° P | om rns yns 38 syr®” arm | xparowras] pr kae 28
73 97 8yrr
further source of terror: the end
brings with the revelation of God
“the wrath of the Lamb.” The words
aro THs Opyis Tov apviov are pregnant
with the grave irony which has already
shewn itself in y. 5f. Z50v...6 Aéwv...
kal eidov...apviov. But the situation
is now reversed. The Lion standing
before the Throne is the Lamb; the
Lamb in the great day of His ap-
pearing is once more the Lion, in
the terribleness of His wrath. In the
Gospels opyy is attributed to Christ
once only (Me. iii. 5, see note), but
His scathing denunciations of the
Pharisees (Mt. xxiii. 14 ff) and His
stern predictions of the doom of the
impenitent make it evident that the
Sacred Humanity is capable of a
righteous anger which is the worst
punishment that the ungodly have to
fear, more insupportable even than
the vision of the Divine Purity.
17. Gre HAOev 1) Nuepa 1 peyadrn THs
dpyns avrov| ‘The great day’ is :
phrase borrowed from the Prophets
(Joel ii. 11, 31, Zeph. i. 14; ef. Jude 6).
Here it is combined with another
prophetic phrase, ‘the day of wrath’
(Zeph. i. 15, 18, ii. 3; ef. Rom. ii. 5).
The Great Day of the Lord is a dies
irae to the world. *HA@er, ‘is already
come’ (i.e. it came when the signs of
the end described in ev. 12—14 began).
Fear anticipates the actual event, for
‘there is another seal to be opened be-
fore the parousia. There have been
epochs in history when the conscience
of mankind has antedated the judge-
ment and believed it imminent. Tis
opyjs avray, sc. the wrath of God and
of the Lamb: cf. v. 13, xxii. 1.
kai tis dvvara oradjva;} ‘And
who, that has to meet that wrath, can
hold his ground?’ Cf. Nah. i. 6 and
Tpoowrov opyns avrov Tis UroatnoeTAL;
kal Tis avtistnoerat ev opyn Oupov av-
tov; Mal. iii. 2 ris vropwevet nuépay
eiaodov avtov; tis UroatHoera ev
Ty Oomtagia avtov; Ps, Xxxy. (XXxXxVi.)
13 ov pn Svv@vrae orjva. The only
possible answer is given by Christ
Himself in Le. xxi. 36 aypumveire 8€
ev marti kaip@ Seopevor, iva katirxvonre
...oTa@nvat Eumpoobev Tov viov Tov av-
Opawrrov.
VII. 1—8. THe SEALING OF 144,000
FROM THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL.
I. peta TovTo eidov krv.] Cf. iv.
1, note. The reader expects kai
ore Hvorkev THY aodpayida Thy €Sdounv
(vili. 1). But two episodes, occupying
the whole of ¢. vii, are introduced
between the loosings of the sixth and
seventh seals. A similar break follows
the blowing of the sixth trumpet (x.
1—xi. 13). The purpose of the present
pair of visions (1—8, 9—17) is to con-
trast the preparedness of the Church
for the coming end with the panic of
the unprepared world (vi. 15 ff.).
eri tas Téooapas ywvias THs yns. Cf
xx. 8. The earth is regarded as rerpc-
yevos, in view of the four quarters
from which the winds blow—the
Ya nib23, LXX. of mrepuyes THS ys,
Vit
96 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VII 1
\ / seh - eu Gy \ t yf
as a U
TOUS TEDOaP s VEKLOUS THS YHS, lva PH 7 VEN QAVEAOS
> \ ~~ lo / > \ ~ / / > -
ETL THS YHS PNTE ETL THS Oaracons NTE él way
2 devopoy,
2 \ 3 af af / p) \
*kal eldoy &dXov ayyeXov avaBaivovta aro
> € af - - lo
avaToAns yAlov, €xovTa apayida Beov Cwvtos* Kal
I 77s yns 1°] om 38 me syré’” arm*3 al | rven] rvevon & 130 | aveuos] pr o C 14
26 92 93 95 98 | exe rns yns] om A+Icpand 130 | rns GadX.] om rns A+pnre em Twv
morauwy me | ext way devdpov Nr 10 17 28 al] emt re 6. CQ min? em: 5. A (me) (arm)
aeth 2 etdov XP al?!) wdov ACQ 7 14 92 | avaBavra 1 me | avarod\wv A go syré™ |
om yAcov arm?
of Isa. xi. 12, Ezek. vii. 2. For of
téecoapes aveuou cf. Zech. ii. 6, vi. 5,
Dan: yak. 2;.vili., 8; xi. 45) Me: xiit; 27’;
Enoch (Ixxvi. 7) mentions twelve winds
(E. S. W. N., and the intermediate
points).
KpaTouvras Tovs Téaoapas avepous
xrA.] At each of the quarters one
of the four winds is held prisoner by
an angel appointed to the task. For
xpareiv, ‘hold fast,’ ‘detain,’ cf. Cant.
iii. 4 éxparnoa avtov Kat ovk adjKa
avtov, JO. XX. 23 Gv Tivwy KpaTnte
[ras quaprias] kexparnyra. With these
angel-custodians of the winds may be
compared the angel o ¢yev égovciay
emt Tov mupos (xiv. 18) and the “angel
of the waters” (xvi. 5). The angels of
the winds control their movements ;
it is their mission to prevent out-
breaks of elemental fury. According
to Jewish belief a terrific storm was to
usher in the end, ef. Orac. Stbyll. viii.
204 f. roAd7 S€ re Aaithamt TUPay | yatay
épnpwcet: vexpov & eravacracts €orat.
Mire ext av dévdpov: the trees are
specified, as suffering most severely
from the violence of the winds. The
change of case (y7s.--6aracons...bێv-
dpov) answers to a subtle difference in
the force of emi; the winds blow on
land and sea, but the trees are singled
out for a direct attack.
2. kal eldov GAdov ayyedov dvaBai-
vorta xt\.|] <A fifth angel is seen
mounting up from the sunrising, i.e.
from the Orient; amd dvaro\ey is
the usual Lxx. phrase (Gen. xi. 2, Mt.
iil. 1) or less frequently, amd dvarodfjs
(Num. iii. 38, B), but 7Adov is some-
times expressed (Jos. i. 15, xiii. 5;
Isa. xi. 11, 14, Apoc. xvi. 12). From
the writer's point of view the Hast
is the direction of Palestine and the
countries beyond it ; and it was fitting
that the angel who is to seal the
tribes of Israel should appear from
that quarter. Or there may be a re-
ference to Ezek. xliii. 2 i8od dd£a Beod
*Iopand jpxeTo Kata THY Odov THY mos
dvaro\ds, Mal. iv. 2 (iii. 20) dvaredet
vpiv...Arcos Suxacorvyns. The angel’s
ascent implies that he has been em-
ployed in some service on the earth,
and now rises into the sky to deliver
his message.
exovta appayida beov (avros] Sppa-
yis is here the signet-ring = daxrvAos
(Gen. xli. 42, Esther iii. 10, viii. 2 ff,
Dan. vi. 17, 1 Mace. vi. 15), which
the Oriental monarch uses to give
validity to official documents or to
mark his property. The symbolism
seems to be based on Ezek. ix. 4,
where a man provided with an ink-
horn is bidden to set a mark (1A,
onpetov, i.e. the letter N which in
the older script was cruciform, see
Hastings, D. B. i. p. 71) on the fore-
heads of the righteous in Jerusalem,
with a view to their being spared in
an impending massacre. But for a
mark made by the pen of a scribe
the Apocalyptist, who has lately had
before him the vision of the sealed
roll, substitutes the impression of the
Divine signet-ring. The conception
of a Divine sealing occurs freely in
VII. 4]
~
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 97
expafev ae peyary Tots Terrapow ayyeAots ois
€000n avTois adiKnoa TH ynv Kal THY Oadacoay,
3réqywv Mi adicnonte THY ynv wite THY Oaracoay 3
pnte Ta O€vopa, dxypt TPpayiowpeEv TOUS dovAous TOU
o cl ol / , ~
Geo ijuwv er TOY METOTWY AUTOV.
\ ad > /
Tov apiOuov Twv ex:payiopevwr*
\ »/
Kal NKOVTA 4
c \ /
EKATOV TETOEPA-
, > / /
KOVTa TETO APES Arcades ETppaylopevor €* Tacns
urns viev ‘lopanr.
2 expatev AP | ras recoapas &* | om avros 16 17 28 49 79 80 | ayyedos] Swoes
arm*
axpis ov Q min?! axpis av 18 28 79 80
4 OM Kat nKovea..
3 adixnoerac & | unre 1°] wnde & 130 (item 2°) cae A 37 38 41 42 Vg | axpc]
eoppayicpevuv A | exppa-
yiopevor] erppayicnevwy Q 2 6 7 14 al om 130 syrs* | om viwy arm
St Paul aC! Cor. i. 22 6 kat oppayiod-
pevos meas, Eph. i 13 eoppayiabnre TO
mvevpare, iy. 3° TO mvevpa TO apo TOU
Oeov, ev @ éeodppayicOnre els nuépay
dro\vtpocews), and once in the Fourth
Gospel (Jo. vi. 27 rotdrov yap 6 mathp
eoppayicer 6 eds). In post-Apostolic
writings ‘the seal of the Lord’ is
either Baptism (Herm. sim. ix. 16
» odpayis ody ro Udep éariv, Clem.
Al. quis div. 42 10 rédeov attra dv-
Aakrypiov éemiotnoas THY oppayida Tod
kupiov), or the chrism which followed
it. Here the seal, being in the hands of
an angel, can hardly be sacramental.
The general sense is well given in
2 Tim. ii. 19 6 pévroe orepeds Oepéduos
Tov Oeov EortnKev, Exwv THY odpayida
ravTny "Eyvw kiptos tods bvtas avTov
ktd. Of. Orig. in Joann. t. i. 1 ris obv
avXAn €in 7) odpayis 7 emi rdév peTorrwr
Td Gvopa Tov apviov Kai Td dvoua Tod
qarpos attov; With Ocov avros cf.
x. 6, xy. 7: the phrase, which is fairly
common in the N.T. (Mt.*, Acts', Paul®,
Heb.‘, Apoc.’), rests on the “3 by of
the O.T. (Jos. iii. 10, Ps. xli. 3 (xii.
2), Hos. i. 10 (ii. 2)). In the Apoc.
it suggests a contrast between the
God of Christ and of Christians and
the nonentities (1 Cor. viii. 4) of pagan
worship.
kai éxpakev chav peyadyn xrr.] The
first care of the Angel with the Seal
SR.
is to prohibit the angels of the winds
from letting loose the elements until
his work of sealing is done. For dovA
bey. see vi. 10. The angels of the
winds are identified with the winds,
as the angels of the Churches with
the societies they represent (see i. 20,
note); it is theirs to hurt or not as
they will, unless withheld by a special
prohibition (ois €566n avrois ddixpoa...
pn addunonre). The restraint which is
put upon them represents the Divine
postponement of the catastrophe until
the Church is ready (xxi. 2 2).
For ois...avrois see ii. 7, note; and
for ddiceiyv=BAarrew, cf. ii. 11, note,
vi. 6.
3. aype oppayirwper tovs Sovdous
ktd.] Cf. Apoe. ix. 4, xiv. I, xxii 4;
a mark (ydpayua) of the opposite
character is mentioned in xiii 16,
xiv. 9, xx. 4. On 1. SovAous rod beod
see Apoc. i. 1, ii. 20, xix. 2, 5, xxii. 3, 6.
“Huar, addressed by an angel to angels,
points to the bond of a common service
which links angels with the saints:
‘they are the servants of the God
whom we also serve.’
4—8. kal jxovea tov dpBpov Kri.]
The Seer does not witness the sealing,
but he hears the number of the sealed
announced, and who they are. "Eogpa-
ywpnéevoc: the gender is determined
by rods dovAous (2. 3); WH. places a
7
98 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Valais
5 5€k_ uAns “lovda dw&Woeka yirrades Exppayiomevor,
éx dudjs ‘PouBny d&oexa yiArddes,
ex pudrjs Tad dwoexa yidsades,
Go eK puAns ‘Aonp dwWdEeKa YIALAOES,
ex urjrjs NepOareiu dwoexa yirAsdoes,
€x cuAis Mavacon dwo0EeKa yirrades,
5 ecppay.opevo] ecppay.cuevwy minP* om syr’¥ me arm | PovByu, -Beyu, -Buye
min -Bew 130 | Tad] Aay (1) 9 13 130 | om ex pudns Tad bwd. yA. N
6 ex p. Aonp
5. x. post ex p. ZaBovdrwy 6. x. transpos me | NepOaderu P 1 7 28 29 31 32] NepOaruue
AQ minP#e -\w C -Ac & syrr | Mavacon] Mavvacon A Mavacn Q syr8¥ Aay me
comma after yiA., but perhaps un-
necessarily. The sum is 12 x 12,000,
and each of the tribes of Israel con-
tributes an equal proportion. The
tribes are named separately in the
order: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher,
Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi,
Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph (ie. E-
phraim), Benjamin.
Lists of the patriarchs or of the
tribes occur in Gen. xxxv. 22 ff, xlvi.
Siow Mxodini Tift, Numi is
xiii. 4 ff., xxvi. xxxiv., Deut. xxvii.
1 ff, xxxiii. 6 ff, Josh. xiii—xxii,
Judg. v., 1 Chron. ii—viii., xii. 24 ff,
xxvii. 16ff., Ezek. xlviii.; a comparative
table will be found in Hastings, D. B.
iv. p. 811. The order differs more or
less in every case. The Apocalyptic
order starts with the tribe from which
Christ came (cf. c. v. 5); and then
proceeds to the tribe of the firstborn
son of Jacob, which heads most of the
O.T. lists ; next come the tribes located
in the North, broken by the mention of
Simeon and Levi, who in other lists
usually follow Reuben or Judah; while
Joseph and Benjamin bring up the
rear. This arrangement seems to have
been suggested partly by the birth
order of the patriarchs and partly
by the geographical situation of the
tribes ; Christian associations have pro-
bably determined the place of Judah
and of the Galilean tribes. Since Levi
is counted in, it has been necessary
to omit one of the other tribes; the
omitted name is Dan, a tribe which
perhaps is dropped also, together with
Zebulun, in 1 Chron. ii. 3—viii., but
see Enc. Bibl. i. p. 996, note 4. A
mystical reason was given for the
omission of Dan from the Apocalyptic
list by Irenaeus y. 30. 2 “Hieremias...
et tribum ex qua veniet [ Antichristus]
manifestavit dicens: ex Dan audie-
mus vocem velocitatis eyuorum eius
(Jer. viii. 16)...et propter hoe non an-
numeratar tribus haec in Apocalypsi
cum his quae salvantur.” Cf. Hippo-
lytus de Antichristo 14 éomep yap ék
ths “lovda duds 6 xpiotos yevvarat,
ouT@s ex THs Aav dudjs oO avrixpiotos
yevvnOnoera. So Arethas: 7 dvd7 rou
Ady Oia ro ée& avrns Tov *Avtiypiorov
tikrecOa Tats owrais ov ouvTéerakTat,
GN avri adtns 7 Tov Aevt ws tepariKy
els prepiopoyv exouern. Hither from a
misunderstanding of Gen. xlix. 17 or
from the story of Judges xviii. (cf.
Targ. Jon. on Exod. xvii. 8), Dan is
associated in Rabbinical lore with idol-
atry and apostasy (see Shabbath 66) ;
the Testaments of the xii Patriarchs
(Dan 5) seem to predict an alliance
between Dan and Beliar. On the
late Christian tradition which assigns
Antichrist to this tribe, see Bousset
Antichrist, p. 112 ff.; it may partly
be due to Jewish sources, and partly
have been suggested by the omission
of Dan from the Apocalyptic list.
It is more important to enquire
whether the Apocalyptist intends the
VII. 9]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
99
7éx cpudrs Cupmewy dwdexa xirrades, 7
ek cudrs Aevel dwo0eka xiricces,
ek purrs ‘looayap dwoexa xiAuLaOes,
Sék uAns ZaBovrov dwoeca yiruades, 8
€x cpuArs ‘loon OwoeKka yiALaoes,
ex purrs Benapely dwdeka yirtades eopparyiapevor.
lo Ss \ > \ Sf / «\
9Mera travta eldov, Kal tOov byAos Tous, OV 9
7 om ex Pvdys Dumewy Swd. xr. SW 87 | Aever N] Acue ACPQ min-™ | Iocaxap
NAP] Ioaxap CQ syré” g vg™ Prim
8 Iwond et Beviavew transp & 28 | Berayew
AP 161] Beviauw SCQ min?! | eoppayicuevac Q minP* ecgpparyicuevwy 130
Q HETO
raura] pr ka syré" | edov CP min?) cdov RA(Q) 7 14 92 130 | Om Kax cdov A vg me
syr8” aeth Cypr* Prim al om dou C | oxdov wou A vg me syré” aeth Cypr Prim
al | ov] ear A
144,000 sealed Israelites to represent
the elect of Israel (cf. Rom. xi. 5
Nippa Kar exoyry xapiros), the Jewish
Christians (Victorinus), or the whole
number of the faithful (Primasius : “om-
nis significatur ecclesia,” and so Bede).
The third of these views is supported
by (a) the tendency of the Apocalypse
to regard the Church as the true Israel
(ef. e.g. ii. 9, iii. 9 ff.), (0) the use of the
same number in xiv. 1 for the followers
of the Lamb, whose foreheads bear the
names of God and Christ, and (c) the
circumstance that none are sealed
but the 144,000 of Israel. Had it
been the purpose of the Apocalyptist
to distinguish between two bodies of
the elect, he would surely have repre-
sented both as alike receiving the seal
which was to mark the “servants of
God”; but the sealing is expressly
limited to the twelve tribes. It follows
that the Israel of the first vision is
coextensive with the whole Church
(cf. Orig. in Joann. t. i. 1, Renan,
VAntechrist, p. 390), and the 6yAos
modvs of v. 9 have been sealed already
in their capacity of elect Israelites.
- The two visions depict the same body,
under widely different conditions ; in
vv. 4—8 the true Israelites (Jo. i. 17,
Rom. ii. 29, Gal. vi. 16) of a single
generation are marshalled under the
banners of their several tribes for the
campaign which is yet before them,
whereas in vv.9—17 all the generations
of the faithful appear in their countless
numbers, no longer needing the safe-
guard of the Divine Seal, but triumph-
antandatrest. Cf. Beatus: “cxlivmillia
omnino ecclesia est ; quid sit ex omni
tribu exposuit dicens ex omni gente.”
g—17. THE TRIUMPH OF THE
INNUMERABLE MULTITUDE.
Q. pera raira eldov krr.] The second
vision, introduced by a fresh pera
taira, presents a series of sharp con-
trasts when compared with the first.
In the first, the concourse can be
counted ; in the second, it is incaleu-
lably great. In the first, it is drawn
from the twelve tribes of Israel; in
the second, from every nation. In
the first, it is being prepared for
imminent peril; in the second, it is
victorious and secure.
kat iSod GyNos mwodvs xtr.] Cf. xix.
1,6. The writer perhaps recalls the
vast crowd that thronged our Lord
during His ministry ; see Me. iv. 1, vy.
21, 24, Le. xii. 1, Jo. vi. 2, xii. 9, 12.
“Ov apiOunoa adrov ovdeis eSvvaro, in
contrast with v. 4 HKovea Tov apOpov ;
possibly there is an allusion to Gen.
XV. 5, XXXii. 12 (cf. Heb. xi. 12). In
the Church, which is Abraham’s seed,
the promise of a countless progeny
will at length be realised (Gal. iii. 7,
i-—2
I0O
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VIL 9
> 6 - > \ 10 \ 28U > \ 20
apt Mynoat QaUTOV OUCELS EOUVYATO, EK TaYTOS EUVYOUS
\ a \ lo \ > € lon /
Kat dudAwy kat Kawy Kat ywoowY, ETTHTES EVWTTLOV
~ / WD) y > 5) 7 /
TOU Opovou Kal EVvWITLOY TOU apvLoU, mrepiseBAnjuEevous
\ / \ / bs ~ \ > lad
oToXas evKas, Kat PolviKes Ev Tals yEepory avTwy-
9 om avroy Q min" et ut vid vg Cypr Prim | yévvaro P 1 14 28 al™ | eorwras
Q min?435 mevid gyrewvid egrwrwy C 38 ectwra II 19 93 | evwmtov] ere A | repiBeBd7-
pevous N*ACQ minfere35 Ar] mepiBeBhnuevor R°® P 1 28 36 49 QI 130 pr Kae Syr8™ |
powixes 8% ACP 1 7 35 36 38 87 130 Andr] dowikas &*Q min™™ Ar xiGapa me
29). With é« mavrds fOvovs xrd. cf.
Apoe. v. 9, Xi. 9, xiii. 7, xiv. 6, xvii. 15 ;
this favourite formula found a daily
illustration in the polyglott cosmo-
politan crowd who jostled one another
in the agora or on the quays of the
Asian seaport towns. ‘“Eordtes (a
constructio ad sensum ; the crowd is
in thought resolved into the plurality
of its countless constituents) évwzov
tov Opovov xrd. Hitherto only the
Elders, the ¢da, and the Angels have
had places assigned to them in the
presence of God and of the Lamb, but
in this prospective vision the presence-
chamber is crowded with a vast
assemblage of men; drawn from every
nation upon earth and by some unex-
plained process transported to heaven.
Perhaps no passage in the Apocalypse
has had so wide an influence on popular
eschatology. The symbolism must not
however be pressed into the service
of the fancy which places redeemed
humanity in a localised abode of God
and of Angels. Life “before the
Throne of God” is life wherever
spent, if it is dominated by a joyful
consciousness of the Divine Presence
and Glory. The present picture must
be correlated with that of cc. xxi,
xxli., where the future state is pre-
sented in the light of a City descending
from Heaven, yet possessing within
its walls the Throne of God.
The scene of vii. 9 ff. anticipates the
final condition of redeemed humanity.
Like the Transfiguration before the
Passion, it prepares the Seer to face
the evil which is yet to come.
mepiBeBrnpevous orodras AevKas
xti.]| The construction is much
broken, as if in sympathy with the
rapture and abandon of the moment.
(OxXos ... EoTOTES... TEpLBEBANMEVOUS ...
kal oivixes...kai kpatovow). The ace.
TmepiBeBAnpevovs seems to presuppose
an eidov, understood in idov (WM. pp.
671, 724; Blass, Gr. p. 81); mepiBe-
BAnpévoris an obvious correction. The
whole company of the elect are now
seen clad in the white robes which in
vi. 11 distinguish the Martyrs ; what
thesymbol hererepresents is explained.
below, v. 13 f., where see notes.
oimkes €v Tails xepolv aitav| oi-
vexes, palm branches (=xadAvvépa pou-
vikwy (Ley. xxiii. 40), pvAXa ©. (2 Esdr.
XViii. (viii.) 15) or Baia ¢. (Jo. xii. 13)),
as in 2 Mace. x. 7 poimkas eyovres nv-
xapiocrovy ; cf. Pollux i. 244 rod peévroe
oivtkos Kat o KAddos ouavipws poinE
kaheira. They were carried at the
Feast of Tabernacles, and used in
constructing the shelters on the house-
tops required on that occasion (Ley.
xxiii. 42, 2 Esdras Jd. cc.); an allusion
to these oxnvai may be latent in v. 15
oknvoce. em avtovs. But palm-
branches were regarded as appro-
priate at any season of joy or triumph ;
the Triumphal Entry (Jo. Z. c.) may be
in view, or such a scene as that
described in 1 Mace. xiii. 51 etonddev
eis adtyy [sc. rHv “lepovcadyp]...mera
aivécews kal Paiwy...dre ouverpiBn
€xOpos péyas €& "Iopand, or in 2 Mace.
lc. Cf. Verg. Aen. y. 111 “palmae, pre-
tium yictoribus”; Pausanias, Arcad.
48 eis 5€ ri Sekidy cote Kat mavraxov
VII. 12] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 101
Kal Kpacovew cpwvii weyadn eEyovTes 10
/ lal cod ~ an , 5
‘H cwrnpia TO Oew juav TO KaOnpevw eri
lod / \ od > /
TW Opovw Kal Tw apVlw.
11 \ / eat lé c / / lol fa /
Kal TavTESs Ol ayyeAOl LaTHKELTaY KUKAwW Tov OUpovou II
Kal TOV peo BuTepwv Kal Tov TETTapwy Cowr, Kal
aS ’ / ~ / > \ \ / cad
€TEO AY EYWTLOY TOU Opovou e7Tt Ta TPOTWT a aAUTWY
\ / a 6 - 12 ,
Kal TpoweKvynoay TW VEew, ™EvyorTES 12
é é
10 Kpafovow] expagov vg arm Cypr Prim xpagovres 1 me Ar | rou deov A 38 me | Tw
Kabnuevw] pr kas syr8” | rou Opovov 8°" Q 1 7 36 79 al | Tou apyiov R-* + ets Tous awwvas
Tw aiwywy aunv S*
11 cornkecoavy NAP 36 130 (ecor. Q)] earnKeccav (C) 51 |
eregov Q min?! Andr Ar | @povov 2°]+avrov Q min?'4* syr aeth Ar | ra mpocwra]
mpoowmrov 1 48 me aeth | om xa rpocexuyncay Tw Hew syrs”
TS vexavre emiriOepevos poing; Tert.
scorp. 12 “palmis victoriae insignes
revelantur scilicet de Antichristo
triumphantes”; Andreas: rovs tijs
vikns xapaxtynpiotixovs KAddovs...pot-
vikwy Taic yepaw éxorres. Deissmann’s
suggestion (Bible Studies, p. 370)
needs confirmation.
10. Kat kpatovow ova peyadn KTA.|
The polyglott multitude (ek mavrés
€bvous...xkal ywoody, v. 9) shouts its
praises as with one voice ; for dev7
peyady see Vi. 10, Vii. 2. The key
note of the strain is 7 cwrnpia (cf. xii.
10, xix. 1); those who raise it have
all experienced the great deliverance
(©. 14) which they ascribe to God and
the Lamb: cf. Ps. iii. 9 rod kupiov 7
garmpia, To cry ‘H carnpia ro bed
kalr@ apviwis equivalent to attributing
to Both the title of Serjp, so freely
given by the loyal or pliant cities of
Asia to the Emperors, but belonging
in Christian eyes only to God and to
His Christ. The Pastoral Epistles
supply examples of both applications,
(1) r Tim. i. I Geo0 cwrjpos pay, ii. 3,
Tit. i. 3, li. 4 Tod wwrHpos nu. Beod:
(2) Tit. i. 4 Xpiorod “Incod rod cwrijpos
Near, ii, 13 TOD peyddou Oeod Kat cwri-
pos np. Xpiorod “Incot, iii. 6 dia “Inoed
Xpicrod tod owripos nuoy. For 7
gor. compare Jo. iv. 22 4.0. &k ray
‘Tovdaiay é€oriv, Acts iv. 12 ovK« éorw
ev Drq ovdevi 7 o., Jude 3 ypadhew...
TEpl THS KoWHS NuaY TaTnplas. TO bed
nov: cf. v. 3, note. The elect of
mankind claim God as their God,
since He is the God of Christ (Jo.
XX, 17, Apoc: iil. F2).
Il. kal mavres of dyyeXot iotyKewrav
kt.] “Idod (exclaims Andreas) pia
exkAnola adyyéAov kai avOporwv. The
Angels endorse the ascription of
praise, as in iy, 11 ff. They form, as
there, a circle round the Throne,
outside the Elders and the (@a; their
position relatively to the dyAos modus
is not stated, but the exigencies of
the scene appear to require that they
should stand nearer the Throne. For
the dxXos it is sufficient to be évasiov
Tov O@pdvov (vv. 9, 15), seeing the God
Whom they serve.
kal €mecay...emt Ta mpdocwna a’tav
xtd.] Cf. iv. 10, xi. 16; and for dpny,
i. 7, v. 14, xix. 4. The Angels, while
adding their ‘Amen’ to the doxology
of the Church, offer their own tribute
in other words. It is addressed to
the Majesty on the throne, Whom
like the redeemed they call their God
(vw. 12); the Lamb is not included as
in y. 13. The ascription is sevenfold,
as in y. 12, but it does not exactly
agree with any of the previous dox-
ologies, although each of its features
has occurred in one or more of them ;
for evAoyia ef. vy. 12, 13; d0€a, i. 6, iv.
Il, ¥. 12, 13 ; copia, V. 123 evxapioria,
102
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Vien
/ / Niece if €
"Apny, 1 evAoyia Kal 4 d0g€a Kal 1) copia Kal
/ \ \ \ / \
nH evxXapITTia Kal y TiN Kal 7 Ovvapmus Kal
5) \ =~ con) lo 3 IA lod
i ioxus Tw Oew uwv Els To’s alwvas TwY
Leos > ,
aLWYwWV? aunV.
13 \ 5) iQ ce: > ~ / /
13 Skat a7mexpi0yn eis Ex Twy TpETBUTEPWY EYwY pot
cy c / \ \ \ \
Ovror ot repiBeBAnuevor Tas oToAaS Tas eEvKas
/ > \ \ 1a Ss é * 14 \ of > - / 4
14 Tives eoly Kal moOev nAOov; “Kal EipnKka avT@ Kupie
\ 5)
juou, GU oldas.
\ te lf © J >
Kal E€lL7TEVY MOL Ouro Elo Ly
T og Epxo-
12 om auny 1° me| y doka kat 7 evdoyia 130 syr®*|om xa 4 cogia A | om
apnv 2° C 28 36 161 Prim
13 om ex 8 QI 130
14 e1pnka] evrov Q min*?
Ar | om pov Ar vg*"4 aeth™** arm! Prim | om pou &
iv. 9; Tun, iv. 9, 11, V- 12,133; dvvapus,
iv. II, V. I2; loyvus, Vv. 12; see notes
ad ll. As in vy. 12, each word is
emphasized by the article. The con-
cluding ayynv is perhaps a liturgical
addition, but it rests on good
authority.
13. Kat admexpiOn eis ex THY TpecBr-
tépwv xtd.|. An Elder intervenes, as
in y. 5, to interpret the vision. For
amexpi6n see Me. ix. 5 note; for a
similar use of droxpivec@a in the LxXx.
ef. Cant. li. 10 droxpiverar adeddidos
pov kal Aéyer por “Avdora, ede. The
Elder anticipates the questions which
the Seer was ready to put (otrou...rives
eioiv ; 1dGev HAOov;); Bede: “inter-
rogat ut doceat.” The vision was not
a mere spectacular display, but a
revelation; and its points must not
be missed. Tas orodas Tas Nevkas, the
white robes which arrest attention :
cf. oroXas Aevrds, v. 9) note.
14. «Kat etpnka auT@ «rh. ] Cf. Zech.
IW; 2) 5 Kat elirev mpos pe Tiav Bherecs ; 5
-Kal eimrev. ..Ov ywooKers Tl €oTly
Hs Kat fee Ovyi, xvpue. If the
perfect (etpnxa) is to be pressed here,
it must be explained as meaning that
to the Seer’s mind the whole scene
was still fresh and vivid, that he
seemed to himself to have but just
spoken, as if the echoes of his voice
were not yet silent. On the quasi-
aoristic use of the perfect in this
book, see y. 7, note. Kvupie, so the
O.T. apocalyptic writers address a
superhuman person ; cf. Dan. x. 16 f.,
Zech. iv. 5, 13; or kvpre may be merely
the ‘sir’ of courtesy, as in Jo. xx. 15,
where it is addressed to one who is
supposed to be a knroupos. Sv oidas
is at once a confession of ignorance,
and an appeal for information ; cf.
Ezek. xxxvii. 3 kal etme mpos peé...Ei
(noerat Ta GoTéa TavTa; Kat Eta Kupte,
av eniotn tavra. Contrast the ot
oidas of Jo. xxi. 15 ff.
kat eimév poe Ovrol cicw of epxopevot
xtd.] Theanswer covers both questions
(rives, kat 70Oev;). ‘These who wear
the white robes are such as come (oi
épxopnevor, timeless, cf. WM. p. 444)
out of the Great Tribulation.” The
reference is probably to Dan. xii. 1 Th.
éorat Katpos Odivvews, Odivvis ofa ov
yeyovev ad’ as yeyernrat €Ovos ; cf. Me.
xiii. 19. There is a Orbis “Incod
which His servants share (i. 9, ii.
9 f.), but the Great Tribulation (7
Or. 7 pey., cf. Acts vill. 10 7 duvayus 7
Oeod 7 Kadovpévn peyadn) is the super-
latively great crisis of trial through
which all must pass (iii. 10), and from
which the servants of God alone
emerge unscathed. The present
vision, which anticipates the issue of
the final judgement, represents the
latter as already delivered out of the
evil to come.
VITSre]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 103
load : A / Gifs! \
pevor eK THS OAiWEws THs mEeyadns, Kal ExAUVAY Tas
\ a \ , \ a4 ol YY, =
oTONaS avTwY Kal EheVKaVaY aUTas EV TM AipbaTL TOU
’ f
a@pvVlou.
159 \ onl / > > / lol ‘a / ~ ee
la TOUTO €ElLOLVY EVWTTLOVY TOU povou Tou 15
C / cal / \ A a
Oeov, Kai NaTpEevovaew av’Tw HuEpas Kal vUKTOS ev TUS
14 ex TyS ONWews Tys meyadns] aro Ohup. wey. A Cypr | erduvay] exdaruvay 1 29
13* 29 30 41 42 50 93 94 95 97 98 130 | Om av7as Q min?!4% geth Ar
kal €mAvvay Tas orodds avTav KTA. |
The conception comes partly from
Exod. xix. 10, 14, where the Israelites
wash their clothes before the law-
giving; partly from Gen. xlix. 11
muvet €v olv@ THY GTOATY avTov, Kal ev
aivate orapuAjs tHv mepiBodiy advtod.
The orodai of the redeemed, however,
are not épvOpai (cf. Isa. Ixiii. 1), but
Neveai. Hence émAvvav is explained by
éhevcavav (Tert. candidaverunt, Prim.
candidas fecerunt, V g. dealbaverunt) ;
cf. Ps. 1. (li.) 9, which may also be
in View: mAuveis pe, kal tmép yuova
AevxavOnoouac: cf. Isa. i. 18 eay dow
ai duapria vpay ads cowikodr, ws yLdva
Aevxavd, cay 5€ dow ws KOKKWoV, OS
€ptov Nevkay@. <Aevkaivery is used in
reference to the fuller’s art, cf. Me. ix.
3 Ta iparia a’tod eyévero orihBovta
Aevka Aiar, ola yvapeis emi ris yas ov
Svvarat ovrws Nevkava.. The whiteness
of the saints’ robes is gained éy
T@ aiwate tov apviov; cf. i. 5, V. 9,
parallels which ought to have saved
some ancient writers (e.g. Tertullian,
scorp. 12; Arethas: 7 vmép ypiorod
éxxvors) from the mistake of under-
standing the Blood of the Lamb here
to mean the blood of martyrs shed for
His sake; the candidatus martyrum
exercitus itself owes its whiteness
to the Great Sacrifice. Cf. Beatus:
“hi sunt qui venerunt ete.: non ut
aliqui putant martyres soli sunt, sed
omnis ecclesia; non enim ‘in sanguine
suo’ lavari dixit...sed in sanguine
agni.” To aiva tod adpviov is the
Sacrifice of the Cross, ef. 1 Pet. i. 2,
19, 1 Jo. i. 7, Rom. iii. 25, v. 9, Eph.
i. 7, Col. i. 20, Heb. ix. 14; the paradox
Aevxaivery €v aiuare is in accord with
the manner of this book, where violent
contrasts abound. The aorists émAvvay,
éhevxavay, look back to the life on
earth when the cleansing was effected
(Me. ii. 10). The act is ascribed to
the saints themselves, and not to
Christ, as is the act of redemption
(i. 5, T@ Avoarty, V. 9 Hyopacas); the
saints are not passive recipients of
redemption, but cooperate with the
Divine grace by repentance and faith
and the use of the Sacraments (Acts
xxli. 16 Barticac Kal dmodovoa Tas
auaprias gov: Mt. xxvi. 27f. wiere &&
avTov maytes, TOUTO yap €oTW TO aina
pov tis SiaOyxns TO wept moAd@y. ék-
xXuvvopevov eis Aheow apuaprioy), and
by vigilance and victory over sin
(eo. Sat).
15. dua rovro elow every tov
Opovov tov Beov| Ava rodro refers to
the whole of the preceding sentence
(kat éAvvav...rov apviov). The purifi-
cation of the conscience and character
derived in their lifetime from faith in
the Blood of Jesus Christ (Acts xv. 9,
Heb. ix. 14) had fitted them for the
Presence of God; ef. Mt. v. 8 paxapcoe
of kaOapot TH Kapdia, Gre avrot Tov Gedy
éWovra. See Ephes. vy. 26 f. for a
picture of the Church in her final
purity, fresh from the bath of a perfect
absolution—py €youra oridov f putida
Te TOY ToLOUTwY, ayia Kal duos.
kal Narpevovowy avT@ Nuepas Kal vuKTOS
xtaA.] Cf. xxi 3 of dotrAa
Aatpevoovew avr@. On Aarpevew see
Lightfoot, Philippians (iii. 3). In the
LXx.(excepting Daniel) it is the normal
equivalent of 732, as distinguished
from the priestly M2 which is usually
’ -
auTou
104
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VIL. 15
~~ ry la At pee / \ an / /
yaw QAUTOU, Kat O KaOnjevos €7l TOU Opovou OKHVWOEL
/
16 é7 avtTous.
5) y af \ /
ou mTeEwamouvTlY ETL OUOE dunooveww
15 Tw Opovw PQ min? syrew Ar | ckyywoet ex avtous] ywwoKet aut. &* inhabitavit
in eis Prim (cf arm)
1°] ovde un Arg 92 | Senowow P 14
represented by Aecroupyeiv. Since the
members of the Church are ‘priests
unto God’ (i. 6, V. 10, xx. 6) Aecroupyety
might have been expected here and
in xxii. 3 rather than Aarpevew. But
the conception is that of a vast
worshipping congregation, and the
use of Aecroupyety would rather have
suggested that of an exclusive priest-
hood admitted to the sanctuary, while
the great majority were content to
pray without (Le. i. 10, 21). "Ey To
va@ avtov. The Israelite who was not
a Priest or Levite did not proceed
beyond the iepdy, one tribe alone
having access to the vaos. But in the
Eternal Temple the Seer sees the
whole ‘Israel of God’ admitted to the
vads, and the occasion for the Aecroupyia
of a tribal or special priesthood has
disappeared, all being priests and all
serving in the Presence of God. The
mention of a temple must be cor-
rected by the later revelation in
€. XXi. 22 kal vaoy ovK eidov ev advrh,
6 yap kupios...vaos avtis ect. The
‘temple’ is here the Divine Pr esence,
realized and enjoy ed; é €V T@ va@ AVTOU
is equivalent to évdmiov rod Opdvov
(wu. 9, 15).
The Aarpeda of the Church is not
interrupted by nightfall (for jpyépas
kal pukros See Le. xviii. 7, 1 Thess. v. 5,
Apoe. iy. 8). Even the Temple had
its night offices ; see 1 Chron, ix. 33
Hepa Kal vvé ev avrots (rots Walto-
bois) é ev ToIs epyous, Ps. exxxili. (exxxiv.)
2 ev tais vuglv emapare yeipas var eis
ta ayia, The Church inherited the
practice, ana the stillness of the night
was broken by the vigil services of
the early times (Batiffol, Bréviaire,
p- 2 ff.) and at a later date, in monastic
communities, by the matin-lauds,
16 om ert 1° & 36 vg me syrr arm*:4 aeth Cypr Prim | ovde
But the vision of ceaseless worship
is realized only when life itself is
regarded as a service. The con-
secration of all life to the service of
God is the goal to which our present
worship points, and it is symbolized
by the Apocalyptist’s Natpevovow
népas kal vuxtos. Here again the
later vision of the closing chapter
corrects the earlier: cf. Apoc. xxi. 25,
XXii. 5 vvE ovK Cora err. Cf. Andreas:
TO yap Nuepas Kat vuKras évtavOa Sydoi
TO akatamavatov.
kal 6 ka@nevos emt Tov Opovov oky-
vooer er avrovs| Perpetual service
will find its stimulus and its reward
in the perpetual vision of Him Who
is served. Sxnvodv represents j2Y in
the Lxx. (Jud. v. 17, vili. 11 (B), 3 Regn.
vill. 14(A)); in the N.T. its use is limited
to the Johannine writings (Jo. L 14,
Apoe. vii. 15, xii. 12, ili 6) see)
The reference both here and in xxi. 3
is to the O.T. promise that God would
‘walk’ or ‘dwell’ in Israel (Ley. xxvi.
22 évmepuratnow ev vpiv, Zech. ii. 10
KaTacknvede ev péo@ cov, 2. Vill. 3, 8
Ezek. xxxvii. 27 ¢orat 7) Karacknvecis
pov ev avrois) The assonance of
aknvovv, jr, nD, has probably
suggested the use of oknvoov both in
Jo. U. c. (6 Noyos...€oxnvacey ev Hyiv)
and in Apoc. Vii, xxi. Sxnv@ecer er
avtovs (here only: ef. xxi 3 oxnvdce
per avrav) brings in the further idea of
God’s Presence as a protection from all
fear of evil, with reference perhaps to
Isa. iv. 5 f., where the Pillar of the
Exodus suggests the overshadowing of
Israel by the Shekinah. An allusion
to the oxnvai of the Feast of Taber-
nacles is also possible; see v. 9, note.
The Apocalyptist now passes from
the present tense to the future (cxn-
VET. 27]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
105
of 29\ \ f 50 > \ wand sd\ al -
ETL, OUSE py TET ET aUTOUS O jALOS OVOE TAY Kava’
74 \ , \ es | / a / ~
M67t TO dpvioy TO ava perov Tov Opdovov Tromsavel 17
> \ NV ce / > \ > \ a \ 4
avTOUS Kat OOnynoel avTOUS Et Cwis THyas VOaTwr"
16 om er: 2° P x 34 al8 g me syré” arm! | ovde yn] ovd ov wy Q min*re# Andr Ar |
mean ew avTous] maioyn avrovs arm | om may 6 Ir 31 arm
17 Tousaiwver 2 4 13 29
31 alfere25 me | odnyer 2 4 alP4® | fwns] fwoas 1 38 79 96 syr Sway Kat ewe BYTE”
voce, cf. v. 16 f.); the vision becomes
a prediction.
16. ov mewacovow ére xth.] An-
dreas: cikétws toy yap adptov tay
ovpavav kal Td Vdwp tis Cons eovor.
This verse, with part of the next, is
borrowed from Isa. xlix. 10 where of
Israel returning from exile we read:
ov rewagovow ovde Supnoovow, ovde
maraker avTovs Kavowyv ovde 6 HALOS,
aN 6 édedy a’tovs mapakadécet, Kal
dia mnyav vdarwy afer av’tovs. The
changes which the Apocalyptist makes
are interesting: xavcowy (the sirocco,
ef. Mt. xx. 12, Le. xii. 55, Jac. i. 11) is
changed into vay xatpa (Latt. aestus,
scorching heat of any kind), mapa-
kahéoet (D973!) kal déec into roimavet
kal odnynoet, While 6 éAedy adrovs
becomes ro dpvior.
For the interpretation of od mewa-
aovow here see Jo. vi. 35, and for ov
Supnoovow, Jo. iv. 14, Vi. 35, Vil. 37.
With ovd€ wav xadpa contrast xvi. 9.
Taicy ért for réon én’ is an attractive
conjecture; it agrees with mard&
‘Isa. /. c.), and for the itacism cf. the
tpparatus here and at ix. 5.
17. Ort TO apviov xtr.] Td dpviov
-@ ava pecov Tov Opdvov looks back to
c. Vv. 6 é&v péo@ tr. Op. apviov. Ava
péoov (used here only in Apoc.) is
usually ‘between,’ ‘amongst’ (cf. Mt.
xiii. 25, Me. vii. 31, 1 Cor. vi. 5), but
it sometimes stands for ev péow (e.g.
Jos. xix. 1, Sir. xxvii. 2, Mt. xiii. 25),
and this must be its meaning here.
Td dpviov...7omavet is a bold mixture
of two metaphors, Tomuaivew has
been used of Christ in ii. 27, where
and in xii. 5, xix. 15, there is a
reference to Ps. ii. 9; here the con-
text guides us to Isa. xl. I1 os
TONY TroLmavEL TO TroljvLoY avTOdD, OY tO
Ezek. xxxiy. 23, but especially to Ps.
XXii. (xxili.) 1 ff. Kupios moaiver pe...
odnynoev pe, Ix xix. (IXXX.) I 6 rotpaiver
Tov “IopanA...0 odnyav wot mpoSara.
In Christ the Shepherd has taken the
nature of the sheep; the rowuny o
xados is Himself of the fold (ré dpvior).
On rrouaivew see ii. 27, note. ‘Odnyei
no less than wocpaivev has an interesting
history in Biblical Greek. It is used
of the Divine guidance of Israel (Exod.
xy. 13, Deut. i. 33), of the guidance of
individual lives (Ps. v. 9, Ixxxy.
(Ixxxvi.) 11, Sap. ix. 11); of the work
of the Spirit of Christ (Jo. xvi. 13);
and lastly, in this place, of the work of
Christ Himself in the future order.
The Divine shepherding and guidance
of men belongs to the future as well
as to the present life, and in the future
only meets with a full response (ef. Jo.
x. 4, Apoc. xiv. 4).
ert (wns mnyas vdarav] The order
emphasizes ¢wjs—‘to Life’s water-
springs,’ Vg. ad vitae fontes aguarum ;
Alford well compares 1 Pet. iii. 21
gapkos amdOeots pimov. Isa. fc. by
DD ‘VID! supplies emi mw. vd.; (was is
perhaps from Jer. ii. 13 [6 Aads pov] eve
eveatehirov, mnynv UdSatos (wis (APD
O17 O'5), The change of order gives
prominence to the mention of life. It
is to God as the Fountain of life (Ps.
XXXYV. (XXXvi.) IO mapa coe mnyy fwijs)
that the Lamb leads His sheep: ef.
xxi. 6, xxii. 1,17. The interpretation
is again supplied by the Johannine
Gospel; see Jo. iv. 12, 14; vii. 38 f.
The plurals mnyds vdarwy are perhaps
not to be pressed, being merely echoes
of the Hebrew (cf. viii. 10, xiv. 7, xvi.
106
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Vang
kat €Eadeler 6 Oeos wav Sdaxpvoy éx Toy dpOaduev
aUTOV.
I *Kat orav nvoucev THY oppayiva Thy éBdouny,
b) / \ 5) = > > Q e /
2 EYEVETO OLY EV Tw ovpaVva) WSs 1 [AL@OOV.
\ }:
2Kal ELOOV
17 0m 0 Geos syré¥ | ex] amo & 28 al g vg"? Ps me | ofOaduwy] mpocwrwy arm
VUI 1 oray AC] ore SPQ mine™ vd Andr Ar | nurwpov AC gt 97] nutwprov SPQ
min?! Andr Ar 2 ecdov P x al?! Andr Ar] idov SACQ 7 14 92 130
4); if they have any significance here,
they point to the secondary sources
which are replenished by the Fountain
itself, or to the manifold energies
of the one Christ-life (1 Cor. xii.
4 ff.), as the mvevpara of i. 4 etc. re-
present the dvaipécers yapiopatery of
the One Spirit.
kal e€areiWer 6 Beds mav Saxpvov
xtA.| Yet another reference to the
O.T.; cf. Isa. xxv. 8 where the Lxx.
have adeidev Kvpios 6 Beds ray Saxpvov
aro TavTos mpoaerov, but Symmachus,
influenced perhaps by his recollections
of this passage, renders MM'D) by kai
efadeiWer. The sentence occurs again
with verbal changes in ¢. xxi. 4;
indeed, the whole of the episode
¢. vii. 9—17 finds echoes in the last
two chapters of the book, where the
climax here anticipated is fully de-
scribed. On the main thought see
Tertullian de res. carn. 58 “delebit
deus omnem lacrimanm ab oculis
eorum, utique ex iisdem oculis qui
retro fleverant, quique adhuce flere
potuissent, si non omnem lacrimae
imbrem indulgentia divina siccaret...
dolor et maeror et gemitus...quomodo
auferentur, nisi cessaverint causae ?...
ubi casus adversi apud Deum, aut ubi
incursus infesti apud Christum ?...
quae infirmitas post virtutem? quae
imbecillitas post salutem ?”
Beati—so Bede sums up in the
words of the second Beatitude—qui
lugent, quoniam tpsi consolabuntur.
VIII. 1—13. THe OPENING oF
THE SEVENTH SEAL; THE HALF-
HOUR'S SILENCE: THE FIRST FOUR
TRUMPET-BLASTS.
I. Kal orav jvoréev thy odpayida
tv €3dounv] The sequence broken
by the two visions of c. vii. is resumed.
The Lamb opens the last of the seals
(cf. vi. I, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12), and the book
can now be unrolled and read. We
expect the catastrophe, which had
been foreboded by the signs and by the
panic that followed the penultimate
opening, at length to supervene. But
all is still; there is neither sight nor
sound to indicate the approach of the
end.
“Oray is substituted for ére, which
is used on previous occurrences of
the formula, perhaps with the view
of emphasizing the uncertainty of the
time of the end; cf. Me. xi. 19, Apoe.
iv. 9, where it implies the indefinite
repetition of an act. The construc-
tion halts between orav avoifn and ore
nvoéev. Blass (Gr. p. 218) prefers to
regard it as due to linguistic de-
terioration, urging that in late Greek
oray and ore are indistinguishable.
"Hvotéev, SC. TO apvioy, as in Vi. I.
eyeveTo oly) ev T@ ovpav@ xTdr.]
Heaven, hitherto resonant with voices,
now holds its peace: neither Elder nor
Angel offers a word of explanation
(v. 5, vii. 13); there is neither chorus
of praise nor cry of adoration (iv. 8,
11, v. 9f, 12.f, Vil. 10, 12); mongaar
calls "Epyou (vi. 3 ete.); no thunders
issue from the Throne (iv. 5). This
silence does not spell a cessation of
the Divine workings (Ign. Eph. 19 ev
novxia Geod éerpaxOn, Magn. 8 déyos
aro ovyns mpoedOav), but a temporary
suspension of revelation; cf. Renan,
PAntechrist, p. 391 “le premier acte
VIII. 3)
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
107
\ \ / aN 5) / ~ me
Tous émTa ayyéAous ol éevwrriov TOU OEo’ éExTHKacL,,
EN > ~ ¢ \
Kal €000ncay avTois éerta oadtyyes.
oS
3kal aAXos 3
of S 2 / > >
ayyenos A\Oev Kal éoraby ért Tov Ovovactnpiov
2 om Tous emra I 26 | Geov] Opovov 130 arm | eornKecay 38 g syr®" | e608 A 35 87
93 95 96
3 om ayyedos syr8™ | e&mAOev 130 al™ | Tov Ovocagrnprov NCQ 6 7 14
28 29 31 35 38 al?™"] ro Ovocagrnpiov AP 1 36 49
du mystére est terminé.” There is a
partial parallel in Apoc. x. 4 oppayioov
@ é€AaAnoav ai émra Bpovrai, kal pr
avra ypawns, but there the Seer hears
though he may not impart ; here the
Seer himself is kept in ignorance.
The remark of Victorinus, “signi-
ficatur initium quietis aeternae,’ is
attractive, but exegetically irrelevant ;
ovyy is not characteristic of the
heavenly rest. Nor is it more to the
point to refer to such passages as
Hab. ii. 20, Zeph. i. 7, Zech. ii. 13;
the Apocalyptic silence is in heaven
and not on earth.
@s nuliwpor, sc. xpovoy (Prim. fere
semihora, Vg. quasi media hora),
ace. of duration. The adjective is am.
Aey., 7ecopiov being the usual form.
For dpa, as the twelfth part of the
natural day, see Jo. i. 40, iv. 6, xix. 14,
cts Y.°7, X. 3.
Half-an-hour, though a relatively
short time, is a long interval in a
drama, and makes an _ impressive
break between the Seals and the
Trumpets.
2. Kal eldov tos émta ayyéous
xrv.| Seven Angels are required by
the situation, and the number finds a
parallel in the ‘seven Spirits of God’
and other hebdomads in this book.
The article seems to point to the
well-known group of Angels first
mentioned, as it seems, in Tobit xii.
15 ‘PadanaA els ek ray éxrd dyyAav of
...elamropevovtrat evariov THs SdEns Tod
‘Ayiov. In Enoch xx. 7 (Gr.) they are
styled ‘archangels,’ and their names are
given as Uriel (4 Esdr. iv. 1), Raphael
(Tob. ¢.c.), Raguel, Michael (Dan. x.
13, 21, xii. 1, Jude 9, Apoc. xii. 7),
Sariel (Eth. Saraqiél), Gabriel (Le. i.
19, 26), Remiel (Hieremihel; 4 Esdr.
Ty; 36) cf *.2b." lesa he eee ss
‘Angels of the Presence’ are men-
tioned repeatedly in the Book of
dubilees (i. 27, 29; ii. 1 f., 18, xv. 27,
Xxxi. 14, where see Charles’s note) ;
the title comes from Isa. Ixiii., 9
bP]=) N20, and the idea from the
practice of Oriental courts (cf. Gen.
xlv. 1, 2 Esdr. vii. 24, Esth. i. 14,
Vili. 4, Job i. 6, Zech. iv. 14, vi. 5,
Dan, ‘vil. 10, 4 Mace. xvii. 18, Le.
i. 19). On the possible connexion
of the later Jewish angelology with
Parsism or Zoroastrianism, see Hast-
ings, D. B. i. 96, iv. 991; Driver,
Daniel, p. xevi., J. TLS. iii, p. 514 ff. ;
the evidence, so far as it has been
produced, is interesting but scarcely
conclusive. Ot éev@miov xrd.; ef. Le.
1. 19 ey@ eipe TaSpujA 6 mapeotnkds
evwrriov Tou Oeod.
kat €d06noav avrois éxta cadruyyes |
Trumpets are assigned to Angels in
Mt. xxiv. 31, 1 Cor. xv. 52, 1 Thess.
iv. 16, Apoc. iv. 1, 4 Esdr. vi. 23,
Apoc. Mos. 22; the conception rests
ultimately on the scene of the Law-
giving (Exod. xix. 16ff.), which Jewish
thought connected with the ministry
of Angels (Acts vii. 38, Gal. iii. 19).
The Trumpets of the Seven are pre-
sently to break the silence which
followed the opening of the last seal
with fresh revelations of the Divine
purpose. There is possibly an allusion
to Jos. vi. 13 of émra iepeis of deportes
ras odAmvyyas Tas émta xrd.; cf. also
Joel ii. I wadricare cadteyye €v Tevady
...OLOTe TapegTw Nuepa Kupiou, ott eyyus.
3. Kal GAXos ayyeAos FAOev xrr.]
Another Angel, not one of the Seven
(cf. vii. 2, x. I, xiv. 6 ff, xviii. 1), came
108
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[ViIILS
ov \ es Ae. if b) > 7
Exwv ALBavwToy KpvTouV, Kal €000y avTe@ Oupiauata
We / ~ a a / /
Toa, iva Swoet Tals TpoTEVXals TOY aYLwY TAaVTwV
\ \ / \ = \ / ~
€TL TO GuctaxTnploy TO XY pug ovv TO €Ywrlovy TOU
3 NBavwrov] ABavov ro C | wa dwoe SAC x al?o™] wa dwon PQ min™™ Ar
wa dw 6 9 14 36 om syrs¥ | om ro xpugovv syré” | To evwrov| om to &
forward and took his place (é€ora@n,
ef. Le. xviii. 11, 40, Acts v. 20, xvii. 22)
over,i.e. before, the Altar, as in Amos ix.
I e(Sov Tov KUpiov epeatara emt (ov) TOU
dvovacrnpiov, where the prep. denotes
the position of one who stands (B.D.B.,
p. 756) “by (prop. leaning over) an
altar or sacrifice.” The celestial mes-
senger takes the place of the priest,
and offers the incense; contrast the
position of Gabriel in Le. i. 11
(€aras €k SeEiay Tod Ovyovactnpiov
rou Ouptduaros). The altar is not as
in vi. 9 the Altar of Burnt offering,
but the Altar of Incense; ro 6. 76
YpvTovy To everov Tov Opovov points to
Exod. xl. 5 @joecs ro Ovovacrnpiov TO
ypucodp...evartiov THs KiBeTov, Cf. Ley.
iv. 7 evavtiov Kupiov; it is the dvorac-
tnpiov Tov Ovpuaparos of Ley. iv. 7, 18
_—the Ovpuiarnpiov of Heb. ix. 4. Of.
Tren. iv. 18 6 “est ergo altare in
caelis, illuc enim preces nostrae et
oblationes nostrae diriguntur.”
éxov AiBavetoy xpvoodv KTr.] Ac
Bavwros is elsewhere ‘frankincense’ ;
the commentators quote the scholiast
on Ar. nub. XiBavos...adTo To dévdpor,
AtBavwros dé 6 Kapmos Tov dévdpov, and
Ammonius: AiBavos yap Kowds TO
dévdpov Kat TO Oupidpevoy, AiBavwros
S€ povoy Ovyi@pevos. The latter is
evidently the meaning of AiBaverds
in 1 Chron. ix. 29, 3 Mace. v. 2, as of
hiBavos in Lev. ii. 1, Apoc. xviii. 13;
but here and in %. 5 ypuoodv shews
that a censer is intended; for ‘censer’
(HAM, NDP) the LXX. use mupeiov
(Exod. xxvii. 3, xxxviii. 23 (3), Num.
xvi. 6 ff., Sir. 1. 9), or Ovionn (3 Regn.
vil. 36 (50)), or Oupcaty prov (2 Chron.
XXVi. 19, Ezek. viii. 11, 4 Mace. vii. 11);
the later Greek has AiBaveris or
AiBavwTpis.
cai €606n...iva docer ktA.| The Angel
received the incense for a particular
purpose. "Ed06n, as €dd@ncav in v. 2
(cf. vi. 2, 4, 8, 11, Vil. 2, ef passem),
does not describe an act which forms
part of the vision, but is simply a
recognition of the Divine ordering of
all life ; cf. 1 Cor. iv. 7 ri d¢ éyets 0 ovK
Z\aBes; On the future dacer (NAC)
see ili. 9, note; dacn, da, are probably
corrections of the less usual form.
Ovupiduara, as in vy. 8, where see note ;
but the metaphor is differently hand-
led here, for while in c. v. the prayers
of the saints are the incense or incense-
bowls, in this place they are apparently
the live coals on which the grains of
incense fall (iva Sacer tais mpocev-
xais, Prim. wt daret orationibus, Vg.
wrongly, ut d. de orationibus); the
meeting of the incense and the hot
coals produces the fragrant smoke
cloud, the symbol of Divine accept-
ance. This change brings into sight
the relation of Christ’s sacrifice and
intercession to the prayers of the
Church ; ef. Bede : “‘ Christo Domino
se hostiam suavitatis offerente com-
punctio cordis sanctorum acceptabilis
facta est.” Cf. Eph. v. 2 6 xpuoros...
mapédwxev EavTov Umep Upav mpoapopav
kai Ovoiav Td Oe@ eis dopny evwdias:
the doctrine is substantially that of
Jo. xiv. 16, xvi 23f, 1 Jouseeem
Rom. viii. 34, Heb. xii. 25. Tov ayiov
savrwv, not of the martyrs only (vi.
of.) but of all the faithful; ef. Eph.
iii. 18. The Angel with the golden
censer belongs perhaps to the scenery
of the vision rather than to its teach-
ing; at the same time it does not
VIII. 6]
Opovou.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
~
109
4 } 5.2 ‘ \ - J ~
KaL ave(3n O Ka7TrVOS TWV Oupapatwr Tals 4
E -~ ad © / \ cal / /
Tpowevyais TWY ayiwy EK yELPOS TOU ayyeXoU EvwWTLOV
tou Oeov."
yf « of \ / =
Skat eiAnpev 6 ayyedos Tov NBavwrov, 5 1C
\ / > \ E] ~ \ ~ /
Kal €YEuLTEVY aUTOY EK TOU TUPOS TOU Puc act rpiou
© SD ’ \ x Sia \ \
Kal €Badev eis Ti yive Kal éyevovTo BpovTat Kat
\ \ \ \ /
Qwvat Kal dotparmar Kal GeLopOS.
\ ¢ ¢
Skat ot émTta 6
4 Tats mpocevxats] de orationibus vg | rov Geov)+nuepas xiAcas diaxoowas e&nkovTa C
5 TOA Bavwrov...avTo 7 33 34 3640 50 | Tov OvotagTnpiov] Tov emi Tou Gua. syr®™ | eBadev]
edaBov A eBadder P | Bpovrark. Pwvar kK. aotpatat RQ 6 8 14 29 31 35 87 Vg syr®"] Sp.
kK. agTp. k. Pwrvat A 16 38 me syr dwvat x. Bp. Kk. aorp. P rt al™ | om kat ceccuos Ar
seem improbable that the Neroupy:Kca
mvevpara (Heb. i. 14) are concerned
in some way with the ministry of
prayer—an idea anticipated in Tob.
xii. 15 cis TOv émra dyiwy dyyédwy ot
mpocavapépovew Tas mpocevyas TOY
dyioy, and frequent in Enoch (ix. 3,
mveae a. 6, Xivil. 2, civ. 1). “Emi 76
évoracrnpiov, ‘upon the altar (of in-
cense)’; one sees the whole process
depicted, the fire kindled on the altar,
and then taken up into the censer
where it receives the incense: see
Lev. x. 1 \aBorres...€kacros TO Tupetoy
avrov éréOnxav em adto rip, kal émeé-
Badov en? avTo Oupiapya, Xvi 12 Arjpe-
Tat TO Tupeiov mAHpEs avOpaxwy Tupos
amd Tod Ovovaotnpiov, Num. xvi. 46
(xvii. 11) AdBe TO wupeioy Kai emides
€m avtTo Tip amd Tod Ovatactnpiov.
4. Kat avé8n 6 kxarvos xrr.| Le,
from the censer in the Angel’s hand ;
ef. Ezek. viii. 11 €xactos @upcarnpiov
avrov eixev ev TH XEtpl, Kal 7 aTpls Tod
Ovpidparos dveBawvev. Tais rpovevyxats,
the dat. commodi, ‘for the benefit of
the prayers,’ i.e. to help them (Blass,
Gr. p. 111), or perhaps (WM. p. 270)
the dative of reference ; the incense-
cloud stood in a certain relation to
the prayers, as their symbol and
representative; it was ‘given to
them’ (v. 3). The symbolical meaning
of the incense offered in the Temple
was well understood in pre-Christian
times, ef. Ps. exl. (exli.) 2 carevOuvOnrw
1) Mpocevxy pov ws Ovuiaua every cov.
The words added by C (app. crit.)
appear to be a gloss from c. xi. 3.
5. Kal etAndev 0 ayyedos Tov AiBavw-
tov xth.] The Angel had laid aside
the censer. But he takes it again
(on etAndev followed by eyéuiev see
y. 7f., note) in order to fulfil another
office; it is to be used now not for
intercession but for judgement. The
censer is again filled with fire from
the altar: cf. Isa. vi. 6 ev rH xeupi
eiyev avOpaxa ov TH AaBide ELaBev ard
tov Ovo.acrnpiov. But now no incense
is added, and no fragrant cloud goes
up; the contents of the censer are
poured upon the earth; the prayers
of the saints return to the earth in
wrath: cf. Ezek. x. 2 mAjooy ras
Spaxas cov avOpaxwy tupos...kai dxa-
oKopricets emt thy modw. There is
perhaps an ultimate reference to the
doom of Sodom (Gen. xix. 24).
This casting of fire on the earth
(ef. Le. xii. 49) is immediately followed
by results (eyévovro Bporrai xai @avai
kal aotparal kal wewcpds) premonitory
of a great visitation; cf. iv. 5, vi. 12,
xi. 19, notes, and for wewpos see Ezek.
iii. 12 Heovea horvny cetpod peyadou
EvAoynpern 7) Sd€a Kupiou €x rot romov
avrov. The whole scene in rr. 3—5
is a prelude to the Seven Trumpets,
which now begin to sound.
6. Kat of émra ayyedot of exovres
xrd.] The Angels of the Presence
who are charged with the Seven
Trumpets know the signal, and make
I1O
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VIIL. 6
5 sf \ \ / e /
aYYEAOL OL EXOVTES Tas EmTa GaATLYYaS NTO\WaTaV
\ e/ 7
7 avTous iva caXTiowoL.
4 \ € a 5 / ‘
Kal 0 TPWTOS €oaATrioey*
\ / \ lo / e/
kal éyeveTo ydhaCa Kal mip peuiypueva ev aipatt,
Kal €BAnOn eis THY viv.
\ \ / lod ~
kal TO TptTOV THS YNS
/ \ \ / a / / \
KaTEKaN, Kal TO TPLTOVY TWY d€vOpwv KQTEKaN, Kal
6 ot exovres]om oc & 36 arm! | avrous &* A] eavrous N°* PQ min®reo™" syrr Andr Ar
7 0 mpwros|+aryyedos 1 28 36 79 98 alt" vg me arm aeth Prim | peurypeva AQ min?! g
vg syrr Prim Ar] peueyuevoy &P 12 37 38 46 81 161 anon*"s | ev a:wari] om ev x al
ygdemharl® ey ydare syré" | eBAnOnoay 34 35 87 syre” | OM Kat TO TPLTOY TNS NS KATEKAH
1 35 130 me | om Kat To TpiToy Twy Sevdpwy karexan AQ* alno™” aeth
ready. They are seen to take their
stand and to raise the trumpets to
their mouths. Sadricw@ow: carricw
(cakrio, Num. x. 5 ff.), ¢ocAmioa, in
Biblical Greek take the place of cad-
tiyEw, eoadmiyéa (W. Schm. p. 105);
cf. cakmioray, Apoc. xviii. 22.
The first four Trumpet-blasts, like
the first four Seal-openings, form a
closely connected group. They de-
scribe the coming visitation as pri-
marily affecting inanimate Nature;
although animals and men are involved
in the destruction which is caused
(ov. 9, 11), direct judgements upon
mankind are reserved for the last
three. The imagery was perhaps in
part suggested by the storms, earth-
quakes, and eclipses of the first
century.
7. Kal 6 Tp@Tos EcadmLoeEY Kal eyeveTo
xa\alta krA.| The judgements ushered
in by the first four Trumpets borrow
many of their features from the Plagues
of Egypt; cf. Iren. iv. 30. 4: the
attentive reader “inveniet easdem
plagas universaliter accipere gentes
quas tune particulatim accepit Ae-
gyptus.” Xada¢a kal mip recalls the
seventh plague ; Exod. ix. 24 jv dé 7
xMala Kal To rip droyifov ev rH
xaka(n—a description of a semi-
tropical thunderstorm which is height-
ened here by peprypeva ev aipari.
Meyvvvat €v aipare ‘to mix with blood,’
cf. Ps. cv. (cvi.) 35 €uiynoay ev (2) rots
eOveow ; the usual construction is with
pera (Mt. xxvii. 34, Le. xiii. 1), or the
simple dative (Apoc. xv. 2 6adaccay
vartuny pewtyperny mupi) A rain of
mingled fire and blood is mentioned
also in the Sibyllines, v. 377 mip yap
dr ovpaviov BpéEe...7vp Kat aipa.
Blood-red rain is not unknown in
nature; in the spring of 1901 the
daily journals contained accounts of
this phenomenon, which was then being
witnessed in Italy and the South of
Europe, the result, it was said, of
the air being full of particles of fine
red sand from the Sahara. The
interpretation suggested to Andreas
by passing events is interesting as a
specimen of its kind: ro é€ mip ody
TO aipare [eupaiver] tas ex BapBapuay
XElpav yevouevas TupToAnaers TE Kal
avdpoxragias oonpeépat.
The storm flung itself (€8A76n, ef.
ov. 5, 8, xii. 9 f., xx. 14 f.) on the earth,
with the result that a third part of
its surface and the whole of the
verdure were devoured by the fire
(karexan=katexavOn, cf. I Cor, iii. 15,
2 Pet. iii. 10(A) karaxajoerar—an early
form which survives in late Gk, ef.
W. Schm. p. 108). To rpiroy (se. épos,
cf. Num. xxviii. 14) appears again
eo, 8f., 11 f, 1x. 15, 18; Goines
Zech. xiii. 7 ff. ra dv0 pépn adris [se.
Tis ys | e&odcOpevOnoerat kal exdeiwet,
To O€ Tpitov VrokecpOnoerat ev avTH, and
compare the Rabbinical parallel cited
by Schoettgen: “percussus est mundus,
tertia nempe pars olearum, tertia pars
VIIL 9]
Was YOpTos yAwpos
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
/
KaTEKQay.
ioe!
Skat Oo OevTEpOS 8
oS ’ \ ¢ of / \ /
ayyeNos oad ev’ Kal WS CPOs MEYa TrUPL KaLOMEVOV
€BANOn eis THY Oartaccay*
\ > \ /
Kal €YyeéveTO TO TPLTOV
ro / fe 9 \ > ‘Q \ / C
Tns Oaraoons aiua, °Kkal aréOavey TO TplTov Twv 9
! a > - é » / 5! /
KTLOMATWY TWY EV TN a acon, Ta EXOVTAa Wuyas,
7 xXopros]+7ns yns syrsvvid
8 om ayyedos & syrs¥ (item in vv. 10, 12 et
¢. ix. 1 syr8*) | om mupe Q min™™ syrs¥ arm Ar | e874] erecer syré | evyevero]
eyevndn &
Q TO Tptrov 1°]+pmepos & 35 36 87 cf. tertia pars vg Prim | rw
KTigpaTwy|+mavtwy syrr | tay ev Tn Oadacon] om Twy Q min" Ar om omnia
vgemharl post Ta ex. puxas pon vglefudemlipsstol | rq eyovra Wuxas] Ta ex. Yuxnv & me
aeth ro exov wuxny syre*
tritici et tertia hordei.” « Tis yis, the
land (=ris Enpas) as contrasted with
the sea (v. 8) and other waters (vv.
10f.). The fire destroyed the whole
of the vegetation, which was scorched
at once (cf. Jac. i. 12), and one-third
of the trees and other perishable
things. Two-thirds escaped every-
where, i.e. the visitation was partial,
and not final; cf. vi. 8. Tay devdpov:
the fruit-trees especially, the olive,
the fig, and the yine, on which
the inhabitants of Palestine and
Asia Minor depended so largely:
cf. vil. 3 pn adicnonre... ra Sévdpa,
a prohibition now partly withdrawn.
For yopros xAwpds see Me. yi. 39,
Hote, and. Apoc. ix. 4; cf. vi. 8,
note.
8f. Kal 6 dedrepos dyyehos eoadruer:
kal ws pos xrd.}| As at the first
trumpet-blast the fiery hail was flung
upon the earth, so at the second
a burning mass falls into the sea.
With dpos péya rupli Kxatouevoy may
perhaps be compared Jer. xxviii. (li.)
25, where Babylon is likened to an
Spos eumerupiopevoy (NDI 1D). But
Babylon is not in view here, and os
6pos kai. May be merely a figure
of speech for a blazing mass. If a
volcano is in the Apocalyptist’s mind,
the simile may have been suggested
either by the eruption of Vesuvius
which desolated the Bay of Naples
in August, 79, or by some movements
among the volcanic islands in the
Aegean, of which Thera (Santorin)
was the chief (cf. Tozer, Zslands of the
Aegean, p. 94 ff.); Strabo (i. 3. 16)
reports an eruption in B.c. 196 which
issued in the formation of a new
island afterwards known as Palaea
Kaumene. But volcanoes are not
flung bodily into the sea, so that such
phenomena were at most but re-
motely suggestive of the writer's bold
conception. He is possibly indebted
to Enoch for the figure of the burning
mountain; see En. xviii. 13 iSov érra
dorépas ws Opn peydda Katopeva, Which
is curiously close to ws dpos péya rupi
katomevoyv. The phrase seems to have
been proverbial; cf. Plaut. mercat.
lili. 4. 32 “‘montes tu quidem mali in
me ar dentes jamdudum iacis.”
Kat €yéveto TO Tpitov tis Oadacons
aipa KrA. | The sea is smitten, like
the Nile in the first plague (Exod. Vii.
20 peréBadev wav TO vdwp TO eV TO
moran eis aia); as the fish in the
Nile died (tb, 21), so do the animate
inhabitants of the stricken Aegean.
With rav xr. rév ev ry) Oadacon cf. v.13
wav xtiopa 0...emt ths Oaddaoons, Ps.
civ. 25; and for ra €yorvra Wuyxas, Veg.
quae habebant an imas, ‘animate,’ see
Gen. i. 20 éefayayérw ta data éprera
Weyer (woo (730 WB), The il-
lapse of the burning mass had a still
more serious result; the ships in the
waters disturbed by its fall were
1i2
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[ VIII. 9
IO Kal TO TplTOV TwY TNOLWY duepOapnoav. ral Oo
TPLTOS aryyeNos
9 lon \ /
ovpavou aoTyp peyas
of 5) \
ETETEV ETL
\ > c /
Il wyyas Twv voaTwr.
NéeyeTar 6 “ArvwwOos.
J
ET AATICEY*
\ / a fas \
TO TPlLTOv TWY TOTAMWY Kal
II
\
Kal
\ af lol
Kal €TE€TEVY EK TOU
/ € / \
Katoevos ws auras, Kal
? \ \
C7TGCR TES
\ \ af ~ if
Kal TO OVvOMa TOU aoTEpOS
5) / \ J cs
EYVYEVETO iO TPLTOV TWV
VoaTwv eis awOov, Kal TONAL THY avOpwTr@V a7 eE-
> > € / e/ 5) /
I2 davoy EK TWYV VOATWY, OTL érixpavOnoay.
9 diepOapn Q min?! syrs¥ Ar
mryyas Tw vdatwy A
\
Meal O
Io om vid kat erecev 2° Prim | om kar emt Tas
II 0 ayuvos] om o N*** 1 7 14 36 38 al aywéov &* syre”
absinthium vgcledemharl* tolal me Prim absinthius vg2™(™ | eyevero] ywerat 1 36 al | es
aywor] evs aywhiov & 7 8 16 28 49 79 Ar ws apwhtoy h syr’¥ Prim | ameBavoy ore
emikp. Ta vdata Sys” | ex] ere A
wrecked ; for duapOeiper Oa of wrecked
or disabled ships see Herod. i. 166 ai
pev yap tTeocepakovta ogi vies Sue-
Gapnoav. Yet in the case of the sea
as in that of the dry land, the
visitation was partial; two-thirds of
the inhabitants of the sea and the
ships on its surface were unhurt.
The plural d:e@Odpnoay (sc. ra mAoia,
understood in 16 tpiroy trav md.)
attributes a quasi-personal life to the
ships, in view of their human masters
and crews.
10. kal 6 tpiros dyyedos eaoddmicev*
kat érecev xtA.] The fresh water
supply is smitten next. At the third
trumpet-blast there falls from heaven
upon a third of the rivers and upon
the water-springs a great meteor
(dortnp, cf. Mt. ii. 2), flashing across
the sky like a blazing torch (Aaprds,
cf. c. iv. 5); for ws A. see v. 8 ws dpos.
With émecev...dotjp cf. Isa. xiv. 12
e&émecev €K TOU ovpavov 0 éwoopos,
and Me. xiii. 25, note; here the ‘star’
is merely a symbol of Divine visitation,
like the burning mountain in v. 8.
Ai mnyat tov vdadrey=ONDI WD, a
common phrase in the Lxx. (cf. e.g.
3 Regn. xviii. 5, Ps. cxiii. (cxiv.) 8,
Hos. “xiii. 15).
Il. Kal TO Ovoua TOU aaTépos AEyeTat O
“AwivOos]” AWrw6os, normally 1 aru Bos
or Td ayivvoy but here assimilated in
gender to aor7jp, does not occur else-
where in the N.T. or the txx., though it
is used by Aquila in Prov. v. 4, Jer. ix.
15, xxiii, 15; the uxx. render nao,
wormwood, variously by xod7, mexpia,
odvvn, avayxn. The Heb. word is em-
ployed in the O.T. as a metaphor for
(1) the perversion of justice (Amos Y.
7, vi. 12); (2) the bitter fruits of idolatry
(Deut. xxix. 17); (3) Divine chastise-
ments (Jer. ix. 14); see B.D.B. s.v. The
genus Artemisia, to which wormwood
(A. absinthiaca) belongs, is represent-
ed in the flora of Palestine by several
species; see Tristram, V.#., p. 493;
Hastings, DB p. 941.
Kal eyeveTo TO Tpirov TOV vOaT@V
els GywOov krd.] The reverse of the
miracle at Marah (Exod. xv. 23).
Wormwood water is more than once
in the Pr ‘ophets a symbol of suffering,
e.g. Jor. ix. 15 (14) mori adrovs oe
xodjs, xxiii. 15; cf. 4 Hsdr. v. 9
dulcibus aquis salsae a venioneea
Wormwood mixed with water does not
kill, but in the Apocalyptic vision the
waters are not mixed with wormwood
but changed intoit(éyévero ets ayuOov).
As the creatures in the sea perished
when it was smitten by the burning
mass (v. 9), so the rivers and fountains
conver tad into wormwood are de-
alt.'%3) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 113
fe Sf ) / a) / \ /
TETapTOS ayyeNos ecartmicev* Kal ErANYNH TO TpLTOV
rod c i) \ \ Ee lanl / \ \ /
Tov nAlov Kat TO TplTOV THS TEAHVYHS Kal TO TpLTOV
lo / ef cond \ / load \ Cc
TWVY ATTEPWY, iva oKoTia Oi TO TPLTOV avTwY Kal 7
€ / \ / \ / ’ - \ ¢ \ t /
a i a U .
nMEpa jan pavn TO TplTOV avTNS, Kal H V E OMOLWS
\ > yey \ ? a /
3kal €l0ov, Kal HkovrTa €vOs aeTOU TeTOMEVOU 13
12 Tptrov 1°] Teraprov 130 | wa cKoriaOy] Kat ecxoricOn 35 87 syr®” arm aeth | xac
n NEPA un Hayy To Tpirov (reraprov A) avrns] Kat To TpLTOv avTys (8. avTov) uy dary (7)
nuepa Q minre™™ (multum hoc loco inter se variant tam codd min quam verss) | uy
gan] wn pawn (P) 28 49 79 al Ar ove edawvey 35 87 syrs” arm 13 OM kat ecdov
syré” | evdov 8 min?'] ov AQ 7 14 92 | om evos % me syrr arm | aerov NAQ minfere%
vg me syrr aeth Ar] ayyedou P 1 7 28 36 47
79 al arm Vict Andr ayyeXou ws aerov
13 unus ut aquilam Prim | rerwuevov Q 1 6* 7* 32 130 alnom™
structive of human life. For dzro@aveiv
ex, ‘to die of,” see WM. p. 460.
12. xal 6 réraptos dyyeXos €oadricev*
kal erAnyyn xtd.| Visitations on land
and water are followed by a visitation
on the heavenly bodies, having for its
object the further punishment of
mankind. The conception is borrowed
from the ninth of the Egyptian plagues
Sain 5 eA yer ire... -Wndagpnrov oK6-
TO --€yévero okOTos, yogos, AvedXa, ert
macav ynv Aiyimtouv tpeis répas, cf.
Am. Vill. 9, Joel iii. (iv.) 15). To the
Apocalyptic plague no time limit is
fixed, but it is limited in its extent;
only a third of the sun’s and moon’s
disk is obscured, and a third of the
stars suffer occultation. By this
partial eclipse of the lights of heaven
a partial darkness would oby iously be
produced, but not a shortening of the
duration of daylight and moonlight
and starlight such as the following
words (iva 4 nuépa pr) avn 75 Tpirov
avrjs) seem to suggest. There is an
inconsistency here which shews the
writer's independence of the ordinary
laws of thought; he is content to
produce a desired effect by heaping
up symbolism without regard to the
consistency of the details. Here his
purpose is chiefly to emphasize the
partial character of the visitation.
Its purpose is the reformation and
not the destruction of mankind; it is
Ss. R.
charged with serious warning, but not
with final doom. Centrast Isa. xxx.
26 ro das Tov nAlov €ora éxtamAdcuor,
ev TH Nuepa Stay iaonrac Kipios To
ovvTpypa Tov Aaov avrod. For é€xAnyn
see Isa. ix. 13, and for gdavy (not
gary) c. xviii. 23.
The first series of Trumpet-blasts
is now complete. It has set loose
the elemental forces of Nature and
wrought hayoe on a large scale. But
the next verse warns the reader that
worse things are to follow.
13. kal €iOov, Kat #Kovca évds derod
xtv.| For efSov cat #xovea, ef. y. 11,
vi. 1; the scene which follows is one
which arrests both eye and ear. ’Ayyé-
Aov may be a correction for the harder
deTov, suggested by xiv. 6; or possibly
it is due to the error of a scribe who
read aetoy as arreAoy; for aerds
meTouevos, See iy. 7, Job ix. 26, Prov.
xxiv. 54 (xxx. 19). Had the Apoca-
lyptist written dyyéAov, dAXov would
probably have taken the place of évos;
cf. vii. 2, viii. 3. The eagle is chosen
not only for his strength of wing (xii.
14), but as the emblem of coming
judgement (Mt. xxiv. 28, Apoc. Bar.
Ixxvii. 19 ff.); €vos points perhaps to
the solitary figure projected against
the sky (ef. Mt. xxi. 19), but efs in
such instances approaches in meaning
to rus or the indefinite article, ef. ix. 13,
XVili. 21, and see Blass, Gr. p. 144. ’Ev
8
ore
IX.
114
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[VIII. 13
é€vy mecovpavynuatt N€yovTos pwn eyaAn Oval oval
pcooupanjjars Neyovres ‘pon weydry
> ~ ~ ~ > ~ =
OUaL TOUS KaTOLKOUVTaS ETL THS Yyns eK THY AoLTMOY
lon ~ / ~ - ’ / =
gwvwv THs carTiyyos TwY TpLwY ayyedwy Tor
peANovTwy cadzriCe.
\ € / sf ? / \ >
I "Kal 6 wéumtos ayyeNos évaAmicey* Kal Eeldov
’ / ’ a ~~ / > \\ ~~
aoTEPa EK TOU OUpavoU TETTWKOTAa Els THY YHV,
Nie, / > lal € \ io / - > /
Kal €000n avT@ 4 KAEls TOU peatos THs aBvaocov.
13 om ev N | & pecovpayvnuatt] ev wesw ovpay amare exovTos syr (et similiter
c. Xiv. 6) ev ovpayw syr8" | om gwvy peyadn syrr | ovas bis tantum 1 syr aeth | rous
xarotxouvras SQ 6 8 14 29 31 35 38 48 51 87 g2 130 al ™™"] Tos Karockovow AP x 7
alsttmu Ar | ex tns pwns Tw cadmeyywv syrs¥ arm
IX 1 edov SP min?P'] cdov AQ 7 14 92 130 | acrepas...remrwkoras &* | exe Tys y7s
38 97 syrr
pecouparvnuars, “in the meridian” or
“the zenith”; that part of the sky
where the sun is at noon-day; cf. xiv.
6, xix. 17. The eagle pecoupavei, i.e.
he flies not near the horizon, where he
might pass unobserved, but overhead,
where his course can be seen by
all. The word is said to belong to
Alexandrian Greek: Pollux iv. 157
peonuBpiacery, Urep Keadns éotavat: TO
yap pecoupaveiy Aiyurtiov. Syr.8”- for
pecovpayymare has simply ssne=,
héyovtos dwvn peyadn Oval oval
ovai xtA.| The eagle is not only seen
but heard. In Ezek. xvi. 23 (A),
Apoe. xvili. 10, 16, 19, the double ovai
is merely for emphasis; the triple
ovai here has reference to the three
remaining trumpet-blasts or rather
the visitations that will follow them;
see 1X. I2 oval 7 pia amndOev- iSov
epxeras ett Ovo oval. Tods karotxovvras:
the acc. after ovai is unusual, the
dativus incommodi might rather have
been expected, as in Le. vi. 24 ff.;
but cf. xii, 12 oval thy yhv Kat tH
dadacoay, and see Blass (Gr. p. 112),
who compares vae me=vae mihi.
The earth has suffered already from
the first four Trumpets; the time has
now come for her inhabitants to suffer
yet more severely. Of xarocxotvtes emt
Ts yhs, the pagan or non-Christian
population of the Empire, as in iii. 10,
vi. 10, xi. 10, xiii. 8 ff., xvii. 2 ff.
€x TOY hourov havav THs cadmtyyos,
“by reason of the remaining trumpet-
blasts.” Tis oadrvyyos modifies pavav
—the sound is that of the trumpet; rav
ca\riyyev is unnecessary, since the
reader’s attention is not called to the
plurality of the trumpets but to the
trumpet-like utterance which proceeds
from each of the angels. On éx in
this sense see WM. p. 461.
IX. 1—12. Tue Firra Trumpet,
oR THE First Wor.
I. 0 mépumros ayyedos eoaAmicey, Kal
eldov dorépa xtA.] In viii. 8, 10 the
Seer witnesses the fall of a star ; now
he sees only a star lying where it
fell (memtwxora). Cf. Isa, xiv. 12 mas
ekerrecev €k TOU OUpavov 6 Eewadopos; Le.
x. 18 ededpovv Tov caravay ws aoTpaTny
€k Tov ovpavod mecovta. As the sequel
shews, this fallen Star represents a
person, possibly Satan, as a comparison
of Le. 7. c. with Apoc. xii. 9 may
suggest. For a personification of the
stars comp. Jud. y. 20 €& ovpavod mape-
raéavto of aorépes; for the image of
the fallen star see Enoch Ixxxviil. 1.
€560n atta 7 KAels TOD peatos THs
aBvocov] “ABvacos is the usual equi-
valent in the Lxx. of O17), whether in
the sense of ‘deep waters’ (Gen. i. 2,
IX. 3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN I15
, - 5] - \
*Kal ivoueev TO cppeap TNS aBuvocou Kal aven Kamrvos 2
4 / c \ / / \
EK TOU PpEaTOS WS KaTTVOS KaplVOU MEYaANS, Kal ETKO-
/ Caneel Ne :G8 vig > ~ ~ ~ /
Twn 0 HALOS Kal O ano €K TOU Ka7rvOoU TOU ppeatos.
r m3 ~~ / > \ = \
3kal €K TOU KaTTYOU €&NOov aKploes Eis THY YAhV, Kal 3
~ cf ” > / ¢
€000n avTais E€ovtlia ws Eyovtw eEovctav ol oKop-
20m ka nvoiter ro dpeap Tys aBvecov RQ minP!4%? ygamhari* tol* me syrs™ arm
aeth"** Ar | om ex rou gppearos ws kamvos 1 35 41 87 | peyadns] Kacomevns Q min™*™
syr Ar pey. acouerns 36 37 38 40 41 42 (130) g syré* arm* | ecxorwiy A 12 14 92]
ecxotic0n SPQ min?! Ar | om ex Tov kamvou Tou pp, N* Prim
Andr Ar] avros &Q 7
Vii. Ps. cy. (cvi.) 9, cvi. (cvii.) 26),
or in Ricsfotcnce to the depths of the
earth (Ps. Ixx. (Ixxi.) 21 é« ray aBic-
gov Tis yns madw arnyayés pe; cf.
Deut. viii. 7). By an easy process of
thought, it is applied to Sheol: Job
xli. 22 f. dvatet rv aBvocov domep
xarketov...rov d€ raptapoy Tis aBvccou
domep aixuadwrov, Rom. x. 7 ris Kata-
Byoera eis tiv GBvocov; rotr eorw
Xpicrov ex vexpov avayayev. In Le.
Vill. 31 (wapexadovy avrov iva jut) emita€n
avrois els THv GBvocor area Geir) a lower
depth is sounded, and it is this which
is in view when aS8vocos is used in the
Pee (Ex, 1, 2, 11, Xvii. 8, xx. I, 3).
The Enochie literature has much to
say of this ‘abyss’ (Enoch xviii. f,
xxi., xe.; Slavonic Enoch, xxviii. 3;
ef. Charles, Zschatology, p. 198). The
Apocalyptist represents it as entered
by a shaft or well (@péap, cf. Jo. iv. 11),
the mouth of which is kept under
lock and key; the key is in the custody
of an angel (xx. 1) or, as here ap-
parently, of Satan, i.e. he is authorised
to open and shut the mouth of the
abyss at his pleasure (for «eis see
Mt. xvi. 19, Apoc. i. 18, iii. 7; and
on the idea, Slavonic Enoch, xlii. 1).
This power however is exercised only
by Divine permission (€564n avr@), and
behind it is the omnipotent Hand
which controls both the visible and
the invisible order; cf. Prayer of
Manasses 3 6 kX\eicas Tv aSuccov kat
oppayirapevos TO HPoBep@ xai evddE@
ovoparti cov.
3 avrats AP min?!
2. Kal qvoiEev TO ppeap xrd.] The
Fallen Star-spirit unlocks the mouth
of the Abyss, and at once the sky is
darkened by a volume of smoke which
rises from it; ef. Gen. xix. 28 avéBawey
prog THS ys Ooet drpis kapivou, Exod.
xix. 18 dveBawev 6 Kavos ws Kamvos
kauivov. The sun’s face is hidden (Joel
ii. 20), and the atmosphere (6 anp), the
region of the clouds (2 Regn. xxii. 12,
Ps. xvii. (xviii.) 12, 1 Thess. iv. 17 f£.),
the air through which the birds fly
(Sap. vy. 11), and which men breathe
(Sap. xv. 15), and in which evil spirits
were thought to exercise a limited
authority (Eph. ii. 2 tov apyorta tijs
efovcias tov dépos), is darkened by
reason of (ex, cf. villi. 11, 13) the
smoke cloud emitted from the well
as from the chimney of a furnace.
On oxorotacba see W H.*, Noles, p. 178:
the verb is used of an occultation of
heavenly bodies in Job iii. 9 cxorw@ein
Ta GoTpa TNS VUKTOS exelvns.
3. Kal ex Tov Kamrvov €&nOov axpides
xtv.] The smoke wrought worse evil
than the darkening of the air; out of
it came a swarm of hellish locusts;
for axpides see Me. i. 6, note. There
may be a reference both to Exod. x
13 ff. and to Joel i. 4ff. But these a-
kpides ris aBiooov Were entrusted with
a power (€d06n avrais efovcia) wholly
unlike that of the locust tribe, and
akin to that of the common scorpion
(oi oxopriot THs ys, in contrast with af
axpides ths aBivocov). The venomous
stab of the scorpion is proverbial in
8—z2
116:
4 71lol THS YNS.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Pxerg
4 Was U ’ -~ ee \ > /
Kal EppeOn QUTQALS LYVA [AH aOLKNO OUCL
\ / ~ Los > \ ~ \ > \ ~ lA
TOV XOpTOV THS ys Oude Tay yAwpoy ove Trav dEV-
> \ \ / ee »/ \
dpov, ef jy Tous avOpwrous otTWEs oVK ExovoLW THY
5 oppayioa tov Oeov émt TwY pETwWTYY.
Skat €doo0y
p) ~ J \ 5) / 2 / 5) > of
auTols iva py aTOKTELVwWOW avToUS, dAN Wa Baca-
4 eppnOn Q 35 50 87 130| avracs AP min?! syrsw Andr Ar] avros 8Q 14 87 go
92 | adixnoovow A 367] adixnowow SPQ minfereom Andr Ar | om ovde wav xAwpov B
vyghel* arm Cassiod | ovde ray devdpov] ovde devdpa syr’” | av@pwious]+pmovous 49 OI
96 tantum homines vg arm | om Tov Oeov 1 12 17 28 47 79 Veh* arm | peTwrwr]
+avrwy Q min?! ygelefudemlipss gyry arm aeth Ar
5 avros SAI 7 12] avras PQ
min?! Ar | om wa 2° syr&” | BacaricOnoovrae SAP 1 12 36 38 (130)] Bacavicbwow Q
min?! Ar Bacavicwow 7 cruciarent h cruciaverint latt’ similiter arm aeth
both O. and N.T.; see e.g. 3 Regn. xii.
Il mawWevow vas ev oxopriois, Ezek.
li, 6 ev péom oKopriwy od xarotkeis,
Le. xi. 12 emddcet auT@ okoprriov ;
The scorpion takes its place with
the snake and other creatures hostile
to man, and with them symbolizes the
forces of spiritual evil which are active
in the world: cf. Sir. xxxix. 29 f. ravra
Tavta eis ekdiknow éxtiotac: Onpior
odortes Kal oKopriot kai €xeis, Le. x. 19
déd@xa vply thy efovoiay Tov marteiv
emava opewy kal oKopriwy, Kal emt
macayv tHy Svvapuv tov €yOpov.
4. Kal eppeOn adrais iva pn dduky-
govowy xrv.| Their mission, moreover,
is not that of the locust tribe; they
are, in fact, prohibited from devouring
herbage and stripping trees (Hxod.
X. 15 xatépayev [7 akpis] macav Bo-
raynv Ts yis Kal mavra TOV kapmrov TOV
EvAwy, cf. Joel ii. 3 ra omicdev avrov
mediov apavicpov); this had been done
sufficiently by the hail which followed
the first Trumpet (viii. 7). The pro-
duce left by the hail in Egypt was
devoured by the locusts (Exod. 7. c.),
but the Apocalyptic locusts are bent
on another errand; men and not mere
food stuffs are their goal. For éppé6n
see vi. 11, note; on the future after iva,
ili, 9, note; and on ddccety = Brarrew,
il. 11, note. Ovéé wav=‘nor any’; cf.
Le. i. 37 ovK ddvvatnoe...cav pha;
for ovdé after Wa py, see WM. p. 602,
note 3.
ei py Tovs avOpwmous KtA.| ‘But
only the men,’ etc.; for this use of
ei py cf. WM. p. 789. The power to
hurt men is to be exerted only upon
a particular class of men (rovs avOp.
oirwes ; on this use of doris see Light-
foot on Gal. vy. 19 and Blass, Gr. p. 173,
and cf. Apoc. i. 7, ii 24, xx. 4), Viz
upon those whose foreheads have not
been marked by the Seal of God (vii.
3 ff.). As Israel in Egypt escaped the
plagues which punished their neigh-
bours, so the new Israel is exempted
from the attack of the locusts of the
Abyss.
5. Kal €860n avrois iva py Krad.] Loe.
the commission which they received
ran M1 dmokreivate avtovs, aida Baca-
vicOnrwoav. The wound inflicted by
the scorpion is not usually fatal, but
it causes exquisite pain; and this is
the point of resemblance between the
scorpion and the Apocalyptic locusts ;
it was no part of their mission to kill,
but rather to inflict suffering worse
than death. Bacavifeww, ‘to apply the
touchstone, is used, from Thucydides
downwards, of torture, and this is its
meaning in the Lxx. (1 Regn.}, Sap.*,
Sir, 2 Mace.3, 4 Mace.”, a significant
distribution); in the N.T. Bacavigew,
Bacavic pos describe acute pain whether
physical (Mt. viii. 6, Apoc. xii. 2), or
mental (Mt. viii. 29, 2 Pet. ii. 8), or are
employed metaphorically (Mt. xiv. 24,
Me. vi. 48); in the Apocalypse, written
IX. 7]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
117
/ - U \ G \ ? -
noOnocovrat Unvas WeEevTe* Kal O Bacavic os QAUTW)
\ /
ws Pacavopos oKopTiou,
6
tA / 7
OTaV Tatton avOpwrrov.
Nurs ~ € / > / / c af 6 6
Kal EV TALS NMEPAls EKELVALS (ntnoovew ot avUpwT7r ot
\ / 5) \ c / 5) / ee
TOV Oavatoy Kal OU pM?) €vpnTovoly AUTOV, Kal é€mrOvu-
/ ’ - \ / « / a ’ ~
Mynoovotv amroQavetv Kal peuyet oO Oavaros aT AUTWYD.
\ / lo > / 74 TA
Tkal Ta OMOWMATA THY aKplOwY OmoLa LmTOLS HTOL- 7
5 mevre] sex Prim | cxopmov oray] oray oxopmios h'4 | mason (wean RAPQ 7 87 al™
mean em Syr®") avOpwrov] mAnin avOp. 10 26 37 41 42 43 49 96°"
6 gSnrnoovew |
gnrovew 2 8 9 19 27 42 50 91 96 al vgh*"* | evpnoovtw RQ 6 7 8 29 30 al™ Ar
invenient vgi*’*!) Ambr] evpnowow 1 2 g al evpwow AP 12 17 28 34 35 46 49 79 87
130 inveniant vg*"'* | gevyes AP 1 12 17 36 38] duyn & fugiat vg"" gpevg_erar Q
min?! syrr arm Ar fugiet vglexo™*"*) Prim
7 Ta omowpara) To omoiwua g syrr |
onoa PQ min™ 4 Andr Ar] ovo & ouocwuara A | immwy nroimacuerww 130
at a time of imminent persecution,
the thought of punishment is again
uppermost (ix. 5, xi. 10, xiv. Iof,
avy, 10, FS, XX. 10; xii. 2 is the
only exception).
pivas revre} This limit of time has
been supposed to be a reminiscence
of the 150 days of the Flood (Gen.
vii. 24) or to refer to the duration of
locust life. But the number five is
frequently used without any apparent
purpose beyond that of giving defi-
niteness to a picture, e.g. Mt. xxv. 15
mévre radavra, Le. xii. 6 révre otpovdia,
1b. 52 mevre ev Evi otk, XiV. 19 Cevyn
Body mevte, xvi. 28 révte adeAqovs,
1 Cor. xiv. 19 mévre Aoyous. If a fur-
ther reason is to be sought for its
employment here, révre may point to
the incompleteness of the visitation ;
it lasted five-twelfths of the year, as
the plagues of c. viii. affected a third
of nature. There is a progress in the
visitations, but the end is not yet.
érav tmaion avOpwrov: cf. Achill.
Tat. ii. 7 Kai ris pedurra...€marake Thy
xetpa. For raiew=raraocew see Num.
xxii. 28, 2 Regn. xiv. 6, Me. xiv. 47
(comp. with Mt. xxvi. 51). The ictus
is inflicted by the scorpion-like tails
ascribed to the locusts in x. 10; ef.
Plin. 2. m. ii. 25 “semper cauda in
ictu est, nullogue momento cessat ne
quando desit occasioni.” The reading
of Syr.8”: wéon én’ avOpwrov has doubt-
less arisen from raion written as récn;
see app. crit., and cf. note on vii. 16.
6. Kal ev Tals nuépas exeivars (nrn-
covow xrX.| During those terrible
months of torture men will prefer
death to the agony of living. Cf.
Job iii, 21 oOweipovras rov Oavarov
Kal ov tuyxavovow krd., Jer. viii. 3
eikovto Tov Oavatoy 7) thy Cwnv: see
Apoe. vi. 16, Orac. Sibyll. ii. 307 Kai
kadécovot Kadov TO Baveiv cat pevéer’
adm avtov. The thought was familiar
to the Greek and Roman poets : Soph.
Electr. 1007 ov yap Oaveiw éxbiorov,
ad’ érav Oaveiv | xpnfwv tis eira pndé
tout éxn AaBewv. Ovid, Jb. 123 “desit
tibi copia mortis, | optatam fugiat
vita coacta necem.” Ov uy evpioovew
avrov: such a death as they desire, a
death which will end their sufferings,
is impossible; physical death is no
remedy for the Bacavopuos of an evil
conscience. With ér@upuicovcw dro-
@aveiv Alford aptly contrasts Phil. i.
23 THv emOuuiavy Eywv eis Td avadioa
kal oly Xpior@ elvac; under such cir-
cumstances death is a gain, but it is
not sought, for life also has its com-
pensations, in duty and in enjoyment.
Znreiv, émOvuety, form a climax.
7f. Kal ra opowpata trav axpider
xt\.] Hitherto only the powers of the
locusts have been in view ; now they
118
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[IX. 7
/ ’ / \ 5) \ \ \ ’ ~
Maopevols els TOAEUOV, Kal ETL Tas KEeparas avTwY
Me J ~ \ \ , -
Ws TTEPaAVOL OMOLOL YOVTW, KaL TA TOCTWTA avTwY
8 ws TPOTwnT a avOpwrwy*
Sal Ely av Tplyas Ws Tplyas
~ \ c > , ~ y >
yuvakov, Kal ol OdovTEs avTwWY Ws NEOYTWY HOaY,
9 °Ka! elyov Owpakas ws Owpakas odnpous, Kal 7 porn
~ / > lo € \ ¢ f /
TWY TTEPUYWV AVTWY WS porn APMAaATWY LTT WY ToA-
7 omooe xpvow NAP 1 al vg me syrr arm aeth Andr] xpvooxn Q minfere4? Ar
8 ecxyay NA] evxoy PQ mino™™ vid Andry Ar
are described. Their shapes (opotwpa,
a word “midway between popdy and
oxjpa,” Lightfoot on Phil. ii. 7, ef.
Ezek. i. 16, x. 21=N304, Rom. i. 23)
were like horses caparisoned for battle.
The description is borrowed from
Joel’s account of a locust swarm (ii.
4f. ws dpacis immwv n opacis avTor,
Kal ws inmeis oiTws Katadiw£ovtat...ws
ads rraparacoopevos...€eis TOAEMOV) 3 a
metaphor chosen “partly on account
of their speed and compact array, but
chiefly on account of a resemblance
which has been often observed between
the head of a locust and the head of
a horse” (Driver, ad loc., citing Theo-
doret: «i yap tes axpuBas Katido. THY
Kearny tis akpidos apddpa tH Tod
immov é€wkviay evpnoe: eats Se idetv
kal metopevny avTny Kar ovdev THs TOU
immov TaxUTyTos éXaTToupEny).
kal emt Tas Kkedadas avTav ws ore-
dbavor xrd.| So far the picture might
have been that of an ordinary swarm
of locusts: the next two features are
peculiar to the locusts of the Abyss.
(1) They are crowned like conquerors
(cf. iv. 4, xiv. 14), as indeed they are
so long as their power lasts. (2) Their
faces are strangely human, suggesting
the intelligence and capacity of man ;
their long hair resembles that of
women (I Cor. xi. 15). Perhaps it
is unnecessary to take dvépé7wy here
as=avdper, though some support for
this view may be found in Esth. iv. 10
(ras avOpwros 7 yun), and 1 Cor. vii. 1
(kadov avOpar@ yuvatkos pu anrecGat).
‘Qs rpixas may allude to the long
9 OM TwWY TTEPUYWY 1390
antennae of the locust tribe, or, as
some suppose, to the long hair worn
by the Parthians (Suet. Vesp. 20). The
ancient commentators for the most
part regard the reference to women
as symbolizing the abuse of the sexual
relations ; e.g. Bede, “in capillis mu-
lierum fluxos et effeminatos mores.”
But it is safer not to press the details.
As to the general sense, the locusts
of the Abyss may represent to us
memories of the past brought home
at times of Divine visitation, which
hurt by recalling forgotten sins; cf.
1 Kings xvii. 13. Kal of dddvtes avrav
xr. looks back to Joel i. 6 of adovres
avrov dddvtes Aéovros. For eiyay see
WH.?, Notes, p. 172.
9. Kai etyov Adpaxas ws 6. adnpods}
The scaly backs and flanks of the
insects resembled coats of mail, whe-
ther the scale-armour worn by Goliath
(1 Regn. xvii. 5 @epaxa ddvoderdr ;
cf. Driver, ad loc., “like the scales of
a fish, plates overlapping each other
and allowing free movement”), or a
cuirass of “metal plates across the
chest and long flexible bands of steel
over the shoulders” (Enc. Bibl. i. 606,
and see Dean Robinson’s note on Eph.
yi. 14). Sdypovs points to the material
of which such armour was ordinarily
made, and at the same time indicates
the hopelessness of any effort to de-
stroy assailants who were so protected.
The next feature is again from Joel (ii.
5 os pwv7 dpudtav...ds ads modvs kat
iaxupos mapatacodpevos eis mOoAEpLov).
In the onrush of the locust-swarms
IX. 11] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
119
10
~ / / A a/ > \
Nwv TpEXOVTwY Els TrONEMOV. Kal €xovolv ovupas LO
/ / \ / \ ~ ~ ~
OMOlas OKOPTLOLs Kal KEVTPAa, Kal Ev Tals OUpais aVT@Y
/ > ~ > ~ \ / ~
i €€ovcla a’Tav adiknoa Tous avOpwrovs prvas
/ i1r/ ad. 9, ? ~ / \ ”
TEV TE. Exovow ém avtTwy Baoiéa Tov ayyedov 11
Ths aBvoccov, dvona atta "EBpaicri ’“ABaddwr,
10 exovoww] evyov 38 vg arm | ovpas ouoas] owowpa arm* | ouocas PQ minfreom
Andr Ar] ouoos SA 14 | cxopmiw syr8™ | Kae ev] ny ev vgrlefudemharl¥* hpss ey 7 7 28 34
130 al ygsmhari*tol svrew arm aeth Andr | avrwy 1°]+Kae t 36 47 79 vgtlebariiips | »
efovoia avtwy] efovoray exovow Q 6 8 14 al™ syr Ar efovo.ay exoveat 51 go g2 at
efovorat avTwy 130 | adixnoa] pr rov Q minfres? II exovow] pr xac P x alestmu
vg syrr arm aeth exovca: Q min®'% Ar | ep eauvtwy Tov Baoitea & 130 | Tov apxovTa
Tns aBvocou Tov ayyedov A | tov ayyedXov] om roy Q minP4% Ar | ovoua avrw] prw&
syrr cui nomen vg | ABaddwy] ABaaddwy Q 27 30 93 al Mayedwy me Armageddon
Prim Labbadon Haym alia alii
the Prophet heard the din of war
chariots ; the Seer adds immoyv rod\Aov
tpexovrwy, thinking of “the pransings
of their strong ones” (Jud. y. 22) as
well as of the clatter of the chariots
and the rumbling of their wheels (Jer.
xxix.=xlvii. 3); comp. 4 Regn. vii. 6
Kuptos dxovotiy émoincey THY Tapep-
BoAdny Supias paviv apparos kat parry
imrov, paviv Svvduews peyadns. For
the vast numbers of the chariots em-
ployed in ancient warfare cf. 1 Sam.
xiii. 5 (30,000), 1 Chron. xix. 7 (32,000);
for the phrase dppyara irrey see 3 Regn.
xii. 24 b foav atr@ appara rpraxdora
inter.
10. Kat €xovow ovpas opoias oKop-
mios xtA.] The body of the locust
of the Abyss ended in a flexible tail
(Clem. Al. strom. iii. 18 § 106 ovpais...
as xépxous "E\Anves xadovow) like the
tail of the scorpion. ‘Opoias oxopriois
=p. Tais ovpais Tay oKopriwy, as in
Mt. v. 20 mAciov rev ypappatéwy =mX.
tis Stxatorvuns ray yp. (cf. WM. pp. 307,
377). The tails were armed with
stings, in which resided the power of
the locusts to hurt. Kévrpoy is properly
the goad used for oxen (Proy. xxvi. 3,
Acts xxvi. 14), and in a secondary
sense the sting of the bee (4 Mace. xiv.
19 pedoca.. Satan odnp@ TO Kev-
Tp» mAHoover) Or Other insect. ‘With
the symbolism cf. Hos, xiii. 14 mov ré
Kevtpov gov, adn; I Cor. xv. 56 ro de
kévtpov Tov Oavarov 7 apapria, Llevre
Lnvas: see v. 5, note.
Il. €yovow er avtayv Baowdea xrh. |
In Prov. xxiv. 62 (Xxx. 27) we read:
aBaciXevrov €atw 7 axpis. If the Apoe-
alyptist remembered thisstatement, he
found an exception to it in the locusts
of the Abyss, which are in other
respects quite abnormal; perhaps he
has been influenced by Amos yii. 1
LXX. [Sov éervyovt axpiday épyopuervn éw-
Own, Kai Sod Bpotxos eis Tay (333 TMS
for M.T. 3 TON) o Bacwed’s. For
their king the locusts of the Abyss
have the Angel who presides over it
(v. 1), i.e. they obey his orders and do
his work. The Seer knows the name
of this angel; it is in Hebrew
(ESpaiori, as in Jo. y. 2, xix. 13, 17,
20, xx. 16, Apoc. xvi. 16; ef. Intro-
duction, ¢. xi.) Abaddon, and in the
Greek (€v tH “EAAnuKy, 8c. yAooorn
=“Ed\Anuoti; for the latter see Jo.
xix. 20, Acts xxi. 37) ‘ArodAvop,
Destroyer; Vg. Exterminans; the
rendering in Syr.& ix. rests upon
the false reading ’AmoAv@y (app. crit.).
Abaddon, HAIN, a word used almost
exclusively in the Wisdom air
(Job xxvi. 6, Xxvili, 22, Xxxi. 12, Ps.
Ixxxviil, 11, Prov. xv. 11, ae 20)
is represented in the Lxx. (exc. Job
-120 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [IX. 11
12 kal €v TH EAA ovopia Exe AzrodNvwv. 2 ovat
pla dmnbev: idod EpyeTat Ett Ovo oval pera
TAUTa.
4 af 2 / A, 5 oi.
10g 3 Kal 0 €KTOS ayyeANos ExcaAmicEev* Kat nKoVvTa
11 Kat ev Ty] ev de Ty Q min*® vg syr Prim Ar | EdAnuKy] EdAqnidée & | om ovopa
exec vg arm | Amo\\vwy (cf vg latine habens nomen Exterminans; anon cut nomen
latine Perdens)] Amo\vwv 49” 98 syrs” 12 amnnOev] rapnOev 28 79 80 | epxerat
R*A 7 8 14 29 30 alP'a20 syrr] epyovrac R* PQ 1 28 32 35 36 als*™™ syre™ Andr Ar om
armé | ere dvo] om ems 1 49 97 arm devrepa 7 Me arm! | wera TavTa Cc. Versu sequenti
coniung & (Q) 8 14 29 31 47 48 50 go al™ syrs” arm*® 13 om xac 1° NW me
syrs”
XXXi. 12) by awwAeca, meaning either
destruction generally (Job xxvi. 6,
Esth. viii. 6) or destruction in Sheol.
(Emek hammelek, f. 15. 3 “infimus
gehennae locus est Abaddon, unde
nemo emergit”). Here Destruction
in the deeper sense is personified,
and ’AoAAve@v is therefore preferred
to dr@dea (cf. 1 Cor. x. 10 Tov ddo-
Opevrov); the allusion to ’Amod\o»r,
suggested by some commentators,
seems far-fetched, but in this book it is
not impossible. The personification
of Abaddon is known to the Talmud ;
see Shabb. f. 55 a, where six destroy-
ing Angels are mentioned, over whom
preside Ny) and j73N; 2%. f. 89. 1
VION ny ji72N, It is unnecessary
to enquire whether by Abaddon, the
Destroyer, the Seer means Death or
Satan ; perhaps he does not conscious-
ly identify the personality, which be-
longs to the scenery of the vision. The
Apollyon of Pilgrin’s Progress is a
more fully developed conception, and
indeed in all but the name it is a crea-
tion of Bunyan. With the construction
dvoua éxet AmrohAvay cf. xix. 16 ye...
dvopa yeypappevoy Bacwevs, krr., and
see WM. p. 226; on the form dzod-
Avew see WH.2, Notes, p. 175 f.
12. 7 ovat 7 pia ampAOev krd.| “Woe
the first is gone past; behold, there
come yet two Woes after this,” ie.,
the sixth and seventh Trumpets have
yet to be blown (cf. viii. 13, note).
‘H ovai, which occurs again in xi. 14
(j oval 7 Sevrépa, 7 oval 7 Tpitn), is
not easy to explain: Blass (@r. p. 32)
seems to attribute the gender to the
fact that the word ovai is here equi-
valent to @difus, but it is simpler to
regard the three Woes in the light
of female personages, the Erinnues or
Eumenides of the Apocalypse, repre-
senting the avenging powers evoked by
the last three Trumpets. Mia=apern,
a Hebraism which the Lxx. takes over
in Gen. i. 5, 8 nuépa pia: cf. Me. xvi.
277 wa Tov caBBarev with ‘Mc.’ xvi.
9 mpo&tn caSBarov, and see notes there.
In épyerat vo ovai the personification
seems to disappear, for the writer
treats ovai as a neuter. For ovai as
a noun see Proy. xxiii. 29, Ezek. vii.
26, 1 Cor. ix. 16.
13—21. THE SrxtH TRUMPET, OR
SeconD WoE.
13. Kal 6 éxtos ayyehos €oadmicev:
kai xtA.] The sixth trumpet-blast is
followed by a solitary voice (piav
ery, cf. viii. 13 vos derov) which
seems to proceed from (éx) the horns
of the Golden Altar mentioned in viii.
3. The voice may be that of the
Angel who bad been seen standing
over the Altar with a golden censer ;
or it may represent the prayers of the
Saints, which now have the effect of
a command issued to the Angel of the
sixth Trumpet. The general sense is
the same in either case; the prayers
of the Church, which initiated the
entire series of visitations connected
IX. 15] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN I2I
\ / > rq / lod ~
Qwvnvy play €K TWY KEpaTwY TOU Ouoctartnpiov TOU
col co / ~ ~ / ~ ed
XpuTov Tov evwriov Tov Oeou, “EYOTA TW EKTW I4
> / af \ / ~ \ /
ayyeAw, 0 Exwy Thy cadtiyya Avooy Tovs Téoca-
/ \ / , \ ~ aad ~
pas ayyeXous Tous dedeuevous eri TO TOTAUM TH
‘ ‘ ‘
/ , , 1 Nene c , sf s
meyadw Evdpaty. “kai éAvOnoay ot Téroapes ay- 15
13 pwrny pay] porns pias R°* dwwnv peyanv 34 35 87 Pwvynv tantum &* 38 me
vocem, unum vg*™ "ete unum Cypr Prim anon*’ om 130 | om ex Twy Keparwy R*
(hab &“*) 14 92 | keparwy] pr reccapwy PQMInfereomn ypcledemlipss4,6 syrr Cypr Prim
Andr Ar (om &* A 28 79 vgsmfubsrllips5tol me syrr seth) | om Tov xpucou 14 92 arm*
14 Aeyovra K*A] Neyovros Q min*r?89 Ar Neyouray P 1 7 28 35 36 38 al Aeyourns
&* | om exrw A | 0 exw] tw exov7e 34 35 87 (130) os exe Ar qui habebat vg Cypr |
Tecoapas] Tecoapes & 87 | om Tous dedeuevous...eupparyn me | em] ev 7 19 37 in flumige
vg | Tw weyahw]+7orauw P om Tw wey. arm Cassiod
with the Trumpets, now bring about
a greater catastrophe than the world
has yet experienced. Tov xepdrar r.
évo. (Exod. xxvii. 1, 2) may be in-
tended to point to the four corners of
the earth (vii. 1) from which prayer
ascends; the single voice interprets
the desire of the ‘Holy Church
throughout all the world’
14. Aéeyovra T@ Extw ayyéAa, 6 Exar
tiv a.| Aéyovra personifies the voice,
as in iv. I; 6 é€yoy r. o. must be
regarded as a parenthesis; the alter-
native of connecting the words with
Adooy «rd. (‘thou that hast the trum-
pet, loose,’ etc.), is less in accordance
with the manner of the Apocalypse.
Similar constructions occur in iy. 1,
oh. 15.
Ndgov tos Tétaapas ayyédous Tovs
Sedeuevovs xrA.] Another quaternion
(Acts xii. 4) of angels ; ef. vii. 1 efSov
tesoapas dyyédovs. ‘Those in ¢. Vii.
restrain the winds of heaven; these are
themselves bound, for they are Angels
of the Divine wrath which is not to be
executed before the predestined time;
cf. Mt. xiii. 41. They are held in
readiness “at the great river Eu-
phrates”; a phrase which sends the
reader back to Gen. xv. 18, where the
Land of promise is said to extend amd
Tov morapovd Aly’mrouv €ws Tov moTapyov
Tov peyddou Evdparov, cf. Exod. xxiii.
31 (uxx.), Deut. i. 7, xi. 24, Josh. i. 4,
15 eAvOnoav] eXurndncay A
1 Kings iy. 21, Ps. Ixxxii. The Euphra-
tes was on the East “the ideal limit”
of the land of Israel (Driver on Gen.
i.c.). Beyond it lay the great heathen
kingdoms of the East, Babylonia on
the east bank of the river, the Assyrian
Empire further to the N.E.; an
invasion of Israel by these nations is
likened to an overflow of the Great
River in Isa. viii. 7 Kvpsos dvdyee éd)’
Upuas TO Udw@p Tov ToTayod TO ioyupoy
kat TO woXv, Tov Baoiiéa Tov ’Acov-
piov. Thus the idea presented by
the angels of vengeance bound on the
banks of the Euphrates is that the
day of vengeance was held back only
till God’s time has come. When at
length they are loosed, the flood will
burst its barriers, and ruin will follow.
The Euphrates is mentioned again in
connexion with the Sixth Bowl (xvi.
12, where see note). The ancient Latin
commentators explained the Euphra-
tes mystically, e.g. Bede: “Euphrates
qui fluvius est Babyloniae mundani
regni potentiam...indicat.”. Andreas
satisfies himself by saying tows 8é...
dnAovTat €k TaY pepav exeivwy ekrévat
Tov avrixpiorov. It is possible that
the Apocalyptist had in mind the un-
known and at the time greatly dreaded
resources of the Parthian Empire; ef.
Mommsen, 70m. Gesch. v. 359.
15. Kat ekv@noav xtr.] "EAWOncay
is the correlative of €5€@naav, cf. Mt.
2 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [TX. 15
€ / ’ \ e/ \ , \
YEAOL Ol 1/TOLMATMEVOL EIS THY WPaV Kal HuEepay Kal
_ \ / e/ ’ (2 \ / >
Uva Kal éviavTOV, Wa aTOKTELVwWOW TO TpPITOY TMV
/ \ ¢ \ lo / lod
10 avOpwrwv. “Kal 6 apiBuos Twy oTpaTEVUATwY TOU
e co / / s/ \ > \
immikou ourpuupiades puvpiadwy* nKkovoa Tov apiOuov
I5 ol nTotmacuevor] om oc & 41 GO 98 | Els THY wWpay Kat NuEpay KaL wNVa Kal Emav-
Tov] ets T. NM. K. ELS TOY NVA K. evs Tov ev. Syr®" | Kae nuepay] om N I kat evs THY NM.
Q mins? Ar xac rnv nu. 28 38 49 79 91 96 | To TpLTOv]+ MEpos 28 37 7g 80 tertiam
partem vg 16 Tov ermxou] Tov urmou 2 8 9 13 16 24 35 49%* 51 gt alPla? | dicuy-
piades (dismyriades Cypr)] dvo wupradas & 1° 28 79 syrr Ar pupiades Q minfres?
arM ws pup. 130
IO, KVL TS; Me px. 4 flies xii.
16, 1 Cor. vii. 27. The ministers of
vengeance, now set free, at once enter
on the work for which they had been
prepared in the Divine foreknowledge.
OF Hromacpevor, “who had been made
ready”; for this quasi-pluperfect sense
of the part. see Jo. ii. 9, Acts xviii. 2,
Gal. ii. 11, Heb. ii. 9, and for érowagery
of Divine preparation, Mt. xxv. 34, 41,
Mens 40,006. .i1. 35; 21 (Cor, a9,
Apoc. xii. 6, xvi. 12. Eis 7. opay
kth. ; the preparation had been made
with a view to the result being at-
tained at a definite time ; for this use
of ets cf. v. 7, and 2 Tim. ii. 20, and for
a similar use of mpos, Tit. iii. 1, 1 Pet.
lil. 15, 2 Pet. i. 3. The four notes of
time are under one article, since the
occasion is one and the same. The
ascensive order (@pav...éviavtov) is
difficult to explain, but it occurs also
in the O.T. (e.g. Num. i. 1, Zech. i. 7,
Hagg. i. 15), and probably has in this
place no special significance; perhaps
it originated, as Primasius suggests, in
the thought that “et horis gradatim
dies et diebus menses et mensibus
certum est annos impleri.” The ‘hour’
and the other ‘times and seasons’ are
not revealed till they may be gathered
from the event; cf. Mec. xiii. 32,
Acts: i. 7.
“Iva amoxteivwow To Tpirov TeV avOpa-
mov. If the fifth trumpet brought
torture, the sixth brings death. But
again the destruction is partial only ;
two-thirds remain unscathed, as in the
lesser visitations heralded by the first
four trumpets (viii. 7 ff.).
16. kal 0 adptOyos Tav oTparevpatay
xth.]| The work of the destroying
angels is done by the vast forces under
their command. This new feature is
introduced with strange abruptness,
as if the Seer in his eagerness to
describe it had forgotten to prepare
the reader by some such connecting
clause as kal améxreway avtovs da Tov
oTparevpatay avTaoy, or (as in xix. 14)
kal Ta oTpatevpata avT@y nKodovber
avrois. The hosts (for orparedpara
see Judith xi. 8, 4 Macc. v. 1, Mt. xxii.
7, Lec. xxiii. 11, Apoc: 1x2 51G)aexenae
19) consisted of cavalry (ef. Herod. vii.
87 ’ApaBioe Se...€oxaro. éreradyaro iva
ut) poBeo.ro TO immxov), and the num-
ber, which was stated in the Seer’s
hearing (cf. vii. 4), was ducpupiades
piuptad@v = 200,000,000. The figures
rest ultimately on Ps. lxviii. 18: “the
chariots of God are NY Boy pynat
(LXX. peupiomAdoroy, xiAduor)”; cf. Deut.
xXxxili. 2, Dan. vii. 10, Apoe. v. 11 note.
Acopupiades (not dis pupiades), cf. tpic-
pvp (sth. i. 7), Suopdpeoe (2 Mace. vy.
24, Vili. 9), Sry iAcoe (Mc. v. 13). These
vast numbers forbid us to seek a literal
fulfilment, and the description which
follows supports this conclusion. On
dxovey With the ace. see Blass, Gr.
p. 103. “Hkovoa tov dpiOuov avrav:
cf. c. vii. 4 He. T. dptOuoy Trav eodpa-
ylopevav.
Pe 17]
aUuTwv.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
123
\ / re: \ of ? -~ « / =
Skat oUTWwS ElOov TOUS tmToUS Ev TH OpuTeL 17 $C
\ \ / ’ - Sf /
Kal Tous Ka0nuevous em’ avTwy, EyovTas Jwoakas
ys \ € / / \ c
Tuplvous Kal vakwOivous Kai Oewders* Kal al Kepadai
~ / © \ / : aS > /
TwV immwy ws Keparat NEoVTWY, Kal EK TWY TTOMA-
~~ / ~ \ \ \ ~
TWV AUTWY EKTr OPEVET AL Tup Kal KaTrVOS Kal Geiov.
16 av7wy]+ourws (om ovrws infra) me
17 Om ovrws 38 arm Prim anon*” |
evdov SP min?! Ar] wor AC(Q) 7 14 92 130| ermous] emmous Q 14 | er] eravw
& | vax vous] axavOwous (spineas) Prim | Pewdes] Quwdes &* | Twv ermwv]+avTww
syré” | rov crouaros syré” (item 18) | eferopevovro 38 arm
17. kat ovrws eiSov rods immous KA. |
A mixed construction which blends «.
ovrws eidov...eiyov With x. eidov...
éxovras. The sentence is further com-
plicated by the introduction of a
second object, the riders (rods xaéy-
pevous em avtay, cf. vi. 4, Xix. II,
18 ff.); it is not clear whether €yovras
refers to robs immovus, or to tovs xaé.,
or to both. On the whole it is best
perhaps to limit the participial clause
to the riders; the horses are de-
scribed in the sequel. The riders were
‘armed in cuirasses whose colour sug-
gested fire, smoke, and _ brimstone.
Tlupwos is properly ‘of fire, while zrup-
pos (Vi. 4, Xii. 3) is ‘flame-coloured’: ef.
Sir. xlviii. 9 [HA ias] 6 avarnudpéeis...
év Gppart inrev rupiver, With 4 Regn.
ii. 11 (Sod appa mupos Kal inros am
The defensive armour of the warriors
seemed to consist of fire; cf. Ps. ciii.
(civ.) 4 6 rowy...rods Aecroupyovs avTod
mip préyov. ‘YaxivOwos, of vaxwos,
which in Apoc. xxi. 20 is a precious
stone (cf. Syr.s” ~—usas49 ie. yad-
kndev), but in the Lxx. stands for a
dye (‘blue,’ A.V., R.V.) which is com-
bined with purple (Exod. xxv. 4, xxvii.
16), fine linen ae xxvi. 1), and gold
(Exod. xxviii. Isa. iii. 23)—the
equivalent of noon, probably the
shell-fish helix Saat uincs which yield-
ed the famous Tyrian dye. The
SdxevOos of classical Greek was a vege-
table, perhaps the dark blue-flowering
iris. Here vaxivéwos is doubtless
meant to describe the blue smoke of
a sulphurous flame (cf. infra, rip «at
kamvos kat Gciov). The Latin version
used by Primasius strangely rendered
vax. by spineas, “spineas significans
vitas,” as Primasius explains; but
the rendering doubtless originated
in a confusion between vaxiwJéivous
and dxavéivouvs. With the colour of
flame and smoke the cuirasses shewed
also the pale yellow of brimstone.
Ociwdns is dx. ey. in Biblical Greek,
but not unknown to _ post-classical
writers. The description as a whole
recalls the fate of the Cities of the
Plain; Gen. xix. 24, 28 «at Kupuos
eBpekev eis Sodoua nai Touoppa Oeiov
kal mup...kai iSov aveBawev PrOE rijs
ys woel atpis kapivov (cf. Jude 7,
2 Pet. ii. 6).
kal ai kebadal Tay immay ws kK. Aedv-
tov ktr.| Cf. v. 8 cat of odovres attay
ws Aedvtwv joav. The horses in the
vision seemed to unite the majestic
mien of the lion with the swiftness of
their own kind. Like their riders they
were armed with fire, smoke, and
brimstone ; but while these formed the
cuirasses of the horsemen, they pro-
ceeded from the lion-like jaws of the
horses, which thus seemed to ‘breathe
threatening and slaughter’ (Acts ix. 1).
Cf. Job xii.
exrropevovrat apmades Kawpevac... €x
HUKTHpwY AUTOU ExTropEvETal KaTVOS Kapi-
vou; and see Apoe. xi. 5, and Slavonic
Enoch i. 5 “fire came forth from their
lips”; see also the description of the
Chaldean cavalry in Hab. i. 8 ff. Pos-
sibly the Parthian cavalry are in the
mind of the Seer.
10f. ék oropatos avrov
124
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[IX. 18
ro \ - > - / ’ / \
18 aro Twy TplwV wAnYwY TOUTwWY ameKTavOnoav TO
/ i 5) / Cc \ \ fn ~
TPlLTOv TWYV avOpwr wv, €K TOU Trupos Kal TOU Ka7TVOU
\ co / ~ ’ / - /
Kal Tov Oelov Tou EK7T0 PEVOMEVOU EK TWY TTOMATWY
19 avTwv.
~ \ ~ ~ >
auTwWY EOTW Kal EV Tals Ovpats avTovV:
e \ / ~ e/ lo /
2 yap €Eovola TwY immTwY EV TW TTOMATL
ai yap ovpal
> co e/ af af / WD 5) ~
QAUTWY OKMOLAL ogecy, EXOUT aL Kepadas, Kal €V auTals
20 GOLKOUGLD.
20 \ ¢ \ ~ ’ wy / A >
Kat ot AolTrol TwWY av PwOTT oY, Ot OUK
5) / ’ ~ ~ / »P\
dmextavOnoav év Tats mAnyais TavTals, ode METE-
18 amo] ur0 1 5 | Twy TpLwy mAnywr] om Twy C om Tpiwy N arm om mAnywr 1 38 |
arexrav0n 36 38 97 | ex 1°] aro Q 7 14 alferes5 Ay | rov xamvou] pr ex CP 1 6 31 al
ygcleharl**lipsd4harleorr svrr | tov Oecov] pr ex P 1 6 31 79 al syrr | om 7. eExmop. ex T.
oTOM. auvTwy arm?
auTwv..
19 7 yap efovo.a Twy emmy (rorwy A)...
eoTw] at yap efovorat
ecow y | OM Kat ev Tats ovpats avTwy 1 36 aeth | om au yap ovpat...adiKkovow
syré™ | ouoras 130 | opeow] opewy Q min* Ar ogews 130 | exovoas K°* (-cas &*) P
36 habentibus vgt™ exovow C* | avrais] ravrats 130 | ndiKkovoay 38 arm
20 wAn-
yais] +avrwy & | ovde RQ 14 38 92] ovre AP x 36 alvie™
18. amo Tav tpiav TANyay To’TwY
amextavOnoay xtd.] Any, which in
classical Greek scarcely goes beyond
its etymological meaning, is used in
the txx. for the ‘plagues’ of Egypt
(Exod. xi. 1 ff., cf. Num. xxv. 8 ff.),
and this sense reappears frequently in
the Apocalypse (ix. 18, 20, xi. 6, xiii. 3,
T2 TAL XV ds (6, On XVILGQ, 2s KVL A.
8, xxi. 9, xxli. 18). The thought of
the Egyptian plagues has been in the
mind of the writer for some time, and
he now uses the familiar Lxx. word.
The “three plagues” are the fire,
smoke, and brimstone which proceed
from the horses ; the repeated article
(rov...T0v...Tov) indicates that they are
regarded as distinct agencies. *Ar6,
ex, ‘arising from,’ ‘springing out of,’
are here, as often in the N.T., practi-
cally indistinguishable ; see Blass, Gv.
p. 124f. For éxmopever@ar éx, see
xxii. I; On azrexravOnoay see ii. 13, note.
19. 1 yap e&ovgia...ev Tats ovpais
avtav| Their power (ii. 26, vi. 8)
resides in mouth and tail (cf. v7. 10);
if the one discharges fiery and noisome
vapours, the other is armed with the
poison of the snake. With dpoca
opeow, cf. v. 10 €yovow ovdpas opolas
oxoprrios (note). Asa picture ovpai...
éxovoa. xedadas is intolerable, but it
serves to enhance the horror of the
situation ; cf. Introduction, c. xii.
20. Kat of Nourol Trav avOperrar KTA. |
The two-thirds who escaped both the
mouths and the tails of the horses
might have been expected to take
warning by the fate of their fellows,
and to become servants of God and of
Christ ; but so far from doing this,
they did not even (ovdé) repent of
their idolatries. For ovdé, ‘not even,’
see Me. vi. 31, 1 Cor. iii. 3, iv. 3 (aAN’
ovdێ); for weravoety ex, Apoe, ii. 21. Tov
épyav Tav xeipav avroy (Prim. wrongly
factorum suorum malorum, Vg.
de operibus manuum suarum) ‘their
idols,’ an O.T, phrase=O77"7) WHI, cf.
e.g. Deut. iv. 28 Aarpedoere exet Geois
érépois, épyous xetpav avOparrar, Evdors
kal AiBors, Ps. Cxxxiv. (cxxxv.) 15 ra
elOwXa TOV €Ovav a dpyvptov kal xpvator,
epya xelpav avOparev, Jer. i. 16 €Ou-
cav Oeois addorpios Kal mpooekvynaay
Trois épyous Tov xeipov avrav. That
this is the true interpretation of the
phrase here is clear from what follows.
ny
7 +
IX. 21] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 125
/ > ~ / ~ ~ ~ / \
vOnoaY EK TWY EpywY TwWY KXELDwY auTwY, iva py
/ \ / \ \ of \
MpoeKVYNTovaly TH daywovia Kal Ta Elowra Ta XN pura
\ \ - \ \ -~ \ \ / \ \
Kal Ta apyupa Kal Ta yaXka Kal Ta NiOwa Kai Ta
/ a of / / Sf ? / ”
EvAwa, a ovTe BXErew CUVavTal OUTE aKOVELY OUTE
~ \ / ~ / col
Tepirare* "Kal ov meTEvonTay EK TwV PovwY avTwY 21
of ~ - ’ - Sf ? ~ /
OUTE EK TwY (Papuaktwv aVTw@Y OUTE EK TIS TopVELas
~ > od / ’ ~
aUTWY oUTE ek TwY KAEUMAaTwWY aUTOY.
20 Tov epyou syr8™ | mpooxuyntovew NAC 7* 36 42] rpooxuynowow PQ min? Andr
Ar | xpucaia...xadxea & | xpuca] pr kwpa kat 130 | om Kae Ta Xana 26 7 8 g 13 16
29 30 31 33 al Ar | EvAwa...Acdwa & syrs" | Suvvarac Q*4 min?! Ar 21 oure ex ter]
kat ex syré™ | dapuaxiwy APQ] dapuaxecwy x al**™ gapuaxwy RC min® Ar | wopvevas
&* CPQ min™=*i4 yg (me) syrr Andr Ar] rovypias X*A | om oure ex Twv KeMuaTur
aurwy syrs¥ Prim
iva pi) mpookuyvncovow Kr\.| Repent-
ance would have led them to abandon
the worship of unclean spirits and of the
idols which represented them. Both in
the O. and N.T. the heathen worship
is regarded as paid to demons: cf.
Deut. xxxii. 17 (where see Driver's
note), Ps. cy. (evi.) 37 €@voav...da-
poviots (ow), 1 Cor, x. 20 a Ovov-
ow [ra €Ovn], Sapoviois Kai ov bed
Ovovow: ov Bédw S€ duas Kowwvors Ta
Sapovior yiverda. Cf. Ps. xcv. (xevi.)
5 mavres of Oeoi rav €Ovav Samoa
(DYN), Of the two Hebrew words,
the latter represents the deities of
heathendom as non-existent, while the
former points to the older belief that
they were demigods, evil genii, or the
like. In the Gospels the Saudma are
identified with wvevpata axa@apra (cf.
Mc. v. 2 avOpwros ev TvEvpATL axadapro
=Mt. viii. 27 dv0 SamoriCdpevor = Le.
Vili. 29 aynp tis €yov Satuoma), and
this view was probably in the mind of
St Paul and the Apocalyptist; it found
its justification in the impurities as-
sociated with the Greek legends and
the immorality too often promoted by
the temples and their priesthood.
kal Ta €iS@Aa Ta ypvea KTA.] Chris-
tianity rigorously maintained the old
Hebrew protest against idol-worship.
Though “an idol is nothing in the
world” (1 Cor. viii. 4), has in itself no
spiritual significance, yet it is a visible
symbol of revolt from the Living
God, and the e’SwAoAadrpns is excluded
from the Divine Kingdom (1 Cor. vi.
9). The Seer goes to the O.T. for
words to convey his scorn for this
debasing worship: ef. Ps. exiii. 12 ff.
(exv. 4) ra eiSwdra rev ebvav apyipiov
kal xpvolov, epya yxewpav avépwrav.
oTopua Exovow Kat ov adovow, opOar-
povs éxovcw Kal ovK owovra: ora
éxovow kal ovK dxovoorrat,..10das €xou-
ow kai ov repiratnocovew, Dan. y. 23,
Th. rovs Beods rovs ypuods kai apyu-
povs kat xadxovs Kal aidnpots kai
EvAivous Kai AcBivous, of ov Bérovaew
kal ot ouK akovovow Kal ov ywaoKoucw,
yveoas. The theme is worked out
usque ad nauseam in the Epistle of
Jeremiah; see also Enoch xcix. 7,
Orac. Sibyll. vy. 80 ff.
21. Kal ov perevonoay ex trav hover
a’rov xrA.] A further indictment as
against the pagan world, closely con-
nected with the first. They were no
less unwilling to repent of their
immoralities than of their idolatries.
Murders, sorceries, fornication, thefts,
appear in company in not a few lists
of the vices of the time: cf. Me. vii.
21 mopveia, xAoral, dovoe (where see
126 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN Peo
I *Kai eidov aXNov ayyeXov io YUpOV KaTaBaivovra
Z es 2 es Li l \ >
€K TOU OUpaVOU, Tepe AnuEvVoV vepeArny, Kal ipls
> \ \ ’ - \ \ / ms c
én THV Kkepadny QauUTOU, Kal TO 7 POO WT OV auTOU WS O
e/ \ e / > lol € / / 2 Weed
2 HALOS, Kal OL TOGES AUTOU WS GTUAOL TUNOS, “Kal EXWV
X 1 edov SCP min] cdov AQ 7 14.92 130] om addov PQ 1x alP'a% | om woxupov
syré" | 7 ys] om 7 P i 7 32 36 38 98 al cpw 28 79 80 Andr | ryv kedadgy AU 9g 12]
rns kepadns SPQ min?! Andr Ar | orvdos 38 vgsmfudemtollipss syr arm aeth
2 exwv]
exev 1 7 28 35 36 47 al vg me arm Vict Prim Ar
note), Gal. v. 20 mopveia...eid@Aodarpia,
pappaxia, Apoc. xxi. 8 qovetou kat
mopvots Kat pappakois kai eiS@d oddrpats,
xxii. 15 é€f@...0f qappakol kat ot
mopvot kal ot doveis kal of eS@Aodarpat.
In three out of these contexts, it
will be observed, idolatry is placed
in close connexion with vice and
crime. On dappaxia see Lightfoot’s
note on Gal. Zc., and cf. Exod. vii. 22,
viii. 18 (14), 4 Regn. ix. 22, Mal. iii. 5,
Isa. xlvii. 9, 12, Dan. ii. 2.
Primitive Christianity was a pro-
test, not only against polytheism, but
against the moral condition of the
pagan world. The Seer voices this
protest, and enforces it with a terrific
description of the vengeance which
threatened the world unless it should _
repent. Cf. Eph. v. 6 dca ratra yap
epxeTar 7 opy?) Tov Oeod emi Tovs viovs
THs ametbeias.
X. 1—I1I. PREPARATIONS FOR THE
SEVENTH TRUMPET-BLAST, (1) VISION
OF THE STRONG ANGEL WITH THE
LITTLE Book.
I. kat eldov addov ayyedov iaxupov
xtv.| As the opening of the Seventh
Seal was preceded by the double vision
of ¢. vii., so the visions of cc. x., xi. are
preparatory to the blowing of the last
Trumpet. First the Seer sees an
angel, not, as Primasius thinks,
“Dominum Christum descendentem
de caelo,” but an “angel” in the
technical sense which is maintained
throughout the book; ‘another angel,”
i.e. not one of the Seven or of the Four
(ef. vil. 2, xiv. 6, 15 ff.), remarkable for
his strength (v. 2, xviii. 21) coming
down from heaven (xx. 1), clad in a
cloud, the vehicle in which heavenly
beings descend and ascend (Ps. ciii.
(civ.) 3, Dan. vil. 13, Acts Geom
1 Thess. iv. 17, Apoc. i. 7, xi. 12, Xiv.
14 ff.; for the acc. after mepiB_eBr. see
vii. 9, note). Upon his head is the
rainbow (7 ipis), not the emerald bow
of c. iv. 3 (Tert. coron. 15), but the
ordinary bow of many colours con-
nected with the cloud (Gen. ix. 13 ro
Tofov pov TiOnut ev TH vedeAn), and due
in this instance to the sunshine of the
Angel’s face. To mpoc@mov avrov os 6
jAvos recalls the description of the
glorified Christ (i. 16), but does not
serve to identify this angel with Him;
ef. Mt. xiii. 43, Apoc. xvill. 1; nor can
this be inferred from of 1odes avtod ws
oTvAot mupos, notwithstanding that
this description bears some resem-
blance to i. 15 of modes avrov Gpmorot
XMkoALBAva, ws Ev Kapivo TeTUPoLENNS.
In orvdoe rupds there is perhaps a
reference to Exod. xiv. 19, 24 é&pev
d€ 6 ayyeAos Tov Geov, e&npev SE Kal 6
oTvAos THs vedeAns...emeBrevrev Kupios
...€Y oTUA@ Tupos Kal vepeAdns. The
pillar-like extremities of the Angel’s
form accord with the posture ascribed
to him in ~. 2.
2. Kal €yov ev TH xeupt avrov BiBAa-
pidvoy nvewypevov|] The description is
continued in the nom., as if the Seer
had written (Sod addos ayy. ivy. kara-
Baivwvxrr. The Angel’s hand grasped
a small papyrus roll which lay open—
a double contrast to the B:BAloy kare-
oppaytopévoy of c.y. 1. The little open
roll contained but a fragment cf the
x3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
127
iv TH yElpt avTou iBXapio.ov nveE évov. Kal €0
€v TH XELp Nap nvEewypwevov. Kat EOnkev
\ / > ~ \ \ ’ \ = / \
TOV TO00a avTOU Tov EELOv emt THS OaXaoons, TOV
O€ EvwYUMOY emt THS yrs, 3Kal Exopalevy dwvy pwEeyartn 2
iu is YNS, pagev cpwrn peyadn 3
of / ~
woTep NEw puKaTa.
Vcret of > /
kal OTE Expa€ev, EXaAnoav
2 BtBdapidioy R*ACorr P al Ar] BiBdcdaprov K°-*"'4 C* 7 ro 14 17 28 36 al BiBAcow
Q min® | nrvewypnevoy RCP min") avewyuevov Q min?! Ar om A me | om Tov degvov
C | rv Oadaccar...rny ynv 1 alpauevid
great purpose which was in the Hand
of God, a fragment ripe for revelation.
BiBAapidwr is a diminutive of 6i8dra-
pwov, with which may be compared
@rapiov (Me. xiv. 47), macdaprov (Jo. vi.
Q), yuvatxapioy (2 Tim. iii. 6); other
forms are Si8rdiov, BiBrcdaprov, cf.
Pollux vii. 210: BiBAos, BiBriov, BiB-
Aapwov, mapa d€ “Apiorodavea Bi Brk-
Sapiov. BiBdapidiov seems to be found
here only, and, as the app. crit. shews,
it has given the scribes trouble.
The Apocalyptist has in his mind
Ezek. ii. 9 wai idov, xai idov yeip éxre-
Tapevn mpos pé, kat ev avt7y KedaXis Bi-
BXiov: Kai aveiAnoer avtny eveTiov €pod.
kal €Onxev Tov moda avrov Tov dekov
énixtd.] The Angel’s posture denotes
both his colossal size and his mission
to the world: ‘sea and land’ is an O.T.
formula for the totality of terrestrial
things (Exod. xx. 4, 11, Ps. lxviii. (Lxix.)
35). Sea and land offer an equally
firm foothold to the servants of God
(Me. vi. 48, note; Mt. xiv. 28 ff); the
Angel plants his right foot on the
' sea, as if to defy its instability. The
sea is ever present to the mind of the
Seer (v. 13, vii. 1 ff., viii. 8f., etc.); to
the exile in Patmos there must have
been a peculiar attraction in the
thought of the strong Angel to whom
the Aegean was as solid ground.
3. Kal expagev horn peyddry xrr.]
Most things in the Apocalypse are on
a great scale, and a dev peyady is
common (e.g. i. 10, V. 2, 12, Vi. 10, Vii.
2, 10, ete.) ; but the strength of this
Angel’s voice is emphasized by the
added metaphor eéorep Aé@v puKarar.
Muxacéa, mugire, is used of a low deep
sound like the lowing of the ox (Job
vi. 5 LXx., and an anonymous translator
in 1 Regn. vi. 12), or the growl of
thunder (Ar. nub. 291); ef. Arethas :
ov mpooduas emt A€ovros 7) Sia TOU puKa-
cba porn, eri Body yap paddov: the
lion’s roar is more exactly expressed
by wpveoGa (LXx., 1 Pet. v. 8 ws A€wv
w@pvopevos mepuratet) Or epevyerOac
(Hos. xi. 10, Am. iii. 4), or Bpvyeu,
Bpvxyac6a (Arethas, Phavorinus); but
as Theocritus (xxvi. 21) has puxnua
Aeaiyns, it is possible that puxacbac
was so employed in Alexandrian Greek,
The word may have been preferred
here, to indicate that the voice of the
Angel had not only volume, but depth,
at once compelling attention and in-
spiring awe. Itwasa signal rather than
a message. No words were spoken,
yet a reply was at once elicited.
ore expa€ev, eadnoar ai éxra Bpovrai |
Ai é Bp., clearly a recognized group,
like ai émra éxxAnoia, Ta éxra mvev-
pata, oi émra adyyehou. But whereas
other heptads are defined, the Seer
does not stop to explain ‘the Seven
Thunders,’ but assumes them to be
known. No satisfactory explanation
of the article has been given ; unless
(Ziillig) it points back to the sevenfold
myn? Sip of Ps. xxix. which describes
a thunderstorm upon the sea. The
Thunders uttered their own (éavrév)
voices, distinct from the Angel’s ery,
and charged with a message intel-
ligible (€\dAnoav) to those who had
ears to hear; cf. Ps. xix. 1, and the
remarkable parallel in Jo. xii. 28 FA éer
ody wv €k Tod ovpavod...o olv dxAos
0 €oT@s Kal dxovoas €deyev Bpovrny
yeyovevary Gdot EAeyor “Ayyedos avT@
128
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[X. 3
€ c \ € lon / \ ed > /
al émta Bpovtal Tas éavT@Vv dwvas. 4kat 6TE €AaAN-
p
€ € \ / of / AV ss:
wav at érTa BoovTai, nueddov ypapew: Kat nKovca
~ lo / / A b /
pwviv €k Tov ouvpavou Néyoucay Cohpayiocoy a éda-
cine \ / \ \ 5) \ /
5 Anoav at éemra BpovTai, kat wy avTa ypavns.
\
SKaL
G »f ral 3} € = ? \ i / \
0 ayyeNos, ov cidov EoTwTa éri THs Oadhacons Kal
5 = =~ > \ ~ o~ \ \ > \
El THS Yns, 1pEv THY YELpa auToU Tv deFrav €ls TOV
3 at emra Bpovrac] om a N* 1 4 7 18 arm | Tas eavTwy Pwras & 7 g Syrs” arm
aeth
4 oTe]ooa & 37 79 arm et quae Prim | Bpovrar]+ras pwvas eavTwy vgeleharilipss
Haym | nuedNov ACQ min™™"] eueAXov NP min?! Ar yMedov arm | ovpavov] pr eBdouov
130 syrs | Neyouray]+ moe vgtledem me | a] oca S| om exra 2° C | un aura) mera
Tavra I 10 12 17 37 49 79 91 96 Andr | -ypayys] ypawers 7 28 98 ypades 1 10 17 36
37 49 79 91 96+ aura 130
Thy dektavy A 1 36 vg syré¥
Aedadrykev. In Aadety hovny the ace. is
that of ‘content’ (Blass, Gr. p. gof.);
cf. xiii. 5 Aadoty peyada, Heb. xii. 24
KpettTov AaAovvtu.
4. kal ore éXaAnoay...jueddov ypa-
pew] The Seer in his vision seems to
be engaged in taking notes of what he
sees and hears (i. 11, 19, ii. 1, etc.).
He has understood the special (éavray)
utterance of the Thunders, and at
once takes his papyrus-sheet and dips
his reed pen into the inkhorn (2 Jo.
12, 3 Jo. 13), intending to write them
down, when a voice from heaven (xiv.
2, 13, xviii. 4) bids him refrain. The
form 7eAdov occurs in Jo. iv. 47, xii.
33, XVill. 32, while on the other hand
in Jo. vi. 6, Apoc. iii. 2, the best text
has €weddAov; see WH.? Notes, p. 169.
’Ek Tot ovpavod: Syr.£* adds Ks mea
=rTov €3d50u0v apparently, and this
interesting reading is now supported
by the Athos Ms. 130.
oppayioor...py avta ypavrns. hp.
is from Dan. xii. 4 kat ov, Aavma,
oppayiooy TO 8iBXiov ews Kaipov ovvTe-
Netas (cf. 20. viii. 26) ; but the application
of the metaphor to unwritten utter-
ances is a bold innovation. M7 avra
ypawns stands in sharp contrast with
i. 19 ypawov obv a eides; the position
of avrd is emphatic, cf. xi. 2 yn adriy
petpnons. What the utterances were,
or why they were not to be revealed,
5 ecdov SCP min?! Andr Ar] idov AQ 7 14 (130) | om
it is idle to enquire; but compare
2 Cor. xii. 4 Nxovoey appnta pypuata a
ovk e€ov avOpare Aadjoa. As Arethas
SayS: ypadew jroc mpodnda Trowel av-
Ape7rois—to be forbidden to write
was to be forbidden to communicate
to the Church what he had heard.
The Seer’s enforced reticence wit-
nesses to the fragmentary character
of even apocalyptic disclosures. The
Seer himself received more than he
was at liberty to communicate. He
was conscious of having passed through
experiences which he could not recall
or express, and he rightly interpreted
his inability to put them on paper as
equivalent to a prohibition. Such a
revelation was, for all practical pur-
poses, & pnua dppyrov. Cf. Origen in
Joann. t. xiii. 5: c. Cels. vi. 6.
5 f. Kal 6 dyyedos ov eidov éxtara
xth.] See v. 1, notes. The angel
now speaks (v7. 3) and answers the
Seven Thunders by a solemn oath.
But first he lifts up his hand to
heaven, a gesture which in the O.T.
accompanies an adjuration; cf. Deut.
XXXll. 40 dp@ (NWN) eis TOV ovpavoy
THY XElpa pov, Kal opovpar THY decay
pov kal €p® Z@ eyo eis Tov aiava (see
Driver ad loc.). ’Eéaipew or exreivewv
Thv xetpais in fact frequentlya synonym
of duriva, see e.g. Gen. xiv. 22, Exod.
vi. 8, Num. xiv. 30, Ez xx tpee
= 7]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
129
> / 6 \ /S ’ - - > \ x7
ovpavoy, “Kat wpooev ev TH CwvTL Els TOUS aiwvas 6
rs Shade Ue af \ ) \ \ \ 4
TWY ALWYWY, OS EKTIZEY TOV OUVPaVOY Kat Ta Ey AUTO
‘ \ - \ \ > ee \ \ 6 / \
Kal THY YyiV Kal Ta Ev avTyH Kat THY VaXacoay Kat
\ ca / / , 7
Ta €V AUTH, OTL xpovos OUKETL EGTAL*
7aXN év Talis 7
nmepaus THS poe TOU éB8opov ayyedou, OTay peANH
cadriCew, kal ETENTOn TO puTTIpLoV TOU GEod, wes
6 om ev 8*Q min® me | om Twv awywr I 12 47 arYM Tov awvos me | om Kat Ty
yay kat Ta ev avrn A112 | om kar THY Gad. kat Ta ev avry N* A 30 31 32 38 al syré™
arm Prim | ovkert eorac] ove ect &* 40 me ouk eora: ere 1 7g non erit amplius vg*
7 Om THs pwns syr®" | weAder 7 28 30 31 35 36 51 79 87 gi 98 | Om Kat IO 17* 37
49 91 94 96 vgce™demtol arm Ar Prim Haym | evedeo@y NACP min‘r*4 me syrr]
Tere On (Q) 1 (7) 28 36 48 79 Qt 96 TeAeoOnoeTac arm Ar? consummabitur vg finietur
Prim | ws] 0 10 28 37 49 79 91 96 130 syré” arm
The passage in the Seer’s mind is
perhaps Dan. xii. 7 dWooev riy deEvav
avrod kal THY dpirtepay avrov eis Tov
ovpavoy, kat apoocev ev Ta CavTe Tov
aidva. On opuriew ev Arethas re-
marks: doxet pev aveAdAjmortov eivat
opvve yap éeyerac ‘kata Twos,’ ovK
‘év ru.” The phrase 6 (dv eis rods
aidvas Toy aidvey is frequent in oe
Apocalypse Poe, IV: 9.f., xv. 7).
éxtivev Tov ovpavoyv xTA. is vite
familiar formula (Exod. xx. 11, Ps.
exly. (exlvi.) 6, 2 Esdr. ix. 6), which
increases the solemnity of the oath by
rehearsing the visible proofs of the
almighty power of God; cf. Gen.
xiv. 22. On éxrivey see Deissmann,
Bible Studies, p. 284.
Ort xpovos ovxere Zotac] Oper is
followed by (1) the object of the
appeal in the acc. (Jac. vy. 12) or
governed by év (Mt. v. 34, 36, xxiii.
16), eis (Mt. v. 35), or xara (Heb.
vi. 13, 16); (2) the contents of the
oath, preceded by e? (Gen. xiv. 23, Ps.
xciv. (xcv.) 11), or recited with or
without dre (Ps. cix. (ex.) 4, Me. vi. 23,
xiv. 71). The Angel’s words were,
Xpovos ovxéere Eorar: not ‘Time shall
be no more’ (ovxeére €orat 6 xp.), as the
ancient commentators for the most
part interpret (e.g. Bede: “mutabilis
saecularium temporum varietas...ces-
sabit”), but ‘there shall no more be
5S. R.
any interval of time, any further
delay’: cE. Hab; ii. +3 (Heb. x, 27)
epxopevos H&ee Kal ov pt) xpovion, and
contrast Apoc. vi. 11 éppé6n avrois iva
avaravoovra. ért xpovov. There may
be an allusion to Dan. xii. 7, which
foretells a ovvréXeva. But how neces-
sary so solemn an assurance became
towards the end of the Apostolic age,
when the early hopes of an immediate
mapovoia had been dispersed, is clear
from such a passage as 2 Pet. iii. 3 ff.
ehevoovta. em e€axaT@v TaY Tepav
€uraixtat Aéyovres Ilod éorw 9 émay-
yeXia Tis tapovoias avrod; cf. Le.
xll. 45 eav Se ely 6 doddos...Xpoviter
0 KUpLos pou Epxeo Oat, KTh.
7. GAN’ ev tals nuépats...tod €Bddn0v
dyyéXov xti.] ‘But, so far from further
delays supervening, as soon as the
days of the Seventh Trumpet have
come, at the moment when the Seventh
Angel is about to blow, then (for «ai
in apodosis, ef. WM. p. 546f.) the
Secret of God is finished.’ The clause
as a whole corrects the impression
that ypdvos ovxéere €orae implies an
immediate end. It will come in
‘days’ which though future are so
distinctly present to the mind of the
speaker that he writes éreXéo6n rather
than redecOnoera (the aor. of antici-
pation, WM. p. 346f.,, cf. Burton, § 50).
TO pvotnpiov tod beot: cf. the
9
130
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[X. 7
5) / \ € o / \ /
eunyyeAttev TOUS EauvTOU OovAous TOUS mpopyras.
Nie, Ave KeN\ of a vo y rc
8 Skat 7 pwvn NV KOUTA €K TOU ovpavov", qwadw NaXou-
ED Lo \ / / / \ /
Gav “eT €mou Kal NEeyoucay” Yraye AaBeE TO BiBAtov
\ > / > ou \ fal > / > ¢ lo
TO HVEWYMEVOY EV TH KELPL TOU ayyeAOU TOU ETTWTOS
> \ > / \ > \ lo r
g émi tHs Oadacons Kal él Tis yis.-
\ Lo
%Kal anmnrAOa
\ \ of / > lon lon \\
mpos Toy ayyeNov, Neywv avTw dovvat po. TO PiPAa-
plo.ov.
\ y / \ / / \
kal Neyer wor AaBe kat KaTadaye avTo, Kat
7 evnyyedtoaro 10 12 17 19 26 28 37 49 79 91 96 | Tos eavTov dovrols ToLs mpoPpy-
rus 1 28 79 g7 arm Ar per servos suos prophetas vg (Prim) | tous rpopyras] pr kar &
8 Kar n pwn nv nKovoa] Kat ykovoa gwyny 7 vg"le sys" arm*| kar 7 Pwvy...dadovoay]
Kae THY PwvnY NKovoa Taw Tov NadouvTOS MET EMoU EK T. OUP. Aeyoucay 130 | Aahouca
..Neyouca 1 al?! Ar | BiBdvov AC 6 14] BiBrapidioy SP x al”¥i™™ BiBdidapioy Q
minfre49 Ar | avewymevov Q minP!430 Ar | ev rn xeupt] ex xerpos 36 de manu vg arm*
Prim om CG
g om kat amndOa...daBe syr®” | arndOa A] arnGoy SCPQ min?!
Andr Ar | dovvac] dos P 1 28 36 38 49 51 79 91 96 me | BiBrapidcoy ACF CP x
min?!] BiBrapioy A* BiBcdaprov Q min*? Ar BiBdcov & 11 alvid
Synoptic phrase 7rd p. THs Bactdelas
r. 6. (Me. iv. 11, note), and St Paul’s
To p. T. O. (1 Cor. ii. 1, Col. ii. 2), or rod
xpirrov (Col. iv. 3). The mystery of
which mention is made here is perhaps
wider than these, including the whole
purpose of God in the evolution of
human history. The whole is now at
length complete; with éredéoOn cf.
XV. I ereA€aOn 6 Ovpos Tov Geov, XVil. 17
aypt teAeoOnoovtat of Adyar Tov Oeod.
That a final and joyous clearing up of
the problems of life should find a
place in the last days was the Gospel
of the prophets both Jewish and
Christian (és evnyyéAucev [0 beds | rods
éavrov SovAovs Tovs mpodyras). For
the phrase ‘ His servants the prophets’
see ‘Am: ili: 7, Jer, vil. 25,/xxv. 4)
Apoc. i. 1, 3, xi. 18. The rare active
evayyedigey occurs also in 1 Regn.
Xxxi. 9, 2 Regn. xviii. 19, Apoc. xiv.
6; evayyedifer@ai tiva is frequent in
St Luke, and is found also in Gal. i. 9,
1 Pet. i. 12, but the usual construction
is evayy. [evayyeAudy] Tux (Blass, Gir.
iD: 69s).
8. Kat 9» ory ny jkovca krd.]|
Another example of mixed construc-
tion: normally, the sentence would
run either 7 evi ny iKovca...7rahw
eAdnet...kat €Aeyev OY THY Paviy THY ek
Tov ovpavod Tad jkovaa Aadovoap KTH.
(cf. app. crit.). The sense is clear;
the same heavenly voice, which had
bidden the Seer not to write the utter-
ance of the Seven Thunders (e. 4),
now bids him take the roll that lay
open in the Angel’s hand (e. 2). Cf.
iv. 1, note.
9. Kali amOa pos Toy ayyeNoy KT. |
The Seer in his rapture quits his
position at the door of heaven (iv. 1),
and places himself before the great
Angel whose feet rest on sea and land.
On dw7\éa see WH.2, Notes, p. 171,
W. Schm. p. 111. Aéyav aire dSodvat
‘telling (bidding) him to give’; cf.
Acts xxi 21 Néyor pr mepiréuvery
avrovs ta rexva. The Angel does not
give the book, but invites the Seer to
take it, and thus to shew at once his
fitness for the task before him (ef. vy.
2 ff.), and his readiness to undertake
it. The book did not need to be
opened, like that which the Lamb
had taken out of the Hand of God, |
nor were its contents to be read or
published; it was to be consumed by
the Seer (on xatapayeiv see Me. iv. 4,
i te eh
xX 11] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
131
- \ / > > ’ ~ / /
mikpavel Gov THv KoiWlav, aAN EV TW GTOMATL Tou
S \ ‘>
"kat EXaBov TO BirAapid.oy 10
al \ - / \ / > / \
éK THS XELPOS TOU ayyeNOU Kal KaTE:payov auTO, Kat
Ss > = / / e , fe. Su ef q
nv €v TW TTOMATL fou ws peAL YAUKU" Kal OTE’ Ec:ba-
\ rd /
éorat yAuKU ws pert.
> / /
yov avTo, émixpavOn 1 KoiNla pou. “Kal Néyouciy II
load ~ ? \ ~ /
por Act we tradw mpodntevoa eri Naois Kat Ebverw
Kal yAwoous Kal BaowWevow roNXots.
Q Kothav] kapdcav A | om yAuKu syré¥ 10 BiBrapidcov ACP 1 al] BiBrAcov RQ
min‘39 Ar 6:8\idapiov 8 10 14 17 28 al | ws wee yAUKY RCP min?! yg syr] yAuku ws
pw. AQ me om vyAuxu syrs¥ arm! om ws pede aeth | ercxpavOn] eyexuoOn & 130 arm
Prim | ov 2°]+ mxpias &°-* 130 f arm Prim 11 Aeyoucw NAQ min*? ygam* harl (me)
Ar] Neves Pt 7 28 31 38 47 49 51 79 91 96 130 vgteam**f syrr arm aeth Prim |
eOveow] pr ere Q min?!499 syr Prim Ar
note) i.e. taken in and digested men-
tally; cf. Primasius: “id est ‘in secretis
recondi visceribus,” and Arethas:
katapayeiv, Touréotiv, €v meipa Tov
mpaypatos yeverOa. There is a clear
reference to Ez. iii. 1, 3 cai eivev mpos
pé Yie avOparov, karapaye Thy kepadida
TavTny...1) Kotla gov mAnaOnoeTat Tis
kebadidos tavrns Tis Sedopevns eis oe.
kal &payov avtny, Kal €yéveto ev TO
orépati pov ws pede yAvkagov. The
Seer adds: xal mixpavet cov ry Kot-
Aiay, and (y¥. 10) éxxpavOn 7) Kota pov.
The sweetness of the roll reminds
the reader of Ps. xviii. (xix.) 10, 11
Ta kKpiwata Kupiov... yAux’tepa vmep
péXe Kal Knpiov, CXViil. (CXIX.) 103 ws
yAukéa TO Adpvyyi pou Ta dyid Gov,
Umép pede kal k. TO oTOpati ov. The
beauty of the revelation, the joy of
insight and foresight which it afforded,
the promise it held of greater joys to
come, are well expressed by this
metaphor: cf. Jer. xv. 16 €orat 6 Aoyos
gov enol eis ev:poovyny Kal yapav
xapdias pov. But when the message
has been digested, it has other and
opposite effects—mixpavet cov thy
xowWiay (for this use of xowWia cf. Jo.
vii. 38 morapot ex THs Koiias avTrou
pevoovra). Every revelation of God’s
purposes, even though a mere frag-
ment, a BiSAapidior, is ‘bitter-sweet,’
disclosing judgement as well as mercy.
The Seer, if he would be admitted
into a part of God’s secret, must be
prepared for very mixed sensations;
the first joy of fuller knowledge would
be followed by sorrows deeper and
more bitter than those of ordinary
men. Cf. Orig. philoc. v. 6.
10. Kat €AaBov ro BiSrapidi0y...Kat
xatepayov xtv.| The Seer obeys, and
the result is as the Angel had said.
There is however an instructive change
of order: the Angel’s words are mixpa-
vel gov THY KotNiay GAN €v TS oTOpari
gov €ora yAukv; the Seer relating
his experience naturally places first
the sensation which was first in order
of time. The remarkable variant éye-
piocbn for érixpavOn is best explained
as the first word of a gloss éyeuicOn
mxpias, accidentally transferred into
the text from the margin or from
& position over emixpavén; the gloss
itself may have been suggested by Job
xxxli. 19. Cf. app. crit.
II. Kat A€youoivy por Aci oe maw
mpopnredoa xtr.| Aéyovow is the
plural of indefinite statement, nearly
equivalent to éeppé6n; whether the
words come from the heavenly voice
(vv. 4, 8), or from the Angel (2. 9),
or from some unknown source, is not
obvious or material. Ae? ce xrd. recalls
the commission given to the prophets
of Israel, especially to Jeremiah (i. 10
g—z2
Xe
132
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
Pee:
I "Kat €600n wor Kadawos buowos paBdw, Eyov
f \ UL \ od > \
"Eyepe kal weTpnoTov Tov vadv Tov Oeot Kai TO Bvctac-
XI 1 kadapos|]+xpuocovs me | Neywr] pr Kat evatnker o aryyedos N°-°* Q 10 14 34 35
(36) 37 49 87 91 92 96 130 Syr* syré” arm Vict | eyecpar 1 alPla?? Ar
idov Kkabéaraka oe onpepov ert €Ovn Kal
Baoweias, expifovy Kal KaTackanreLy
kal amoANvewv Kal avotKodopety kal KaTa-
gutevew) and Ezekiel (iv. 7 mpody-
revoets er autnv (2g. “lepovcadnp),
vi. 2, xi. 4 ef passim). The Seer of
the Apocalypse, full of the bitterness
of the roll which he has devoured,
is now bound (ée7) to prophesy again.
After the Seventh Trumpet (xi. 15) a
second mpopnreia will begin (xii. 1;
see Introduction, ¢. iii.) in which the
destinies of nations and their rulers
will be yet more fully revealed. The
Seer is not sent to prophesy in their
presence (ei with gen., cf. Me. xiii. 9
em nyeuover kal Bacay orabnoer Ge),
nor against them (emi with acc., see
Ez. @. c.), but simply with a view to
their several cases (emt )aois krA.).
Tlo\Aois emphasizes the greatness of
the field. It is no one Empire or
Emperor that is concerned in the
prophecies of the second half of the
Apocalypse ; not merely Rome or Nero
or Domitian, but a multitude of races,
kingdoms, and crowned heads.
XI. 1—14. PREPARATIONS FOR THE
SeventH TrRuMPET. (2) MEasurine
THE TeMPLE. THE Hoxny City anp
THE Two WITNESSES.
I. Kal €000n pot kaXapos KTA.] The
Seer is no longer a mere witness ; the
new inspiration imparted by the roll
(x. 11) prompts him to take his place
among the actors in the great drama.
His part is to measure the Sanctuary,
and for this end a reed is put into his
hands. The conception is from Ezek.
xl. 3,6 idSov dyjp...cal év TH xEUpl av-
Tov HV OTapTioy olkoOdpev Kal Kadapmos
perpov...car Suepéerpnoev TO aitaw Ths
mUAns toov Te Kaddue@: Cf. Zech. ii. 1
(5)ff.: Sod avip Kat ev TH yep avTod
oxXoWwiovy yewpeTpiKov: Kal elma mpos
avrov Ilov ov mopevn; Kal elrev mpos
pe Atayetpnoa tv lepovoadnp. Apoc.
Xxi. 15 kal 6 Aadav per €pov elyev
péTpov Kadawov ypvaovy, iva peTpyon
thv modw. The xadapos (Hzekiel’s
17D 2) is perhaps a cane of the
Arundo donax which (Hastings iv.
p- 212) grows in ‘immense brakes’
along the Jordan valley (cf. Mt. xi. 7),
and often reaches the height of 15
or 20 feet. Such a reed would be
in strength and straightness dovos
paBde (Me. vi. 8), but far longer and
therefore better fitted to take the
measurements of a great building.
Ezekiel’s reed was of six cubits, ie.
about 9 feet (xl 5, see A. B. Davidson
ad loc.).
Aéeyor "Eyeupe Kal peTPNoOV krA. | On
éyewpe intrans. see Me. ii. 11, note.
There is no need to ask with Andreas
TOs yap 6 Kadapos aWuxos oy Eheyer ;
or with Bp Chr. Wordsworth to
understand by the reed the Canon
of Holy Scripture regarded as the
measure of human life. The speaker
is the person who gave the reed, and
whose presence is implied in €606n.
A heavenly sanctuary has been men-
tioned in iii. 12, vil. 15; cf. xi. 19 ©
vaos Tov Oeod o ev ovpave. But the
sanctuary which is now to be measured
is evidently on earth (cf. v. 2), and its
form is suggested by the Temple of
Jerusalem; it has an ‘outer court’ and
is in ‘the Holy City.” At Jerusalem
the Altar of Burnt-offering, which is
probably meant by 76 6vavacrjptoy,
was in the Court of the Priests, while
the worshippers filled the Court of
the Israelites and the Court of the
Women, so that the vaéds here must
be taken to include the iepdv, with the
exception of the Court of the Gentiles.
The Seer however has in view not the
material Sanctuary, but the spiritual
building of the Church; ef. 1 Cor. iii
a1. 2]
/ \ \ ~ ’ lod
THPLOV Kal TOUS TW POTKUVOUVTaS €v avuTW.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
133
2 \ \
Kat Tnhv 2
\ \ »/ cod a / / \
aAnv thy EEwbev TOU vaov ExBare EEwHev Kal pH
> \ / J > / ~ a \ /
auth meTpnons, OTe €608n Tots EBverw, Kal THY TOALY
\ € / / ~
THY aYlav TATHGOVGLW vas TETTEPAKOYTEA [Kad] Ovo.
2 efwhev 1°] ecw0ev & 1 12 35 80 87 syré Vict | vaov] \aovN* | om exBare efwOev cae
arm | exBade] pr kat S* exer Bare 130 | efwHev 2°] ew Q min?! Ar ecw &* ecwhev P |
Tos eOveow] pr ka &* | wrarqoovew]) perpnoovew A | reccapaxovra P min?! | kac dvo
AQ 30 al] om xae SP min?! ygeleamdem Prim
16f., 2 Cor. vi. 16, Eph. ii. 21, 2 Thess.
ii. 4. The measuring of the Sanctuary
provides for its preservation from
the general overthrow, and thus cor-
responds with the sealing of the
144,000, which preceded the seventh
seal-opening as the measuring pre-
cedes the seventh trumpet-blast. Me-
Tpncvov...Tovs mpooKuyodytas involves
a zeugma; some such verb as xara-
piOunoov must be mentally supplied
(WM. p. 777).
2. Kal tiv avAry thy €Ewbev Tod vaov
€xBaXe xrd.] The outer court is passed
over and left to its fate. Solomon’s
Temple had two courts (3 Regn. vi. 34
(36) rv avr THy éowratny, Ezek. x. 5
€ws Tis avAns tis eEwrépas; but see
Hastings, iv. 702), and so had Ezekiel’s
(Ezek. xl. 17, 20); but in Herod’s
Temple the inner court was divided
into three spaces, from the last of
which the outer court was parted by
a barrier (ro pecorotxyov tod dpaypod,
Eph. ii. 15, where see Dean Robinson’s
note) which might not be passed by a
Gentile. The outer court was “ given
to the Gentiles” as an olkos tpocevyis
(Me. xi. 17), and the Lord taught that
its sanctity was not impaired by their
admission ; it was a true part of the
iepdv. Now, however, the Seer is di-
rected to ‘cast it out’ (€£obev = e&w, as
in c. xiv. 20; cf. Blass, G7. p. 59), ie. to
exclude it from the vads, though the
other courts are included. It is to be
“given to the Gentiles” in another
sense, to be profaned and, with the
rest of the Holy City, trodden under
foot. Ifthe vacs represents the Church,
the outer court is perhaps the rejected
Synagogue ; as in ii. 9, iii. 9, the tables
are turned, and while the Church fills
the court of Israelites and worships at
the Altar of the Cross (Heb. xiii. 10),
Israel after the flesh is cast out (Mt.
Vili. 12 of de viol ris Bacweias €xBAnOn-
govrat) and delivered to the heathen.
This interpretation of the outer court
seems to have been in the mind of
Andreas, though he obscures it by
including the pagan world: nyeis 8¢
vopictopev vaoy Gedy THY exkAnoiay mpoo-
ayopeverOar...avdnv dé rhyv e&wrépav
Thy Tov arictav ebvav Kat lovdaiwv
cuvaywynv. See Hort, Apoc. p. xxxif.
kal THY TOA THY aylay maTHTOVoOwW
xtv.] A reminiscence of Zech. xii. 3
kal €orat ev TH Hepa exeivy Onoouat THY
*Iepovaadnp AiOov karatarovpevoy Tacw
trois €Oveow. Dan. viii. 13 Th. €ws ore
...T0 ayoy kal 7 Ovvapus ovvTraTnOncerat;
Isa. Lxiii. 18 (Aq.) drevavrior tay Kare-
matnoav TO ayiacpa gov. See also Ps.
Ixxix. 1, Ps. Sol. vii. 2, xvii. 25, 1 Mace.
iii. 45, 51. There is a yet nearer
maroupémn vo €Ovav aypis ov mAnpw-
Odow Kaipol ebvav. Try rodw Thy ayiay
comes perhaps from Dan. ix. 24 Th.
(3¥'12 WY), but the phrase occurs also
in 2 Esdr. xxi. 1, Isa. xlviii. 2, lii 1,
Mt. iv. 5, xxvii. 53. In Apoc. xxi. 2,
xxii. 19 it is applied to the ideal City
of God, but here, as the context shews,
it stands for the Jewish polity, as the
outer court of the Temple for the
Jewish faith and worship.
pijvas reaoepdxovra kai Svo} This limit
of time is derived from Dan. vii. 25 Th.,
Xll. 7 €ws Kaipod Kai Kaipa@y kai ye Hui
kaipou, i.e. 34 years or 42 months, the
§ Cc
134
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[xi
3 \ / d > P) \ / / \ /
3 3kat Owow Tots duly MaPTUOLY (LOU, Kal TPOPNnTEVGov-
ow yuepas SyiNias Orakootas EEnkovTa TEpiEBAnpevor
3 Kal mpopynrevaovow] wa mpopyrevoovow syré"¥4 | e&nxovra]+mevre K-°* (14) |
mepiBeBrynwevor &-* C x min?! yg syr® rell Vict Prim Andr Ar] repiBeBdnpwevous S*APQ
47 28 48 79 96
duration of the sufferings of the Jews
under Antiochus, whether we reckon
from June 168 to Dec. 165, or from
Dec. 168 to the middle of 164; see
Driver adloc. The same limit is given
under various terms in Apoc. xi. 3,
Xli. 6 (1260 days), xii. 14 (“a time and
times and half a time,” as in Daniel),
Xl. 2, xiii. 5 (42 months). By com-
paring these passages with the present
context we get the equation: the du-
ration of the triumph of the Gentiles
=the duration of the prophesying of
the Two Witnesses, =the duration of
the Woman’s sojourn in the wilderness.
The time-limit serves of course no fur-
ther purpose than to synchronize the
several periods, and to compare them
with the greatest crisis through which
the Jewish people passed between the
Exile and the Fall of Jerusalem. In
this place it suggests that as the Syrian
domination yielded at last to the faith
and courage of the Maccabees, so when
the appointed time has come the
Jewish people may be emancipated
from Gentile oppression, and restored
to the unity of the people of God.
The words have a special interest
in view of the recrudescence of Anti-
Semitism.
3. Kat Oaow Tots duoly paptuaiv pov
xth.] The Speaker is Christ (cf. ii. 13,
xxl. 6) or His Angel-representative
(xxii. 7, 12 ff.). Adow...«at mpopnrer-
covaw=dedcw avrois mpodpnrevew or
va mpopntevowow (Delitzsch, 1131...
1833)). Neither Moses and Elijah,
nor Hlijah and Elisha, nor Enoch and
Elijah (Tert. anim. 50, Hipp., ed. Lag.,
p. 21, Hier. ep. 59. 3; see Arethas,
ad loc. Noyos de péperar ex apadocews
goirav TH €xkAnoia arapatpénte@s Kat
avtoy [s¢. rov “Evoy] jew pera HALov
Tou OecBirov, and Thilo, cod. apoer.
N. T., p. 765 fi; ch Bousset ea
Antichrist, p. 134 ff.) can exhaust the
meaning of the two witnesses who
prophesy through the whole period
of Gentile domination, though, as the
sequel shews (vv. 5, 6), the first pair
at least are in the mind of the writer,
suggested doubtless by Mal. iv. 4, 6,
and by the vision of the Transfigura-
tion (Me. ix. 4). Nor again can such
allegorical interpretations as the Law
and the Prophets, the Law and the
Gospel, the Old Testament and the
New, be maintained in view of all
that follows. Rather the witnesses
represent the Church in her function
of witness-bearing (Acts i. 8 écrec6é
fou paprupes...€@s €axaTov Ths ys);
her testimony is symbolized by two
witnesses, partly in reference to the
well-known law of Deut. xix. 15 (emi
oropatos dvo0 paptiper...cTnaerat Tay
pjpua, cf. Jo. vill. 17 €v TO voum dé oO
vpetepo yeypantat dre Svo avOpaorev 7
Haptupta adnOns éearwy), partly in order
to correspond with the imagery of
Zechariah iy. 2 ff., about to be cited;
or, aS Primasius says, they may repre-
sent the Church in both stages of her
career, “ecclesia duobus testamentis
praedicans et prophetans.” The wit-
ness of the Church, borne by her
martyrs and confessors, her saints
and doctors, and by the words and
lives of all in whom Christ lives and
speaks, is one continual prophecy (cf.
xix. 10 7 yap paptupia rov "Incov
eoTw TO TvEvLA THS Tpopyreias), lasting
throughout the 1260 days of the
triumph of heathendom. Her wit-
nesses are clad in sackcloth (for the
construction see x. I), a reference
perhaps to the rough costume worn
by ancient prophets; cf. 4 Regn. i. 8
XI. 5]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
135
/ 4 ec / ? e } / 2 - \ e } / ,
oakkous. *ovTol Eloy at Ovo Ehatat Kat at Ovo AUYVLAL 4
e / A / a Aloe a
at €VWTTLOV TOU KUplou THS YnNS ETTWTES.
5 \ of
KQGEL TIS 25
? x / > co co , / > lon /
avtous Oéder adiuKynoat, Tip exrropeveTat EK TOU OTO-
~ \ / \ \ - \
Matos avTwy Kat KatecOier Tovs EyOpous avTwV: Kal
f / > \ > = 4 - ae ’
et Tis OeAnon avTous aduHoa, oUTwSs Set avTOV aro-
4 €Natat] avracac A (adacae C) | ae evwriov] om ac N* 6 7 14 31 32 34 35 47 48 87
92 95 Ar | Tov xupiov] Tov Peou 1 28 36 79 al”4 +7. Oeov arm! | rns ys] pr macys syr™™ |
eorwres] ecrwoat &°-° P 1 7 28 29 36 38 47 49 79 91 95 130 al”'4 Hipp
5 Kae €t TL
aurot Gehovew tromntovow mevi4(?) | ede] GeXn A 7 OedAnoe Hipp voluerit vg vellet
Prim | enon NA] OeAnoe. Hipp eke CPQ min?! syrr Andr Ar | adicnoae 2°]
amokrewat 28 36 37 43 79 | 0m ourws A
(aunv Sepparivny mepteCwopevos, Zech.
Mili. 4 evdvcovrar déppiv rprxivny, Isa.
XX. 2 aeXe Tov oakkoy arb THs datos
cov, and see Me. i. 6, note. But repr-
BeBA, caxxovs has a special appro-
priateness in its present connexion ;
the sackcloth dress indicates that the
attitude of the Church during the pre-
valence of paganism, if not to the end
of her course on earth (Me. ii. 20),
must needs be penitential and not
triumphant ; ef. Jonah iii. 6, 8 wepse-
Badovto caxkovs of avOpwrot, Mt. xi. 21
madar ay ev oakka...perevonoay. Cf.
Bede: “saccis amicti, id est in exo-
mologesi constituti.” On the readings
meptBeBrAnpevos, tmrepi3eBAnpévous, see
WH.2, Notes, p. 138.
4. ovroi eiow ai dvo0 éXaia xrd.] After
Zech. iv. 2 f., 14 i8o0b Avxvia ypvoh 6An
«kat dvo eAaiae émavw avris...ovrot
oi dvo viol ris miotnTos mapectiKacw
Kupi@ maons ris ys. In Zechariah
the Avyxvia is Israel, and the two olive
trees which feed it are either the
priesthood and the royal house, re-
presented by Joshua and Zerubbabel,
or, aS some suppose, certain heavenly
ministries through which the Spirit
was poured upon the nation. The
Apoecalyptist adopts so much of this
as lends itself to his purpose. He has
already likened the seven Churches to
Avxviae (i. 12, 20); from another point
of view the whole Church is a single
Avyvia, fed by those of its members
who are specially set apart to be
Christ’s witnesses. These, if faithful,
carry with them the oil of the Spirit,
which keeps alive the light of life (ef.
Mt. xxv. 4, Rom. xi. 17). They stand
before the Lord of the earth, living in
His Presence, and ministering to Him
by their confession of His Christ.
Ai...€orotes : in éor. the thought of
the writer goes back to odroz, ie. of
dvo pdptupes, and, full of his great
conception, he is indifferent to the
demands of grammar.
kal el Tis OeAnon adrovs adixjoa
ktA.] To kill God’s witnesses is im-
possible, so long as their witness is
unfulfilled; those who attempt it bring
destruction upon themselves. There
is an allusion to Elijah’s treatment of
Ahaziah’s messengers (2 Kings i. 10 ff.,
cf. Le. ix. 54), but as usual the details
are modified; the fire comes not from
heaven but out of the mouths of the
witnesses (ef. i. 16, li. 16, ix. 17), Le. the
witnesses slay their enemies by the
fire of the word which they utter ; ef.
Jer. vy. 14 d€Saxa rods Adyous pov eis TO
oToua Gov Tip Kal Tov Nady TovToy EvAa,
kat katadayerat avrovs. Sir. xlviii. 1
kal avéatn HAlas mpopyms ws mip, Kai
6 Adyos avTov ws Aauras exaiero. Vic-
torinus rightly: “ignem...potestatem
verbi dicit.”. Bede thinks of the
Christian revenge inculcated in Rom.
xii. 20 (av@paxas mupds owpevoes eri
Thy Kecbadny avrod).
For et tis GeAjon see WM. p. 368;
Blass, Gr. p. 216; other exx. of é
136
6 kravOnva.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[xis
ey »/ \ > / ~ \
CouToL EXOUTLY THV €€ovclay KA€loal TOV
> / e/ \ipace \ / \ e / a
OUpavoV, Ya [kn VETOS Boexn Tas npmepas THS mpodn-
> lon \ / sf > \ an /
Télas avTWY, Kal E€ovoiay Exovow éTl TeV VOaTwV
/ ? \ 2 <e \ Are \ =~ >
oTpepev avTa Els aima Kal TaTagal THY YnV eV
a ¢€ oy) i
7 Taon mwAnyN ooakis éav OerXnowor.
é é
4 \ J
Kal OTaAV
6 thy eEovoray ACP] om tyv RQ mine™ vid Hipp Andr Ar | om veros ut vid vg
anon™s | ras nuepas] ev (rats) nuepais 1 364 syrs¥ (in) diebus vg™ Prim anon*8 | ev
maon tyyn] om ev Q minP*evid yg | eay] av C 38 130 | OeAnoovow C Oehwow 14 36 97
with the subj. may be found in
Lie ix. 13, 1 Cor. xiv. 5. If Gedjoq
differs in meaning from Ode (see
app. crit.) the former must be held
to state a hypothetical case, whilst
the latter posits the 6édnous as a fact.
For 6€\ew ‘to be minded’ see the in-
teresting parallel in Le. xiii. 31 “Hp@dns
dedet oe arrokreivat. OvTws (sc. To Tupl)
det aroxravOnva., ‘he is destined to be
slain in this manner’; cf. xiii. 10 det
avTov év paxaipn amoxtavOnva. On
ddikeiy see li. I1, note.
6. otro. éxyovow thy eovoiay Kh. |
Another reference to Elijah, the re-
presentative of O.T. prophecy. In
1 Kings xvii. 1 the drought pro-
claimed by Elijah is for ‘these years’
(F283 De, LXX. Ta €ry Tavra), i.e. for
an indefinite term of years beginning
with the date of the prophecy. <Ac-
cording to Menander, cited by Jo-
sephus (antt. viii. 13. 2), the period was
actually one full year; see Burney ad
loc. But a tradition adopted in Le. iv.
25 (€xXeic On 0 ovpavos etn Tpia kai unvas
€€) and Jac. v. 17 (ovn €Bpekev emi tis
yijs eviavtovs Tpeis Kat phvas €&), made
the length of the great drought cor-
respond with that of the Syrian domi-
nation; and this agrees with the
Apocalyptist’s scheme of things, for
according to v. 3 the days of the wit-
nesses’ prophesying are 1260, i.e. 34
years. Tyv e€ovciav, the power exer-
cised by Elijah and now revived in the
case of the two witnesses. KAedew roy
ovpayoyv occurs elsewhere in this con-
nexion only in Le. Zc. ‘“Yerds Bpéxer is
¢
unusual; the customary phrase is 6
Geos Bpéxer veror (Joel ii. 23), 0 Beds
Bpéxer (Gen. ii. 5, Mt. v. 45), or simply
Bpéxee (Jac. Lc.). Tpodnreia is here
the execution of the prophetic office,
as in 2 Esdr. vi. 13 €v mpognreia
‘Ayyalov Tov mpopyrov Kat Zayapiov ;
more usually the noun denotes either
the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. xii. 10),
or a particular prophecy or collec-
tion of prophecies (Apoc. i. 3, xxii.
Fitts)
kai e€ovoiay eyovow ert tov vdatov|
Reference is now made to Moses, the
other prototype of the Church’s wit-
nesses. Like Moses in Egypt, they
can inflict plagues. The first of the
Egyptian plagues has been already in-
troduced into the scenery of the Third
Trumpet (viii. 8), but less precisely ;
here orpédew avra (sc. Ta vdata) eis
aiva answers to Exod. vii. 20 13573
Dq?...O%073, cf. Ps. civ. (cymes
petéotpewey ta vOata avta@y eis aipa.
Tlaragéa...€v maon mAnyy comes from
1 Regn. iv. 8, where the Philistines ex-
claim, Otrou of Geot of warakavres THY
Atyumtoy év aon mAnyn. “Ooaxis eay
écAjnocwow carries the power given to
the Church far beyond that exercised
by Moses, who received an express —
command before he inflicted a plague.
The efovcia committed to the wit-
nesses of Christ has no bounds but
those which are imposed by their own
want of faith; cf. Me. xi. 23, note;
Jo. xv. 7 éav peivnre ev epuol...0 eav
OAnre airnoacbe Kai yevyoerat vpiv.
The general sense of the verse is well
XI. 8]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
137
\ / > lo \ / \ r)
TENET WoL THV MapTuplayv aUTWY, TO Onpiov TO ava-
/ / lal /
Baivoy ék THs aBvecou tomoet peT avTwY TONEMOV
\ / > \ \ > ~ /
KQ@l VlKI})OEL AUTOUS KAL ATTOKTEVEL aUTOUS.
\
Skat To 8
lod ~ \ -~ / ~ / ~
Tropa avTwY emt THS WAaTELas THS TOAEWS THS
7 To Onpiov]+ro reraprov A | a8vocov] Oadacons syrs* | om kat amoxreve. avrous I
12 36 41 87 97 syr“4
8 ro rrwua ACQ min* me arm? aeth Ar ‘alia transl’? ap
Prim] ra mrwuara SP 1 35 36 38 49 79 87 91 130 al vg syrr arm’.*4 Vict Prim
Andr | emi rns mAarecas] ert Tw TaTeEwy Sy” vg pr ecrar R°-°* 28 37 43 79 iacebunt
vg ponet Prim proicietur ‘al transl’ ap Prim (cf arm)
given in Jac. y. 17 odd ioyver dێnors
Stkaiov évepyoupevn.
7. kat Orav TeXeowow THY papruplay
a’rav xrd.} | The witnesses are im-
mortal for so long a time only as their
allotted term of office lasts; when
they have delivered their message,
their immunity from danger ceases,
and they are at the mercy of their
enemies. These are represented by
ro Onpiov To avaBaivoy ex Tis aBvocov.
Of the Abyss we have heard in e. ix.
1 ff., but hitherto no mention has been
made of a Wild Beast: there have
been (da, but there has been no @npior,
nor is there any further reference to
one until we reach c. xiii. 1. Yet the
article (ro 6.) assumes that this Wild
Beast which comes up from the Abyss
is a figure already familiar to the
reader. Perhaps it points back to
Dan. vii. 3 Th. réocepa Onpia peyada
aveBawev éx tis Oadacons, the Apoca-
lyptist mentally merging the four in
one, or fixing hisattention on the fourth
(ib. 7£., 20f.), while for the sea he sub-
stitutes the Abyss (cf. Deut. xxx. 13
with Rom. x. 7, and the note on ¢. ix. 1).
In Daniel the @npia are earthly king-
doms or empires (Dan. vii. 17), which
are contrasted with the Kingdom of
the Saints (vv. 18, 27). A similar
interpretation may be provisionally
adopted here. This @npiov from the
Abyss is clearly a power of imperial
magnitude and great strength which
derives its origin from beneath, and
opposes itself to Christ’s witnesses,
The ancient commentators identify
this power with the Antichrist (cf.
Andreas: ro @6npiov, dndadn 6 avti-
xpioros, and so Arethas). For a fuller
discussion of the symbol see notes on
ce. xiii. I, xvil. 8.
The Wild Beast prevails over the
Witnesses; cf. Dan. vii. 21 Th rd
képas ékeivo emotes moAenoy peta
(Ay AIP NIB) trav aylwv, Kai toyv-
cev mpos atrovs. The Seer anticipates
a struggle between the Church and
the whole power of the Roman Em-
pire; he foresees that the troubles
which began under Nero and Dom-
itian will end in such a conflict as
was actually brought about under
Decius and in the last persecution
under Diocletian. But his words cover
in effect all the martyrdoms and mas-
sacres of history in which brute force
has seemed to triumph over truth and
righteousness.
8. xat TO mrapa alitdy emt ris
mAateias xtA.] ‘Their corpses (for
nraepa, cadaver, see Jud. xiv. 8, Ez. vi.
5 (A), Me. vi. 29, xv. 45 (notes), and
for the collective sing., cf. Gen. xlviii.
12, Ley. x. 6, Jud. xiii. 20, and see Blass,
Gr. p. 83) lie on the open street (rhs
mAareias, cf. cc. XXi. 21, Xxii. 2) of the
Great City’ With the sentiment of
his race the Seer strongly resents the
indignities offered to the bodies of
the martyrs; cf. Ps. xxix. 2 f, Tob. i.
18, ii. 3 ff.
The Great City is defined as “one
which (771s) in the language of mys-
tery or of prophecy (mvevparixas, ef.
1 Cor. ii. 13 (cod. B) wvevxparixads rvev-
138
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XL 8
/ e/ a lon / \ sf
peyaAns, Tis KaANEtTa TvevmaTiK@s Codoma Kat Ai-
e/ \ y a ,
Q yurTos, OTOU Kal 0 KUpLOS avTaY ExTavpwON.
\
9Kal
/ ~ cad \ > \ ta \
Brérrovew €K TwY Nawy Kal gurwy ka yAwoowy Kat
=~ \ rt =~ / ~ Nioies: \
eOvev TO TTMMAa aUTOY HuEpas TPEIS Kal Hutov, Kal
\ J va 7 a > lanl
TA TTWMATA AVTWV OVK ac:iovow TEOyVat Els YHA.
8 omov xac]om Kat 8°? 1 12 14 34 35 36 87 92 vgiirs4 me syré" arm?* | auTwr] nuwy
1 om *
9g BreYoucw vg me arm aeth Prim | ro rrwua] ra rrwpara P 1 28 36
38 49 79 91 95 96 al vg syrr arm* Prim | yuepas Tpes Kae nutov] om Kar Q min*?
Andr Ar om omnia Prim anon™’ | ag.iovew] adnoovow Q min?! me syrr Ar sinent
vgcleamlipss4,6 Prim | uynuara S°-* 98 alpauevid yo syréw arm3 aeth Prim
patika ovykpivoytes, X. 3 mVEevpaTLKOY
Spepa, and contrast capkixés in Justin,
dial. 14) is called ‘Sodom’ and
‘EKgypt’.” The name of Sodom is
given to Judah in its worst days (Isa.
i. Of ws Sodopa ay eyevnOnper...
apxovres Sodopwr,..kads Touoppas, cf.
Ez. xvi. 46, 55 1) added cov... dd5oua)
and suggests at once moral degrada-
tion and utter ruin. Egypt, the
‘house of bondage,’ though not applied
in the O.T. to Jerusalem or the Jewish
people, is an obvious symbol of op-
pression and slavery. That Jerusalem
is intended here seems to follow from
Orov kai krA.3 in the latter half of the
book the ‘Great City’ is Babylon (xvi.
19, xvii. 18, xviii. 10 ff.), but the epithet
7 peyady is one which a Jew might not
mnnaturally give to the capital of his
native land (cf. Orac. Sibyll. v. 154,
226, 433); even pagan writers extol its
size (Appian, Syr. 50 peyiorn modus
*IepoooAvpa). But if Jerusalem is in
the Seer’s thoughts, it is Jerusalem
no longer regarded as the Holy City,
but as given over to heathendom (v. 2),
and thus for the time representing the
world. The measured Sanctuary re-
mains in its midst, an impregnable
fortress, but the Witnesses go out into
the street where the power of the
Beast {is supreme, and there, after a
while, they meet their fate. In the
ultimate meaning of the symbols, the
City is doubtless not Jerusalem, but
Rome, the persecutor of the Saints,
the mystic Sodom and Egypt of the
early centuries, where Christ was cru-
cified afresh in His Saints. But this
line of thought has not yet come into
view ; for the present, Jerusalem, the
city of the Crucifixion and of the
earliest Christian martyrdoms, by a
strange irony represents the antagonist
of the civitas Det.
"Orov Kal 0 kiptos avtay exravpobn
recalls the saying of Jo. xv. 20 ovk
éativ OovdAos peiCwy Tov Kupiov avToU* et
ee ediway, kal vpas duwEovow.
9. Kat Bderovow ék Tov Nady Kal
udev xrd.]| Men of all races and
nationalities (ef. v. 9, vii.g; on this use ~
of éx see Blass, Gr. p. 97, who compares
it with a similar use of }!2) gaze at the
spectacle, which lasts 3} days—as
many days as the years of the wit-
nesses’ prophesying—a short triumph
in point of fact, but long enough to
bear the semblance of being complete
and final. The delight of the spec-
tators is represented as at once
fiendish and childish; they not only
leave the bodies without burial, but
refuse to permit the friends of the
martyrs to bury them (cf. Tobit i.
18 ff.). Further, they celebrate their
victory by keeping holiday and ex-
changing gifts. The words depict the
hatred entertained for the Christians
by the pagan majority, and the joy
with which edicts against them would
be received.
Ta mTépara: the plural is used in
reference to the burial of the bodies,
in which separate treatment would be
AYCrY) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
139
\ ¢ lal \ la -~ / > > ~
KGL OL KATOLKOUYTES ETL TIS YS Yalpovaow Er’ avTois LO
\ / \ ~ / ? / /
Kat evdppaivoyvta, Kal dwpa méuvovow adXArAows, OTL
ovToL ot Ovo TpoPATat EBacavcay TOs KaTOLKOUYTAS
émt THs yns. “Kal peta [ras] Tpeis npepas Kal II
uur mvevpua Cwijs ex TOV Oeod cicndOev [ev] avrois,
Kal EoTioay él Tous TObas avTwY, Kal PoBos Meyas
Io Xatpovew | xapnoovrar 38 Ar gaudebunt vg syrr me arm‘ aeth Prim | ev¢pawor-
Tat] evppavOnoovrae Q 6 7 8 14 al?! vg syrr me arm# Prim Ar | reuWourw N°* AC 1
almuvid ygcleamfu me syrr arm Prim] mewrovow S*P 28 36 79 80* vg! dwcovsw Q
min® Ar | o. mpog@nrat oc dvo & Ir pera Tas Tpecs ACQ Ar] om ras SP 1 14 28
35 36 37 38 40 49 91 96 130 syrs""4 arm | nuov] pr ro C | ev auras A 18 28** 36 79
95] 0m ev CP x 7 12 17 38 ets avrovs NQ min® Ar in illis vg Prim em avrous 49 53 91
96
necessary ; contrast ro mrépa (v. 8,
note). For the form ddiovow cf.
Me. i. 34, xi. 25; and for dqueva,
sinere, see Jo. xi. 44, 48, xii. 7,
xviii. 8.
10. kat of karoixovvres emt THS ys
xaipovow xrr.} The non-Christian
world—an Apocalyptic formula, cf. iii.
IO, Vi. IO, Vili. 13, xiii. 8, 12, 14, xvii. 2,
8—shew their joy at the overthrow of
the Witnesses after the customary
manner, keeping holiday (evdpaiver Oar,
used specially of ‘good cheer’ and the
mirth which it induces ; cf. Le. xii. 19
aye mie evppaivov, tb. xv. 23 ff, xvi.
19), and sending portions from their
own table to friends or to poorer
neighbours (2 Esdr. xviii. 10 gayere
+ TlETE...aTooTEiNaTE pepida Tois pL?)
€xovow, ib, 12 droorédNew peptdas Kal
Tonoa evppoovynv peyadny ; Esth. ix.
22 e€arroaréAXorras pepidas Tois pidous
kal Tois mrwyxois). The cause of joy
was not so much the death of the
Witnesses as the relief which the
cessation of their testimony afforded ;
“the two prophets (cf. v. 3 mpodnrev-
covow) tortured” the world by setting
men’s consciences at work; cf. 1 Kings
XViii. 17, xxi. 20, Mc. vi. 20, Apoc, ix.
5f. note. Such asense of relief is not
seldom felt by bad men when a
preacher of righteousness or a signal
example of goodness is remoyed,
though good breeding may prevent
outward manifestation of joy; cf.
Bede: “quoties affliguntur iusti ex-
sultant iniusti.” On Bacavifew see
c. ix. 5, note.
II, kal pera tas tpeis nuépas Kal
Huicv xtd.] The exultation of the
pagan world will be shortened ; when
the 3$ days are over, the Witnesses
return to life. The Seer has in mind
Ez, xxxvii. 10 cal cio AOev eis avrods Td
mvevpa (A, mv. Cans) kal €(noay, Kal €orn-
cay én Trav Toddy avtav: he sees the
Church of the martyrs recovering her-
self from the effects of an age of per-
secution, as Ezekiel had seen new life
infused into a dead Israel. Compare
also 4 Regn. xiii. 21 €(noev Kai avérry
€mt tovs todas avTov. LIIvedpa (wis,
Dn 9 (Gen. vi. 17, vii. 15, 22), the
respiration of animal life, in this case
proceeding directly ‘from God.’ With
elondOev ev avrois cf. Le. ix. 46, and
Blass, Gr. p. 130.
Kai oBos péyas éréresev ext (Exod.
xv. 16, Ps. liv. (lv.) 5, 2 Esdr. xvi. 16;
in N.T., Le. i. 12, Acts xix. 17) rods
Oewpovrvras avrovs: the spectators were
panic-stricken. Each unexpected re-
vival of the Church after an edict
aimed at her extinction would strike
dismay into the hearts of the perse-
cutors, for it was manifestly é« rod
Geod.
140
/ \ \ lal /
[2 é7rémrecey Et TOUS OewpovvTas auTOUS.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[ge
12 \ o/
Kal NKOVOaV
= , fn a y x
wns peyadns €k TOU ovpavov Aeyovons avTois
> / xe \ eo > \ > \ 2 =
AvaBare woe Kal dvéByoay eis Tov ovpavoy ev TH
r \ 26 [ > \ ¢ > 0 \ > ~ 12 \
13 vedeAn, kat EVewpnoav avtous ot €xOpol avTav. “Kal
‘
5) > / > e/ 5) / \ / \ \
EV EKELV] TH WPA EYEVETO TELT MOS peEyas, Kal TO
/ — , s/ \ > / > Se
O€KaTOV THS TWONEWS ETETEV, KA atrekTavOnoay ev TT)
It ererecey ACP min” ] erecey SQ min?! Ar | rovs Oewpovvras NAQ minfereomn
Andr Ar] twv dewpovrvrwy CP 17*
12 ykovcay] nxovoa -* Q min® me arm
Andr Ar axovoovrar 38 | dwrny meyadny...deyoucay AQ min?! Ar | om avros A 28
anons | avaByre Q min?! Andr Ar
13 om cat 1° Q min* Ar | wpa] nuepa Q
minfere49 arm4 Ar | xac 2°] wore C | dexarov] rpirov Q me dwidexarov 32 | erecay syr8™
12. kal nkovoav davis peydadns KrA. |
The resurrection of the Witnesses is
followed, as their Lord’s (v. 8) had
been, by an ascension into heaven in a
cloud. But whereas none saw the
Lord rise from the dead, and His
Ascension was witnessed only by a few
(Acts i. 9 BNerovrav a’ray sc. Trav
drooroAwv), His witnesses rise and
ascend in full view of their enemies
(€Bedpnoay avrovs of éyOpot atray, cf.
v. Il rovs Oewpodyras avrovs); their
triumph is celebrated openly. This
predicted exaltation of the martyrs
and saints will find its fulfilment in
the rapture which St Paul foresees
(1 Thess. iv. 17 dua ody avrois dpmayn-
gopeba ev veséhas eis amdyrnow Tov
kupiov eis dépa) But meanwhile it
has been partly anticipated in the
sight of the world by the tribute paid
to the victims of a persecution, some-
times within a few years after their
dishonour and death. Quite early in
the history of the Church festivals
were instituted in honour of the
martyrs, martyria erected at their
tombs, basilicas dedicated to their
memory, their names were inserted
in the diptychs and recited at the
Christian sacrifice; and the later pro-
cesses of canonization and invocation
were at least an endeavour to do
honour to those who had witnessed to
Christ at the cost of their lives. In
the popular esteem the Church’s
earlier witnesses were erected into
a new Olympus; paganism saw the
men it had hated and killed called up
to heaven before its eyes. Thus if
the full realization of the Seer’s vision
is still in the future, it found a partial
accomplishment even before the age
of persecution ceased. For de
‘hither’ (Syr.s™- ) ef. c. iv. 1. "Ev
7 vepéedn: the cloud already asso-
ciated with ascension into heaven in
the Master’s case (Acts i. 9). The
Seer may also have in view the
translation of Enoch and Elijah (Sir.
xliv. 16, xlviii. 9, xlix. 14; ef. ¢ xi. 3,
note).
13. Kat ev exeivn TH @pa eyeveTo
gewrpos peyas ktv.] Earthquake (in
the first century a too familiar ex-
perience of the Asiatic towns) is in
the Prophets a constant symbol of great
upheavals in the social or spiritual
order; see Hz. xxxvii. 7, XXXViii. 19,
Hagg. ii. 6 (cf. Heb. xii. 26f.), Me. xiii.
8, Apoc. xvi. 18. Here it seems to in-
dicate the breaking up of the old
pagan life which would follow the
foreseen victory of the faith. The
prophecy clothes itself in language
borrowed from the well-known phe-
nomena of a physical upheaval. To
dékarov, xiAuddes era, are conventional
numbers like ré rpiroy in viii. 7—12,
and the dadexa yiArades of every tribe
in Israel. But there is a studied
moderation in the present figures ;
XI. 15]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
141
Cond > > / / ra / .
cecum ovounata avOpwrwy yirtades éErTa, Kal Ol
‘ >
\ of ? / CFsf , ~ -
Nourrot Eucpoor eyevovTo Kal EOwKay dd€av TW BEw
TOU OUpavou.
\ e , /
oval | TpiTH EpXETAaL Tayu.
e ef / > f
Kal 0 €Bdopos ayyeNos éoadriceEv’
4) ovat 4 devtépa amndOev-
ioov 14
Kal éyé- 15
\ / > lam > lad /
vovTo wvat peyadat Ev Tw OUpave, EyorTES
13 avdpwv 130 | eupoBoi] ev popu N 14 syreri
14 7 ovat n devTepa] cdov ac
ovat at dvo syr” | 7 ovac 1°] om 7 X™* 28 79 | arnOev] rapyOev & 28 7g | Sov] om
6 7 33 35 46 ve™ pr xa vg*™*! me arm Prim | tpcry ova 130
15 0 €Sdouos]
om o A| Xeyovres AQ 2 6 8 g 14 16 19 26 27 30 37 al] Aeyoucae NCP min?!
Andr Ar
that but a tenth part of the great city
should be overthrown and but 7000
souls should perish out of a population
of at least 100,000 (cf. Jos. c. Apion.
i. 22) indicates that the disaster was
to be partial and ordinary.
*Ovdpata avOpdrer, i.e. avOpewrot,
‘persons’: cf. ili. 4, note; to the ex-
amples of this use of ovoua given by
Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 196 f.,
may now be added one published by
Grenfell and Hunt in the Tebtunis
Papyri, 24. 65. "Edwxav dogav ro
Oe trav ovpavev: they glorified the
True God by confessing their sin in
having forsaken Him for idols ; Jos.
vii. 19 Sos d6€av onpepov tO kupiw
Ged “IopandA, cat dos Hv eFopoddynow.
The phrase 6 eds trav ovpavay (APN
N00) is from Daniel (e.g. ii. 18 f,
Th., iv. 28 (31) f, uxx.; see Driver,
Daniel, p. 23), and reminds the reader
that the Church was suffering, as Israel
suffered during the Babylonian cap-
tivity, from a predominant and trucu-
lent heathenism. The ‘God of heaven’
(2 Esdr. y. 12, vi. 10, xii. 4) is the in-
visible God of Jewish and Christian
Monotheism, the “caeli numen” of
Juv. xiv. 97 (see Mayor's note), as
contrasted with the ‘gods many’
whose images were to be seen in the
pagan temples. In the end the Seer
foresees a general movement towards
Christianity, induced by fear or
despair (of Nowroi EuhoSo é€y€évorro,
cf. Acts xxiv. 24 f.)—a_ prediction
fulfilled more than once in ecclesias-
tical history.
I4. 1 ovat 7 Sevtépa amndOev: ior
xth.] See ix. 12, note. The Second
Woe is the Sixth Trumpet, with the
two episodes (x. I—xi. 13) appended
to it. The Seventh Trumpet—7 ovai 7
tpitn—is now to follow without further
delay. For épyeo@at rayv see ii. 16,
ili. I1, XXil. 7, 12, 20; it seems always
to refer, more or less directly, to the
Parousia or to events leading up
to it.
15—19. THe Sevento TRuMpPeEr-
BLAST OR THIRD WOE.
15. Kal 6 €Bdopos ayyedos €oddricer
xth.] There is a marked contrast be-
tween the result of the opening of the
Seventh Seal, and that of the blowing
of the Seventh Trumpet. In the former
case there was silence in Heaven; now
there are ‘great voices’; and the Seer
can hear and write down what they say.
The voices may be those of the (aa
(cf. vi. I, 3,5; 7),who represent Creation
and rejoice in the subjection of the
cosmos to their Lord and His Christ.
Aéyortes, i.e. the persons or personifi-
cations from whom the voices come ;
cf. ix. 13, note. avai...€v r@ ovpara:
“this knowledge at present is wholly
in heaven...not manifested yet to the
creation, but to be wrought out”
(Benson).
142
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XI. 15
> / / a / lo }
Eveveto 1 BaoiNela Tov Koopov TOU Kupiov
Cal \ ~~ val Cand \ [ef
HU@OV Kal TOU yYploTOU avTOU, Kat BaotevoeEL
\ Dine - dp
Els TOUS al@Vas TWY aiwvey.
16 \ e of / / c 5) /
16 “Kat ol €ikoot TEcoapes TpeTBUTEpoL, [ot] Evwdrriov
a q / \ \ / a of
Tov Geot Kabyuevor Ext Tos Bpovous avTav, éreray
> \ \ / a \ if, a cod
e€7Té TA TPOC WT a AUTOV Kal 7 POG EKUVYO AV TW ew,
17 7 N€yovTes
ECvyapirtoupev oor, Kupie 6 Oeds 6 mavto-
15 at Baoierae 1 7 | Kuptou] Oeov 28 syré¥ Prim | Bacidever 14 16 27 28 35 79 87
eBaoevoey vge™ syrs¥ | awywv]+auyv & 12 18 38 40 vgiemtol
16 ot evxoor] OM ot
N*A | o« evwmiov] om o AQ 1 7 12 14 46 92 95 | Tov Beov] pr Tov Opovov Q minP4% syr
Ar | xadnuevoe AP 1 7 14 36 38 gt 92 al me arm] xabyvrac 8°* C 2 95 syr8” o Kabqvrac
8* Q minP4% syr Ar | execav] erecoy Q min®te™ Ar pr car & 95 alvid
17 got]
ce Q | kupte] kupios 8 | 0 ravroKpatwp] om o X*
eyeveto 7 Bactdela Tod Kocpou KTA. |
“The kingdom of the world has become
(for the aor. cf. Le. xix. 9) our Lord’s
and His Anointed’s.” The words sug-
gest the vision of a world-empire, once
dominated by an usurping power,
which has now at length passed into
the hands of its true Owner and Im-
perator ; cf. Mt. iv. 8, 9, Jo. xiv. 30,
Eph. ii. 2, vi. 12. The world-long
struggle which will end in this transfer
is described in Ps. ii. (cf. Acts iv. 26),
which yields the phrase 6 xvpios Kat 6
xptatos avtov, Dan. vii. 13 ff., 22 ff. ;
and the magnificent issue is celebrated
again in Apoc. xii. Io, xix. 6,16. ‘O
Kupios nuaoy is here plainly not the
Son, but the Father ; the speakers are
representatives of Creation, not of the
Church, and the Lord of the Church
is from their point of view not the
Lord, but “the Lord’s Christ” (Le. ii.
26, 1x. 20), an O.T. phrase for the
anointed King of the theocracy. Kat
BaotAcvoe eis rods aidvas TéY aldver:
not Baowrevoovorr, for the rule of God
and of Christ is one, and the King-
dom of the Son will ultimately be
merged in the Reign of God (1 Cor.
xy. 27). That Reign is perennial; no
age will see its end (Dan. ii. 44, vii. 14,
28), and the Son’s re-delivery of His
mediatorial power to the Father does
not exclude Him from sharing the
Father’s kingdom ; against the per-
version of the Pauline teaching by
Marcellus the Church was able to cite
Le. i. 33 rns Bacideias avrov ovK ora
rédos: see Robertson, Regnum Dei,
DSL
16. Kal oi eikoou Téocapes mpecBv-
tepot of ktA.| The Elders take up the
witness of the (ga (if we may assume
that they are the speakers in @. 15), as
they do in iv. 9 ff. Ordinarily the
Elders are seated (xa@npuevor) even in
the Divine Presence on thrones which
surround the central Throne (iv. 4), for
the Church is the ovvOpovos of the In-
carnate Son Who is the ovvOpovos of
the Father (iii. 21); but they prostrate
themselves at every act of adoration
(iv. 10, v. 8, 14, xix. 4). With émi ra
mpocwra avtov Cf. ¢. vii. 11, Where the
same prostration is ascribed to the
Angels. The Angels and the Church,
as creatures, share a common worship.
17. evxapioTotpev oot, Kipte 6 beds
xth.| The Elders represent the Church
in her great function of evyapioria.
On Kupie 6 6. 6 mavtoxparwp, “Lord
God of Sabaoth,” see ce. i. 8, iv. 8; and
on o av kai 6 ny, i. 4, 8, iv. 8. Here,
and again in xvi, 5, 6 epyomevos is
ol ll a il lt ee
XI. 18]
€ \ e
KpaTwp, 0 wv Kal oO
/ / \ / \
Ovvapiv cov Thy peyadNny Kal
18
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
Ss / of \
nv, OTL etAnpas THY
/
éBaciNevoas*
kal Ta €Ovy wpyicOnoay, Kal nOev 4 opyr 18
@ou Kal oO Kalpos Twv vexpov KpiOjvar Kat Sovvat
\ \ - / ~ / \
Tov pucboy Tots dovAOLs Gov TOs TpodrTas Kat
17 0 mv] +Kato epxouevos 28 36 49 79 91 95 96 186 al vglePe4.o* me | o7c] pr Kae
S*C vet (om Ree APQ al?ler vg arm Cypr Prim) | ecAnpes C
xatpos] kAnpos C
omitted, since the future does not fall
within the scope of the passage. Etn-
dbas...kat éBagirevoas, “Thou hast
assumed Thy power, and didst begin
Thy reign”; with eBacidevoas cf. v. 15
éyevero 7 Baoweia. For this combi-
nation of tenses see iii, 3 «tA. kal
nkovoas, Y. 7 jAGev Kai etAnper, Vill. 5
einpev...kal eyeumioev...kat €Badev; and
with BaorAevev in this sense cf. 2 Regn.
XY. 10 BeBaciNeveev Baotreds ’ABeooa-
Aap ev XeBpor, Ps. xcii. (xcili.) 1 Kvpeos
€Baci\evoev (1299).
Thy peyadny, not the normal exercise
of the Divine power, but that final and
overwhelming display to which all
prophecy points. Compare and con-
trast Acts viii. 10 7 dvvapyis Tod Oeod 7
Kaoupevn peyadn.
Thy Svvapiy cov
18. kat ra €Ovn wpyicOnoay xkrd.]
Ps. ii. is still in view, ef. vv. 1, 5 iva ri
eppuagay (329) @ ) €Ovn, Kai Aaoi JOS re
gay Kevd; ...TOTe Aadnoet mpos avtous
€v opyn avrov, and xeviill. (xcix.) I
Kupwos €Baciievcer, opyifeoOwoay daoi.
In Acts iy. 25 ff., Ps. ii: 1 f. is inter-
preted by the Church of Jerusalem in
reference to the treatment of Christ
by Antipas and Pontius Pilate (cwurny-
6noav yap em’ adnOeias ev TH TWOdEL Ta’TH
Hp@dys
re Kat Iovrtos Medaros atv €Ovecw Kat
Xaois “Iopand): with a wider outlook
the Seer of the Apocalypse sees in it
the hostility of the world against the
Church. ’Qpyic@noav...1 opyn cov;
the futile violence of men is answered
by the effective judgements of God.
*HOev 7) dpyn cou kal 6 katpos xrX.; the
as \ Ld - t > - c
€mt Tov aytov ratOacou incor...
18 wpyicn N* |
dies irae is imagined as already come,
and is seen to coincide with the Resur-
rection and the Judgement. With 6
katpos Tov vexpav Cf. Me. xi. 13 Katpos
ovkov, Le. xxi. 24 x. €6vav. The dead
will rise in their season, when all is
ripe for the final award; cf. Me. iy. 29,
Apoc. xiv. 15 ff.; the scene is de-
scribed in c. xx. ff. Oi vexpoi, good and
bad, as in Jo. v. 25, Acts xxiv. 21.
The three infinitives, xpiOjvac ...
dovva.. -dcapOeipat, dependupon Katpos,
as in Eccl. iii. 2 Kaipos Tov amoGaveivy
or without the article, in Judith xiii. 5
kaipos avtusaBéeoba. Butafter xpiOjvac
the construction is partly changed,
and the writer proceeds as if he had
begun 6 katpos Tovs vexpovs Kpivat.
Sodvar Tov puoGov xrr.| The pods
to be given in the evening of the world
to God’s labourers (Mt. xx. 8) is with
the Father (Mt. vi. 1) in heaven (Mt.
y. 12), and will be dispensed by the
Lord at His return (Apoe. xxii. 12);
though essentially the same in all
cases (Mt. /. ¢.), and though its pay-
ment is in all an act of grace on the
part of God (Rom. iv. 4), it will vary
in proportion to the work of the re-
cipient (1 Cor. iii. 8). The prophet’s
puoOds is in some sense distinct from
the pio@ds dixaiov (Mt. x. 41), but no
emphasis is laid here upon the differ-
ence (Sodvai Tov pu Oov...Trois rpodyracs
kai Tois ayios xtd.). “Thy servants
the prophets” are the prophets of the
Chureh; as in cG i 1, 73> “the
saints” are, as always, the faithful in
general. But who are “they that fear
Thy Name”? In the Acts (xiii, 16,
144 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XI 18
= t / \ od / \ sf /
Tols aylow Kat Tots PoPoupevois TO Ovou“a Tov,
\ \ \ \ / \ lon
TOUS [LKPOUS Kal Tous peyahous, Kal dracpbeipat
\ i \ la
Tous dvapbeipovtas THY YiV.
\ , \ m = = 5 za ‘
19 “Kat jvolyn 6 vaos Tov eo’ 6 év TH ovUpave, Kat
J € \ lo 07 5 Es 5 a ~
open 4 KiBwros THs OiaOyKns aiToU é&v Ta vaw
18 Tos arytois Kat (OM 130 186) Tors (OM NX) PoBoupevors] Tovs aryrous Kat Tous poBov-
pevous A | Tous utkpous Kat Tous peyadous S*AC] rors puKpois K. Tors pmeyadors &°-° PY
mine™=vid yg rell Cypr Prim Andr Ar ros mixpors wera Twy peyahwy syr8¥ | om Kaz
ult A me | duadPecpovras SAQ min?! Ar] Pbepovras P 1 duaPOecpavras C 7 10 35 47 48
49 87 91 96 qui corruperunt vg Cypr Prim 1g nvovyn] nvocxOn Q min® Ar | om
Tou Geov syr&* | o ev Tw ovpayw] om o SPQ min?! vg syr Prim Ar | whAn] edoby
C | avrov 1°] (rov) kvpiov Q minfere4? Vict Ar rov Geou & 94 om vg! me Prim
43, 50) of hoBovpevor or of cEeBdopevor
tov Geov are proselytes of the Syna-
gogue; in the Apoc. (here and perhaps
also in xix. 5) analogy suggests that
they may be the unbaptized adherents
of the Church, enquirers and catechu-
mens. These too, if their desire to
serve God be sincere, shall not lose
their reward; though not dy.o in the
technical sense, they will receive the
pucOos dixaiov. Small or great, the
least in the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.
xi. 11), as well as those who stand in
the foremost rank of God’s servants,
the prophets of the New Covenant,
are allremembered before Him. The
ace. TovUs puKpov’s Kal Tovs peyadous
must be explained by supposing that
the writer has forgotten that he started
with dovvar pic Oov. The phrase (used
also in cc, xili. 16, xix. 5, 18, xx. 12;
cf. Gen. xix. 11, Sap. vi. 7) includes
all sorts and conditions of men, and
witnesses to the ampoowmoAnpyia of
the Judge. The meanest slave among
the catechumens of the Church will
receive the same consideration as a
convert of Imperial rank.
kal SiapOeipat rovs SuadGetpovras thy
yiv| Cf. xix. 2 expuvev thy mopyny thy
peyadny nris epOeipey thy yhy év rH
mopveia avtis. Here the reference is
more general; by a Divine zus talionis
(cf. Rom. i. 28 ff, ii. 5 ff.) destroyers
of every kind shall be destroyed.
ArapOcipar, SiapOeipovras are perhaps
preferred to the more usual dmodéoa,
aro\\vovras (Jo. iii. 16, Rom. ii. 12,
2 Cor. ii. 15, 2 Thess. ii. 10), because of
the double sense of d:apdeipew. Pa-
ganism was ‘destroying’—the lapse
into the present is significant—‘ the
earth’ by corrupting the fountains of
moral life, as well as by the physical
horrors of the amphitheatre and the
tyrannies of imperialism; and this
moral reference is probably upper-
most. All who helped to poison society
were themselves diepOappevou Tov vouv
(1 Tim. vi. 5), and their true character
would be recognized and fixed by the
judgement of God.
19. kal jvolyn 6 vads Tov Beod KTA.]
The Sanctuary in heaven (iii. 12, vii.
15, xv. 5 ff., xxi. 22, ef. Iren. iy. 13. 6)
as distinguished from the sanctuary
on earth (xi. 1) was opened (jvo/yn, as
in xv. 5; cf. Blass, Gr. p. 43); Le. the
Great Award is to be accompanied by
a manifestation of the Divine glory;
cf. Me. vit. 38 Grav €XOn ev rH O0Ey
Tov tarpos avrov. So - Victorinus:
“templum apertum manifestatio est
Domini nostri.” Apparently the vision
is but momentary, for the heavenly
vaos is opened again in xy. 5; but
the Seer has time to catch sight
(@p6n) of the Ark of the Covenant
which was within. On jrotyn see
Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 189.
7) KiBe@ros Ths SuaOnKyns (MAT PN),
or as it is usually called in Exodus 7) «.
srr
XI. 19]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 145
- \ ’ , \ ‘ \ \
@UTOU, Kal EYEVOYTO aoTpaTa Kai dwval Kal Bpov-
\ / /
Tal Kal weiopos Kal xaraCa peyaryn.
19 avrov 2°] om syr&™ | eyevovro] eyevero &* | Bpovrar x. pwvac 14 28 al g A syrr]
om Ka ceicuos Q minP430 Ar
Tov paprupiov (MITA "N), was within
the sacred veil of the Tabernacle (Heb.
ix. 4), and afterwards stood in the
inner chamber of Solomon’s Temple
(1 Kings viii. 6). Probably it perished
when Nebuchadrezzar burnt the
Temple (2 Kings xxv. 9), for Jeremiah
speaks of it as if it would shortly
pass out of memory (Jer. iii. 16), and
Tacitus (hist. vy. 9) scoffs at the Jewish
Sanctuary as “vacuam sedem et inania
arcana.” In Ezekiel’s Temple the Ark
does not appear, which renders its
presence in the heavenly temple of the
Apocalypse more remarkable. <A le-
gend related in 2 Mace. ii. 5 ff. repre-
sents Jeremiah as having hidden both
the Ark and the Altar of Incense
(which reappears in Apoc. viii. 3 ff.) in
a cave against the day of Israel’s res-
toration ; it is added: xai d@yvworos 6
Tomos €orat €ws av cuvayn 6 Beds ém-
guvaywynv Tov Aaod...cal TdTe 6 KUpLos
dvadeifer taira cai opOnoera 1 ddéa
tov kupiov. Other forms of the legend
may be seen on p. 39, supra. This
story in its earliest form may have
been in the mind of the Seer, but
he has his own reason for intro-
ducing the Ark at this point. In
Christ God has made a new covenant
with men (Heb. viii. 6 ff., ix. 15 ff.), and
the appearance of the Ark of the Cove-
nant through the opened doors of the
heavenly temple, at the moment when
the time has come for the faithful to
receive their reward, indicates the
restoration of perfect access to God
through the Ascension of the Incarnate
Son. Andreas: da ris dvoitews rod
ovpavod kal Tis opdcews THs KiBwrTod
TOY jromacpévwy dyabav Tois ayabois
OnAovrat 7 aroxaduypis.
kal é€yévovto aotpamai xtrX. The
usual symbols of majesty and power
Ss. R.
which attend manifestations of the
Divine Presence, cf. (e.g.) Exod. xix.
16, Ps. xxix. 3 ff —“the solemn salvos
so to speak, of the artillery of Heaven”
(Alford). Of a “great hail” (Exod.
ix. 18 ff.) we hear again in ¢. xvi.
21; lightning flashes across the sky in
iv. 5, Vili. 5, xvi. 18; earthquakes are
felt in vi. 12, viii. 5, xi. 13, xvi. 18.
The great section of the Book now
completed ends, as it began, with a
vision of the heavenly order. In iy.
1 ff. a door is set open in heaven,
through which the Seer is able to
discern the Throne of God and its
surroundings ; in xi. 19 the Temple
of God in heaven is opened, and the
Ark of the New Covenant is seen
standing in the celestial Sanctuary.
Moreover, the whole series of visions
which intervenes between these two
revelations is full of heavenly things
and persons. Most of the scenes are
laid in heaven; the rest, though on
earth, are illuminated by the presence
of superhuman agents. The seven
Seals are opened by the Lamb Who is
in the midst of the Throne; the seven
Trumpets are blown by seven Angels.
Angels are charged with the custody
of the four winds; an Angel impresses
on the elect the Seal of God; an Angel
with one foot on the sea and the other
on the dry land, makes solemn oath
that the end is near.
Yet as a whole the section is con-
cerned with movements which find
their sphere on the earth. The pur-
pose of the celestial scenery and the
celestial agencies which are employed
is not to take the attention of the
reader from contemporary or coming
events, but to lead him to connect
these with the invisible powers by
which they are controlled, and to let
Io
146
the light of heaven fall upon the
earthly tragedy. The Throne and the
Temple in the érovpama are seen to
be the ultimate source of the energies
by which human history is carried to
its goal. But it is in human history
that the interests of the prophecy are
centred. In the events which follow
the opening of the Seals, if they have
been rightly interpreted in this com-
mentary, the Seer depicts the con-
ditions under which the Empire, as he
knew it in Asia, was fulfilling its des-
tiny, and passes from these to the great
dynastic and social changes which must
accompany or follow its collapse. In
the scenes announced by the Trumpet-
blasts, he works out at greater length
the second of these topics; the re-
volutions which were in the lap of the
future, the woes which it held in store
for the unbelieving and impenitent
world, are painted in a vivid sym-
bolism borrowed partly from the Old
Testament, partly from the apoca-
lyptic thought of the time. These
kaleidoscopic effects must be taken
as a whole, and not pressed in detail,
as if they were so many specific pre-
dictions ; nevertheless they doubtless
represent the impressions made upon
the mind of the Seer, as in the Spirit
he gazed into the future of the Empire
and of the race. His sight does not
reach as yet to the end; when the
seventh Seal is opened, there is silence
in heaven; when the seventh Trumpet
is blown, he hears the acclamations
of the invisible world, but the actual
result is not revealed to him even
under a symbolical disguise.
If the Seals and the Trumpets dis-
close the fortunes of the Roman
Empire, and, in a foreshortened view,
the troubles of the age which would
follow its fall, the Seer is not left
without a vision of the future of the
great spiritual Power which was des-
tined to outlive the rule of the Caesars.
Both the seventh seal-opening and the
seventh trumpet-blast are preceded
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XI. 19
by episodes which deal with the wider
history of the Church. Each episoce
consists of two pictures. In the first
pair the Church is represented as the
Israel of God, marching in its tribal
divisions to the inheritance of the
Saints; and again as the universal
brotherhood of all races and nations,
seen in the glories of its ideal life.
In the second, the Christian society is
seen in two aspects of its long struggle
with the world; as the Sanctuary
surrounded by the profanations of
heathendom, and again as the Two
Witnesses, the Enoch and Elijah or
the Moses and Elijah of the new
Covenant, to whom it is given to
witness throughout the days of a
militant paganism, dying for the faith,
to rise again like the Master and
ascend to heaven.
With the seventh trumpet-blast
the Kingdom of God has come, and
the general judgement is at hand.
Thus this section of the Apocalypse
brings the course of history down to
the verge of the Parousia. If the
Book had ended here, it would have
been within these limits complete.
But the Seer pauses for a moment
only to take up his réle again with
a fresh presentation of the future, in
which the vision is to be carried to
its issue. A new prophecy begins in
c. xii., the contents of the open 8:8da-
pidwov which the Seer had been di-
rected to take from the hand of the
Angel and consume. Impelled by a
fresh gift of prophetic energy, he feels
himself bound to prophesy again to a
larger circle of hearers and with wider
aims (x. 1); and this second message
occupies the remainder of the Book.
On this second prophecy and its rela-
tion to the first see the Introduction,
p. xxxix. f, The two prophecies
(i. 8—xi. 19, xii. I—xxii. 5) are nearly
equal in length, and shew a corre-
spondence in scope and plan which
suggests that the book is the work of
one mind.
XII. 2]
"Kal onuetov peya wp0n év Tw ovpava® yury 1 XL.
as bey ; Pava ry
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
147
/ \ of c / c ,
mepi3eBAnuern Tov HALov, Kat 4 wEAnYN UToKaTW
> ~ > ~ \
TW) TOOwWY QUTHS, Kal
> \
€7TL
Ts Keays avTHs
/ > / / 2 \ ? A yf,
oTEpavos agTEepwy Owoeka, *Kal Ev yaoTpl ExovTa, 2
XII 1 wepiBeBrnuevn] repiBrerouern A | rv ceXnvnv R* arm | dwoexa] dexadvo 1
12 Hipp
XII i—18. Tue Woman witu
CHILD, AND THE GREAT BLOOD-RED
Dracon.
I. onpeiov péya dO ev ra ovpar@ |
Hitherto a fresh vision has been an-
nounced by the formula [pera rata}
eidov kai idov, or the simple «idov or
@6n (xi. 19). The present vision is
the first characterised as a onpeiov;
others follow, cf. xiii. 3 @p6n addo
onpeiov €v TH ovpave, XV. 1 eidov ado
onp. €Y TH ovp. péeya Kai Bavpacror.
In the Lxx. onpeioy is usually the
equivalent of Nix, and is used either of
celestial phenomena, e.g. the heavenly
bodies (Gen. i. 14), and the rainbow
(Gen. ix. 12 ff.), or of tokens of God’s
presence or purpose given upon earth,
e.g. the miracles in Egypt (Exod. vii.
3, etc.). In the N.T. the latter is
the prevalent sense of onpeiov; the
word goes with répas (Jo. iv. 48) and
Svvaws (Acts ii. 22), and it is thus
used in this book (cc. xiii. 13 ff, xvi.
14, Xix. 20), though only of wonders
wrought by evil powers. But the
Gospels speak also of onueia did (ek)
tov ovpavov (Me. viii. 11, Mt. xvi. 1,
and of a onpeiov ex ovpave (Mt. xxiv.
3, 30), Which is to attend the Parousia.
Such signs, like the ninix of Gen.
dl. cc., would be visible in the skies to
men upon earth, and this is probably
the nature of the ‘sign’ now displayed
to the Seer. It is not the interior of
the heavenly world that he sees, as in
iy. 1 ff., but its outer veil, the sky, on
which the vision is depicted.
yurn mepiBeBrAnpwern Tov Hreov KrA.]
The first ‘sign in heaven’ is a Woman
—the earliest appearance of a female
figure in the Apocalyptic vision. She
is arrayed with the Sun; for the
constr. see Vil. 9, 13, X. I, Xi. 3, XVil 4,
Xvili. 16, xix. 8, 13, and for the idea,
cf. Ps. ciii. (civ.) 2 avaBaddopevos pas
ws inarcov, and the partial parallels
in) Apoc.: 1,36, x. 3, XiR~ 17a ee
moon is her vorodiuv; the phrase
UTokaT@ Toy today may be borrowed
from Ps. cix. (cx.) 1 (Me. xii. 36) or
from Ps. viii. 7 (Heb. ii. 8). The Seer
perhaps has in mind Cant. vi. 9 (10)
tis avtTn 1 exkimrovaa waet dpOpos,
Kah) ws oeAnvn, ékNEKTH @s O HALOS;
Further, this Woman in the sky is
crowned with a wreath (c. ii. 10, note)
of twelve stars, a coronet of celestial
diamonds. The reader is reminded
of Joseph’s second dream (Gen. xxxvii.
9 6 HALos Kai 7 GEA Kal Evdexa darépes
mpooexvvouy pe), and of Test. xii. patr.
Napht. 5 6 Aevi éxparnoe rov fALov
kal 0 lovdas pOdcas eriace Thy ceAnvny,
kai UWwbnoay audorepor ov avrois.
kat dvTos Tov Aevi ws nAiov... lovdas
jv Naumpos ws 7 TEAnYN, Kal U7d Tods
modas avrov foav dSwdexa axtives—
passages which shew that Semitic
fancy was apt to decorate ideal or
representative persons with the hea-
venly bodies. The mention of twelve
stars (dcrépor dadexa, not rar 8. aore-
pov) is sufficiently explained as an
allusion to the twelve tribes (Jac. i. 1,
Apoc. xxi. 12) or possibly the twelve
Apostles (xxi. 14), regarded as the
crowning ornament of the Jewish
Church ; for the notion of the stars
forming a wreath or circlet, ef. Sap.
Xili. 2 xkvxAov Gorpey (v. Ll. dorépar),
and perhaps Apoe. i. 16.
2. kal €v yaotpi €yovca xrv.] The
Woman is with child, and near to
[oO——2
148
[Kae | Kpacel WOLvOUTa
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XII. 2
\ / ~
Kal PaocanCouevn TEeKELY.
2 kat 2°] om APQ min?! ygclelips> mert syr Hipp Meth Andr Ar (hab &C 95
yeomtudemtips4,6tol syrs aeth Prim) | Kpagec] expafev (0 rh 8 31 38 87 a] pla20 Ve ceen lind
Ar Prim expatev Q min‘te!? ygeod syr arm xpafovoa syrs¥¥4 VictYid | wowouoa] pr
kat syrr | om cat ante Bao. 130
her delivery ; in sharp contrast with
the splendour of her adornment the
Seer places her cries of pain and the
tortures (Sacautouévn) of the birth-
pangs. He can scarcely have failed
to remember Isa. vii. 14 d@ces Kuptos
avTos Upiv onpetov: dod 7 mapOevos
év yaotpt Anuperac (Mt. i. 23 €€er),
kat Te€eTat viov—a passage familiar
to Christian thought towards the end
of the Apostolic age, as its use by
Mt., and apparently also by Le. (i.
31), attests. But if so, he purposely
substitutes yuy7 for mapOévos, for the
Virgin-Birth is not a point on which
he wishes to insist; the mystical
mother of the Lord, whom he has
in view, is not the Virgin, but the
Jewish Church (see below). Jeru-
salem is described in the Prophets
as a travailing woman ; cf. Mic. iv. 10
a@dive...duyatnp Serv, os tikrovea, Isa.
xxvi. 17 f. bs 7 wdivovea...emi TH @diMi
avtns éxéxpa&ev...ev yaotpt eAdBopev
kat @dwnoapev, tb, lxvi. 7 mpw thy
@divovaay Texeiv, mpiv €dOeiv Tov movoy
Tav wdiver, eێspuyev Kal erexev Apoev.
The same metaphor is used by our
Lord to characterize the anguish of
the Apostles on the eve of the Passion
(Jo. XVi. 21 1) yurt) Grav tikrn Admny
EXEL...KaL Veils OUY ViV ev AUmNY ExETE),
and by St Paul in reference to the
spiritual travail of the guide of souls
(Gal. iv. 19 Texvia pov, ovs Tad wdive
péxpis ov poppwb7n Xpioros ev vpiv).
The reading is somewhat uncertain:
éxovaa kpacer (Expacev, expaéev) is easier
than €xovaa, kat kpater, but the latter
makes excellent sense and has on the
whole better support ; if it be accepted,
kat ev y. €xovea Will range with zrepr-
BeBAnuervn xrh., While cai kpater begins
a new clause.
The ancient expositors in general,
beginning with Hippolytus and Me-
thodius, understood the Woman with
child to represent the Church, though
some identified her with the Blessed
Virgin. See Hipp. (ed. Lag. p. 31): my
ev ovy yuvaika 7m mepiBbeBAnuevny Tov
jAvov capéorara Thy exkAnoiay, evdedv-
pevny Tov Noyov Tov maTp@ov vmrep TALov
Aaurovra; Andreas: tives pev de ddov
tiv OeoroKoy vevonkact...o S€ peyas Me-
Go8.0s [conviv. 6 ff.] eis rHv ayiav exKAn-
aiav e&€haBev. The majority take the
birth-pangs to symbolize the spiritual
travail of the Church (Hipp. @. ¢.: od
Tavoeral 1) ekkAnola yevvooa ek Kapdias
Tov hoyov Tov ev Kdon@ vo arioteY
diwkopevov; Ps. Aug.: “quotidie parit
ecclesia.” Andreas: &divew dé papev
Thy exk\nolay Ka@’ éxactov Tay dava-
yervepéevav d5¢ Vdatos Kal mvevpatos ;
Bede : “semper ecclesia, dracone licet
adversante, Christum parit”). But
the earliest Latin expositor of the
Apocalypse, Victorinus (if the words
are his), has grasped the meaning
more precisely : “antiqua ecclesia est
patrum et prophetarum et sanctorum
et apostolorum ; quae gemitus et tor-
menta desiderii sui habuit usquequo
fructum ex plebe sua secundum carnem
olim promissum sibi yideret Christum
ex ipsa gente corpus sumpsisse”—a
comment which Beatus repeats, add-
ing: “semper enim haec mulier ante
adventum Domini parturiebat in do-
loribus suis.” Similarly Augustine zn
Ps. cxlii.: “haec autem mulier antiqua
est civitas Dei.” The two views are not,
however, wholly inconsistent. Doubt-
less the Church of the Old Testament
was the Mother of whom Christ came
after the flesh. But here, as every-
where in the Book, no sharp dividing
line is drawn between the Church of
the Old Testament and the Christian
ee we
RIT; '4]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 149
/ , -~ > ~ > - ‘ \
3kal wp0n aAXo onéiov Ev TH OUpava, Kal iOoU 3
if of c \
Opakwy ueyas Tuppos, Exwy Keadas EwTa Kal KepaTa
/ \ > \ \ \ > ~ e \ /
O€ka Kal él Tas KepaXas avTov erTa dradnuara,
\ > \ ’ - / \ / ~ /
‘kal 1) OUPa UVTOU TUPEL TO TPITOV TwWY aTTEpwY 4
3 meyas muppos AP (1) 28 36 49 79 87 91 95 96 186 al vg syré” anon*’s] suppos
peyas &(C)(Q) min® me syr aeth Meth Ar Prim | zruppos] rupos CQ 1 13081” | avrov]
autwy A 87 | ecupey arm
Society ; the latter is viewed as the
Jewish Church come to its maturity.
Thus the woman who gave birth to
the Christ is afterwards identified
with her who after His departure
suffered for her faith in Him (». 13)
and who is the mother of believers
(ov. 17, cf. Gal. iv. 27).
In Bacav(opévn receiv the infinitive
is epexegetical (WM., p. 140), repre-
senting the issue, almost the purpose
(Vg. cruciabatur ut pariat), of the
torture endured. Burton, § 389, less
simply explains it as “an object inf.
governed by the idea of desire im-
plied in the preceding participle.”
For Bacavfopevn see ix. 5 note.
3. Kal OPOn Gro onpetioy krr.] A
second tableau, following close upon
the first and inseparable from it. The
Dragon is the Serpent of Gen. iii. 1 ff,
as the Apocalyptist himself tells us
(v. 9). But the preference of 8paxav
(=138 Job vii. 12, WIN? ib. xxvi. 13,
nd ib. xl. 20 (25)) to dqus, both
in this context and in ce. xiii., xvi.,
xx., is significant. It is a mythical,
symbolical, monster which is before us,
whether suggested by the Babylonian
Tiamat (Gunkel, Schopfung u. Chaos,
p. 361, Enc. Bibl. 1131 ff.; see Intro-
duction, p. li.), or by Hebrew fancy
(Ps. Ixxiii. (Ixxiv.) 13 od ouvérpias
ras xecbadas tav Spaxovrwyv—cod. R,
tov Spaxovtos Tov peyadou—eri Tov
vdaros: cf. Job xxvi. 13, Isa. xxvii. 1,
Ez. xxix. 3). The Seer’s Dragon is
muppos, fiery red (Apoc. vi. 4, note ;
ef. Hom. J/. ii. 308 &@’ épavn péya
ojpa, Spaxay eri vara Sadowwds), the
epithet denoting his murderous work
(Andreas, da rb Govixoyv avrov, cf. Jo.
Vili. 44 dvOpwmoxrovos jv an’ apxns,
1 Jo. iil. 12 Kaw ék rod rovnpov Av
kal €obagey tov adedAdoy avrov). He
has seven heads (cf. xvii. 3, 7; Kid-
dushim, f. 29 6, “visus ei est daemon
forma draconis septem habentis ca-
pita”; Pistis Sophia, p. 90 “ basilisci
serpentis, cui septem erant capita”),
symbolical of a plenitude of power;
and every head is crowned with the
fillet which denotes sovereignty: for
diadnpa as contrasted with orépavos
(v. 1) see I Esdr. iv. 30 adatpotcay rod
diadnua aro ris Kepadfs Tov Bacidéws,
Isa. lxil. 3 dsadnua Baowdelas, 1 Mace.
Xi. 13, Xili. 32 1d diadnya ris Acias ;
and for the conception of a diadem-
crowned serpent cf. Pliny, 77. NV. viii.
21. 33, Where he describes the basilisk
as “candida in capite macula ut quo-
dam diademate insignem.” The Beast
of c. xiii. has ten diadems on his horns ;
the Divine Conqueror of ¢. xix. has
on His head é:adjpyara rodda. The
Dragon’s ten diadems represent his
power over the kingdoms of the
world ; cf. Le. iv. 6 éuot mapadédora,
Jo. xii. 31, XIV. 30, Xvi. II 6 dpyoy
Tov kogpov TovTov, and contrast Apoc.
i. 5 6 Gpywv Tay Bacréwy ris yfs. See
XVii. 3, 7, 9 ff., notes.
4. kai 7 ovpa avrod ovper xrd.] A
reference to Dan. viii. 10 where it is
said of the Little Horn; “TY SIA)
NIYTD AW IBM) ON NBY;
7) tpiroy softens the hyperbole, as in
c. viii. 7 ff. A similar incident occurs
in the Babylonian myth of the con-
flict between Tiamat and Marduk
(Gunkel, op. cit. p. 387), but the
150
ol > ~ None ’ \ > \ =
ToU ovpavou, Kal EBadev avTous Els THY Yn.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIL. 4
\ ¢
Kal O
a e/ > / ~ \ = /
dpakwy ETTHKEV EVWITLOVY THS yyuvatKOS THS MEeANOVEONS
~ / 14 / \ / - ,
TeKelvy, iva OTaV TEKN TO TEKVOY auvTYHS KaTapayy.
c t
2G eed eld af aA / / /
5 °Kal ETEKEV VLOV, apoev, OS MeANEL TrOLMaLYELY TraYTa
4 Tov ovpavou] Twy ev Tw ovpayw syré” | earnxev] eatnxe: C syr8” ecry 14 92 | om
Ts wehNovaens Texew me | Texew] TiKTELY 37 49 91 96 186 Hipp
5 wor] om Prim |
apsev AC] apoeva P 95 130 186 (sine wov) Meth appeva &(Q) 1 al?! Hipp Ar om
Vict | om 7av7a me
Apocalyptist may well have had no
other thought than to depict the
colossal size and vast strength of
the monster. Heaven (the sky) is too
small to hold him; when he lashes
his tail, it drags along (cvpe, Vg.
trahebat, cf. Jo. xxi. 8, Acts xiv. 19,
xvii. 6) a third of the stars, and dashes
them to the earth: for the change of
tense cf. ii. 3, note. “EBadev eis thy
yjv was frequently understood by the
ancient interpreters in reference to
the fall of the Angels (Jude 6 rovs
pe) THpnoavras THY éavtTav dpxny (see
Dr Bigg’s note); thus Arethas: ovy-
xatéBade yap éavTy mArcloTay ayyéAwv
potpavy guvarootatjaat Teicaca amo
deod. But other views obtained sup-
port; e.g., according to Bede, “Tyconius
more suo tertiam partem stellarum
quae cecidit falsos fratres interpreta-
tur.” Origen has a similar explanation
in Mt. comm. (Lomm., iv. p. 306):
“qui...peccatum...sequitur, trahitur a
cauda draconis vadens post eum.”
kat 0 Opakwy eoTnkey éevamioyv Ths
yuvaos xtr.] The relation of the
second onpetoy to the first now be-
comes evident. The appearance of
the Woman with Child has provoked
a counter-manifestation on the part
of the Dragon. His quarrel, however,
is not immediately with the Woman,
but with the Child, and he waits his
time till the Child is born. For rijs
poeAAovons Texeiv cf. iii. 2, 16, note.
"Eornkev is at first sight a strange
verb in connexion with the serpent,
cf. Gen. iil. 14 emt r@ orHGeu cov kal
TH KowWia topevon. But the dpaxor is
a glorified dis, which, as Pliny (A.W.
Vili. 21. 33) says, “nec flexu multiplici
ut reliquae corpus impellit, sed celsus
et erectus in medio incedens.”
“Iva...xkarapayn: cf. Jer. xxviii. (li.) 34
karépayév pe...NaBovyodovdcop Bact-
eds BaBvAdvos Katémev pe, os Spaxov
émAnoev THY Kowiay avTov amo THs
tpudijs pov. A greater sufferer than
Jerusalem is here, and a greater foe
than the King of Babylon. The Seer
looks back over the long period of ex-
pectation which followed the original
sentence on the Serpent (Gen. iii. 15 ;
see Driver’s remarks on this in Genesis,
p- 57, and ef. Primasius: “in con-
spectu autem mulieris stetisse dicitur,
quoniam t/a (inquit) observabit caput
tuum,” etc.). Two figures dominate
pre-Christian history—humanity, fallen
but struggling to the birth of a higher
life, and the hostile power of evil,
watching (Gen. /.c., LXX., rnpnoers) its
opportunity to defeat the realization
of the hope ; such tyrants as Pharaoh
(Exod. i. 22, ii. 1 ff) and Herod (Mt.
ii. 7 ff.) may be in the Seer’s mind,
but his words cover the whole conflict
which culminated in the Cross and
its issue. On drav réxy see Burton,
§ 305.
5. kal érexey viov, apoev, Os KTr.]
Either visy or dpoev seems to be re-
dundant. ”Erexey dpoev is a familiar
phrase in the Lxx.; cf. Exod. i. 16 ff,
li. 2, Lev. xii. 2, 7, Num. iii. 40, Isa.
Ixvi. 7, Jer. xx. 15, EXXVIEN@ocm aes
and would have sufficed here. On the
other hand viov, apoev or vidy apoeva
may have been suggested by 3! j2
XII. 6]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
ISI
Ta €Ovn év paBdw cioypa Kai ipracOn TO TEKVOV
ee \ \ 1 \ \ \ /
QAUTHS TT Pos TOV Beov KaL TT pos TOV Opovov
aUTOU.
6 \ € \ »/ > \ 7 / vf > ~
Kal n yun ec:uyev els THY Epnuov, OTTOU ExEL Ekel 0.
5 ev paBiw] om ev P 1 12 28 95 97 186 | npracdn] npraxOn Q nprayn & 10 29 31
37 47 49 91 95 96 Hipp Meth | om zpos 2° 1 36%4
6 exer] eLxev 38 Veciefulipas
syré” | om exec 1° C 1 14 36 38 186 al vg rell Prim al
(Jer. xx. 15), or deliberately written
instead of madiov apaey (cf. Ar. Eccl.
549) in order to emphasize the sex of
the Child: cf. Hippolytus (ed. Lag.,
P. 32): Tov dppeva kai TeAevcov Xpioror ;
Andreas: rais jdovais aOnduvros.
The ‘man-child’ is primarily the Son
of Mary, with whom he is identified
by os péAAee mopmaivery xrr.3 cf. ii.
26 f., xix. 15, notes. The reference
to Ps. ii. does not necessarily exclude
the thought of the members of Christ
who are potentially interested in the
promise, as ii. 26 shews (6 vxdr...
dec aire efovoiav emt trav €bvar,
kal Tromavet avtovs ev paBdm odnpa);
and the ancient interpreters lay the
chief stress on this wider sense, cf.
e.g. Primasius: “Christus in singulis
membris dicitur nasci” and Bede,
quoted above, p. 148 b. But it
seems better in this place to limit
the words to our Lord Himself, re-
garded as the offspring of the O.T.
Church; the faithful (v7 17) are oi
Nourol rod aoréppyaros auras.
kal npracOn TO Téxvoy avtijs mpos Tov
Oedv xr.| The Seer foreshortens the
Gospel history; for his present pur-
pose the years between the Nativity
and the Ascension are non-existent,
and even the Passion finds no place
in his summary. It is enough to
point out that the Dragon’s vigilance
was futile; he failed to destroy the
Woman’s Son, and his failure was
manifested by the Ascension. Inter-
preters who understand the whole
passage in reference to the Church
think here of the conglorification of
the members with the Head; eg.
Primasius: “licet in capite Christo
praecesserit...congruit tamen et cor-
pori. hine sunt illae voces Apostoli,
qui nos resuscitavit et consedere fecit
in caelestibus.”
With nprac bn (Vg. raptus est, A.V.,
R.Y., “was caught up”) compare Acts
Vili. 39 mvedpa Kupiov npmacev tov
®idurroyv, 2 Cor. xii. 2, 4 apmayévra...
” , Koos at) ees he ani
€WS TPLTOUV OUPaVOU...npTayn €ls TOV Tra-
padevoov, I Th. iv. 17 apraynoopeba ev
vepedas. Here, if our interpretation
is correct, it answers to dveAnudén in
4 Regn. ii. 11, Acts i. 2, 11, 22, 1 Tim.
iii. 16, representing the Ascension as
a ‘rapture’—a graphic and true, if
not exhaustive description. Ipos in-
dicates the direction or goal, which
was (1) God Himself (cf. Jo. xx. 17
avaBaivw mpos Tov Tatépa pov...Kat
Gedy pov), and (2) God’s Throne. The
Ascension involves the Session of the
Sacred Humanity at the Right Hand
of the Father (see ‘Me.’ xvi. 19, Eph.
i. 20, Heb. i. 3, Apoc. iii. 21), and not
merely an elevation of spirit into the
Divine Presence, which was never
wanting to the Divine Son of Man.
6. Kkal1 yun epuyev eis THY Epnuor
xtA.] The Mother of Christ, the
Church (which has now become the
larger Israel, the Christjan Society),
does not at once share the rapture
of her Son, but is put beyond the
reach of the Dragon’s rage, so that
his efforts to destroy are as unayail-
ing in her case as in that of the Lord.
A place of safety has been provided
for her in the wilderness, and thither
she flees after the Ascension. The
Seer may have in his thoughts either
the wanderings of Israel in the wilder-
ness of Sinai (Deut. viii. 2ff.), or
Elijah’s two withdrawals from Ahab
and Jezebel (1 Kings xvii. 2f., xix.
152
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XII. 6
/ ¢ / > \ > io e/ > a /
TOTOV iTOlMacpEVvoY aro Tou Deou, iva exet TpEpwoty
/ et /
7 auTny HMepas yirlas Suakocias éEnkovTa.
uf \ > /
Kal €ye-
6 azo] vro Q minPa% Meth Ar | om exes 2° 130 186 syr8” | rpepovow AC 36 186
(exrpepovaty 30 98) tpepwow AP 1 al™™ Hipp Meth exrpepwow Q alP'42 Ar pasceret bh |
diaxootas] oxrakoo.as 130 | e&nxovra]+ mevre R°°* arm eveyvnkovTa Me
3f.), or the flight of many devout Jews
from Antiochus (1 Mace. li. 29 kareé-
Bnoav rodXot Cntovvres Sixarcoovyny Kat
kpiwa eis Thy épnuov), or the flight of
Mary and Joseph with the Child into
Egypt (Mt. ii. 13). But the event
immediately in view is doubtless the
escape of the Church of Jerusalem to
Pella, alluded to in Me. xiii. 14 of év
Tn ‘lovdaia hevyerwaay eis ra dpn (ef.
Hus. HE. ili. 5). In the wider sense
the ¢pnuos, as Primasius says, is the
“solitudo huius vitae...in qua...ut
passer singularis [Ps. cii. 7] vivit
ecclesia” ; and the figure is suggested
either by the rocky wastes of the
Sinaitic peninsula, or more probably
by the “wide wild country of rolling
hills and hollows” (Benson, Apoca-
lypse, p. 32) which lay to the south
of Jerusalem, or the high lands to
the east of it on the further side
of Jordan. Of this country the most
striking feature is the absence of
human habitations, and the mention
of it suggests what was after all the
heaviest trial of the Christian life
in early times, the loneliness expe-
rienced by those who had cut them-
selves off from the sympathy of their
neighbours and even of their nearest
relatives. On the Lord’s Day the
brethren met for fellowship, but for
the rest of the week the majority of
them stood alone—in the world, but
not of it. Yet in this solitude of her
life the Church has a place of safety
and repose prepared for her by God;
for this use of éroudgew see Mt. xx. 23,
XXV. 34, 41, Le. ii. 31, 1 Cor. ii. 9, Heb.
xi. 16, Apoe. ix. 15, and for érouudtecy
tomov cf. 1 Chron. xv. 3, Jo. xiv. 2f.
What is meant by this roros jrowwac-
pevos may be gathered from Ps. xxx.
(XXXL) 21 kataxpiwWeis avtots év dro-
Kpupeo Tou mpoowrov gov, ef. Col. iii. 3
7 gon U“@Y KékpuTTaL cUV T@ XploT@ év
TO Oe. Fellowship with the Father
and the Son in the Spirit (1 Jo. i. 3,
2 Cor. xiii. 13) is at once the Church’s
consolation and her safeguard.
For drov...ckei= OY WS see Blass,
Gr. p. 175. “Iva éexet tpéhoow avrny
xt. The reference to Elijah is here
apparent, cf. 3 Regn. xvii. 4 rots
Kopaki evreAotpat dtarpehew oe exel,
ib. xix. 5, 7; though the subject of
tpépooiy is purposely left undefined.
But the daily supply of manna during
the Wanderings in the desert of Sinai
may also be in view, as Bede supposes :
“instar Israeliticae plebis, quae pane
caelesti pasta [est] in eremo.” The
provision made for the Church in the
wilderness of life is the spiritual food
of the word of God (Mt. iv. 4) and the
Flesh and Blood of the Lord (Jo. vi.
48 ff.). The supply lasts for 1260 days,
or (vy. 14) “a season, seasons, and a
half,” = 3 years; see Dan. vii. 25,
and ¢. xi. 2, note; ie. to the end of
the age of persecution, and beyond it,
to the end of the present order, or, as
Primasius well says, “omnia Christ-
ianitatis tempora.” Thus the story of
the Woman in the wilderness synchro-
nizes with the prophesying of the Two
Witnesses (xi. 3); in fact the Woman
and the Witnesses symbolize the
one Catholic Church under different
aspects.
The whole of this verse is anticipa-
tory, and the symbolism is repeated in
v. 12 f., where see notes.
7. Kal eyévero TOES ev TO Ovpara |
Another tableau, not a onpeiov (ve.
i, 3), but consequent upon the two
onpeia Which precede it. The birth
and rapture of the Woman’s Son
XII. 8]
veToO ToNEuos EV TW OUpavw, O
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 15
1os)
Miyanr Kal ol
of -~ -~ o \ ~ /
ayyeXo. avTov Tov ToNEMNOaL PETA TOU OpakovTos.
\ ¢ / > / \ e ? , -
Kal 6 dpaxwy émo\eunoev Kat ol ayyedot avToU,
8
\ 5) f 29 \ eee 4 > > of >
K@L OVK loxUceEY, ovoe TOTos evpeOn auT@Y ETL EV &
7 o Te Mcxand A syr | Tov odewnoac] om Tou RQ 1 6 7 8 14 130 al® praeliabantur
Vg moNeuwouvres syr8" | wera] xara 1 gy al” adversus Ambrst
8 wyuce A
min?'439 me aeth]icxyvcay RCP 1 28 36 79 al™ vg syrr arm Hier anon*’ Vict Prim
Ar irxvov Q 14+ mpos avrov & (me) | ovde] ovre P 1 36 al | avrwv] auras RK 17 36
syré” Hier (eis) avrw 6 7 8 (29) 130 alP'45° me aeth™4 | om ers R** 7 28 79 arm Hier
issue in a war which invades the
eroupava ; for the conception cf. Yal-
kut Rub. f. 87. 2 (on Ex. xiv. 7): “bel-
lum fecit grave in caelo.” It is im-
possible to admit with Andreas that
the original rebellion of Satan is
intended, though Papias whom he
quotes seems to have understood the
passage so. Still less can we accept
the interpretation of €v r@ ovpave
proposed by several of the Latin
commentators, eg. Bede: “caelum
ecclesiam significat”—a view which
throws the symbolism into hopeless
confusion. The Seer sees an assault
directed by the powers of evil against
the Exalted Christ. As the Incar-
nation called forth a counter-mani-
festation of diabolic power on earth
Periens, be. XXU, 3,31, Jo. xii. 31,
xiv. 30, xvi. 11), so after the Ascension
the attack is supposed to be carried
into Heaven.
Battles in the sky, suggested no
doubt by the threatening phalanxes
of clouds which forebode a storm, are
familiar to the later Jewish writers
(e.g. 2 Mace. v. 2f. cvvéBn.. saa
da TOV dépeav Tpéxovras immeis. as
mpooBodas ywopévas, Orac. Sibyl. j iii.
805 ev vepeAdn & derOe payny relav
Te kal immewv). But in St John’s vision
here the rodeos €v r@ ovpara is not, as
in v. I, a mere spectacle in the upper
air. The words hint at nothing less
than a supreme attempt on the part
of the Dragon to unseat the Woman’s
Son, and to re-establish himself in the
Presence of God.
6 Mcyand Kai of ayyedou avtov Tov
modepnoa kTA.| It is awar of Angels,
in which one angelic host is led by
the Archangel Michael, and the other
by the Dragon. According to Daniel
(x. 13, ef. Jude 9 6 apxayyedos, and
see note on c. viii. 2) Michael is ‘one
of the chief princes,’ and champion of
the Jewish people (Dan. x. 21, xii. 1);
and consistently with this position
he now leads the armies of Heaven
against the adversary of the Woman’s
Son. The construction is one of un-
usual difficulty; the inf. rot modeunoa
seems to require some such yerb as
e&m\Oov or avéeotnoay (ef. v. 2, note
on Bao. texeiv). But it is simpler
to repeat éyévero before 6 Mcyanr:
‘there arose war in heaven; [there
arose] Michael...to make war.’ Blass’s
rendering (Gr. p. 236) ‘it happened
that there fought’ (=éyévero rov
ToAeujoa. tov M.) involves an un-
necessary solecism ; Viteau’s explana-
tion (Etudes, i. p. 168) is better, but
the plural (joay, or éyévovro) is not
required. Alford supposes a fusion
of two sentences (€yévero tov Tov M.
kal Tos ayyéAovs avrov ToAepjoat,
and 6 M. kat oi dyyeXoe avrov éroheun-
cav), but the construction suggested
above is simpler. For soXeueiv pera
see li. 16, note.
kai 6 Spaxwy érodeunoev xtr.] The
Dragon also claims the rank of Arch-
angel, and has angels under his com-
mand ; cf. Mt. xxv. 41 rd diaBdrA@ Kai
Tols ayyeAos avrov.
8. Kal odx loyvoer, ovdé Toros KTX.]
WOODSTOCK COLL.
154
Q TW OVNAVW.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIL. 8
%xal €BAnOn 6 Spakwy 6 MEeyas, 0 Odis
p peyas,
> ~ ¢ 7 / \ ~
0 apyatos, 0 KaNoupevos AtaBoros Kal 6 caTavas,
c oo \ > / e/
0 mXNavwv THY OlKOUMEVnVY OANY:
EBAnOn Els THY
~ \ ¢€ aS > -~ > 5) lo > 10
ynv, Kal ol ayyeNot avToU pet avTou éEBANnOncar.
10 WW. pay/ \ / ’ > 5) ~ ,
10 °Kal nkovca cwvnv peyadny ev TW Ovpavw Eeyoumay
9 0 ofits] om o& x Primv'4 | d:aBoros] Beelzebul arm | om xa 2°& me | o caravas}
om o Q min®re49 Ar | €8X76n 2°] pr Kae syr®” | es] vo? me om per avrov I 186 | om
eBAnOnoav 26 28 49 79 anon*s Hier
anon*s
The Dragon’s supreme effort was not
only a failure, but it resulted in his
final expulsion from heaven. ”Eru
seems to imply that up to this moment-
Satan’s claims had not been finally
disallowed; compare Job i. 6 7A Gov oi
ayyeXor Tov Oeov, kai 6 SuaBoXos HArAOev
per avtov, where he still takes his
place in the council-chamber of God.
The O.T. phrase romos ovy evpebn
(Dan. ii. 35 Th., cf. Zech. x. 10, Heb.)
occurs again inc. Xx. 11; on evpicxer Oat
in this sense see WM. p. 769 f.
g. Kat €8nOn 6 Spaxoy 6 peyas...eis
my ynv| Of. Sohar Gen. f. 27. 107
“proiecit Deus Sammaelem et cater-
vam eius e loco sanctitatis ipsorum.”
A similar vision was present to the
mind of our Lord, when the Seventy
reported to him their successes ;
Le. x. 18 ¢Oedpour tov catavay as
dotpamny é€k TOU ovpavov TecorTa;
cf. Jo. xii. 31 viv 6 dpxwv Tov Koopou
Tovtou exBAnOnoera €&w. It is vain to
attempt to grasp the nature of the
spiritual fact which these visions
symbolize, so far as it belongs to the
celestial order. But the extraordi-
nary progress of the Gospel and the
Church during the first three decades
and a half that followed the Ascension
may well be the earthly counterpart
of Satan’s fall, while the outbreak of
persecution in 4.D. 64 shewed that the
earth was still to be the field of his
activities ; see 0. 13 note.
‘O péyas looks back to v. 3 idod
dpakwv peyas truppos. ‘O dds 6 apyxaios,
serpens antiquus, the Primaeyal
10 nkovgav gs | ex Tov ovpayov g5 arm!
Serpent (so Tanchuma, f. 50. 2
sMDOIpA wn, Debarim Rabba, f.
23. 3 wWNIN wn; cf. Syr.s"- ad loc.
xs4=7 dpy7, and for this use of
dpyaios see Acts xv. 7, 21, xxi. 16),
identifies the Dragon with the serpent
of Gen. iii. 1 ff, while o xadovpevos
AvaBoxXos kal 6 caravas declares him to
be the person so named in the later
books of the O.T. and in Jewish litera-
ture. For (6) dua8oA0s as a personal
name=j0Y see Job i. 6f., Zech. iii. 1,
Sap. ii. 24; though caray occurs in
the sense of ‘an adversary’ in 3 Regn.
xi. 14, 23, Saray or 6 oatavas (80
written €AAnvik@repov, as Origen says
(c. Cels. vi. 44)), is scarcely found in
the xx. (ef., however, Job ii. 3 A, and
Sir. xxi. 27), but the name had become
familiar to the later Jews, and is used
in the latter form in the Gospels (14),
Acts (2), Pauline Epistles (io), and
Apocalypse (8). ‘O mAavav thy oikov-
pevny oAdnv: cf. xx. 3, 7. The earth
was no new sphere of Satan’s working:
see Job i. 7 mepteAOdv thy ynv Kal
eumrepimatnoas THY UT ovpavoy mapeLpt.
But he was henceforth to be limited
to it, until the time came for him to
fall yet lower.
10, kal jjkovca havny peyadny ev
T@ ovpave héyovoav] Of. y. II, X. 4,
xl. 12, xiv. 2, 13, xviii. 4. No intima-
tion is given as to the source from
which the voice proceeds, but as rév
adedgdav nuoyv seems to exclude both
the Angels and the (@a—Bede’s
“congratulantur angeli saluti fratrum
suorum” cannot be maintained in
XII. 11]
/ ’ / c / \ c /
"Apte EVEVETO 4) TWTNPLaA Kal H Ouvapus Kal
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 155
\ ¢
/ rc lal rf al \ © > / ~
Bacireia Tov Oeov juav Kal 7 éEovoia Tov
XpirTou avTou, ort €3ANOn o KaTnywp TwV
> - c ca - > \ > /
adedpav NMO@Y, O KaTHYOpWY avTOUS EvwTTLOY
~ ~ -~ /
Tov Yeov nudy rnucpas Kal vUKTOS.
II \ > \
Kal aAUTOL Ji di
10 gwrnpia K. duvauuis kK. gwrnpta (sic) 130 | Tov 6. nuwv] det nostri deih | om xa
m €&. Tov XpioTov avTov syr®* om Tov xpicrov arm | xpicrov] Kupiov C | €8dnOn] Kare-
BAnon 1 49 alPrevid | Karnywp A] Karnyopos NCPQ alo™ vid Or Andr Ar | om ray
adehouy nuwy syrs* | avrovs AP 1 28 36 79] avrwy RCQ al?! | om quwy ult 1 14 28 79
go 92 98 me arm! aeth
view of the usage of the Book—we
are led to attribute it to one of the
Elders, who represent the Church.
apre éyevero 1) gwtnpia KrA.] Com-
pare the outbreak of voices at the
sounding of the Seventh Trumpet (xi.
15); for 1 owrnpia see vii. 10 note,
xix. I. “H Baoweia is not qualified
by rod xoopov as in xi. 15; it is
sovereignty, empire in the abstract,
which is here in view. This is attri-
buted to ‘our God,’i.e. the Father; to
the Son as His anointed (rod ypicrod
avrov =I), Ps. ii, 2) belongs 7
efovcia, the authority which He exer-
cises by the Father’s gift (Ps. ii. 8,
Mt. xxviii. 18, Jo. xvii. 2).
The downfall of Satan manifests
afresh (é€yevero) the saving and sove-
reign power of God, and its active
exercise bythe exalted Christ. The vic-
tory is not Michael’s, but the Lord’s.
drt €BAynOn 6 KatHywp xrdr.| The
O.T. representation of Satan as the
accuser of Job (Job i. 9) suggests that
the Dragon similarly attacks the faith-
ful under the New Covenant. There
is perhaps a reference to the zeal
of the delatores (cf. Juv. i. 33 with
Mayor's notes), who abounded in
Domitian’s time, and were busy with
their diabolical attacks on the Asian
Christians. But the epithet must
not be limited to one department
of Satan’s work; in Renan’s words
(?Antechrist, p. 408), he is the “cri-
tique malveillant de la création”—the
Ir auto] ovra &
cynical libeller of all that God has
made, but especially of His new crea-
tion, the Christian Church. ’Evamiov
tov Oeovd nyuov follows the lines of
Job i. 6, while nuépas Kat vuxros (cf. c.
iv. 8) indicates the sleepless vigilance
of evil when it seeks occasion against
the good (1 Pet. v. 8).
The form xar7ywp, though preserved
only by cod. A, is probably right; a
transliteration of the Aramaic )3°Op
(Dalman, Gr. p. 147), it was perhaps
preferred to the usual Greek xarnyo-
pos (Acts xxiii. 30, 35; xxv. 16, 18) on
account of its associations. (See, how-
ever, Deissmann, Light from the East,
p. 90f.) In Rabbinical writings Satan
or Sammael is the accuser of Israel,
while Michael appears as its advocate
(23D, cvynyopos); cf. Shemoth Rabba,
f. 121.2: “eo tempore quo Israelitae ex
Aegypto egressi sunt, stetit Sammael
angelusad accusandum ( ps) eos”; ib.
129.2: “si homo praecepta observat...
tuncSatanstatetaccusat eum ()7Op);
sed advocati quoque ipsius stant iuxta
ipsum”; Vayyikra Rabba f. 164. 3
“omnibus diebus anni Satanas homi-
nes accusat, sola die expiationis ex-
cepta.” Shemoth Rabba f. 117. 3:
“R. Jose dixit, Michael et Sammael
similes sunt ouvvmyop@ et Katnydpo
(13°) 129905 Dy)... Satanas accu-
sat, Michael vero merita Israelitarum
proponit.”
II. xal avrol éevicnoay avrov dia rd
aiua xtd.] The victory of the martyrs
156
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIL. 11
, yd aN \ \ G - , \ \
EVIKNO AV auUTOV ola TO Alia TOU apvtou Kal o.a
\ / ~ / A \ M
Tov Noyov THS mapTUpLas aUVTWY, Kal OUK HYa-
\ -~ of /
I2. wnoav THY Wuxynv avtov axpt Oavarov.
72 Sa
-~ > / 5) \ \ e ’ , ~
TOUTO evppaived Ge, Ouvpavol Kal Ol €VY QAUTOLS
II To atua] Tov auaros 14 3670 ovoua 28 79 | Tov Noyor THs wapTupas] THY Map-
tupiay CO sanguinem testimonii me | avtwy 1°] avrov 43 47 87 arm | ryy Wuxnv] Tas
puxas 35 87 arm
95 186 al
marks the failure of Satan’s endea-
yours. 7“Eviknoey is said of Christ
Himself (v. 5, cf. iii. 21, and see Jo.
xvi. 33); the normal condition of
His members is progressive conquest
(ii. 11, etc, and even xv. 2). But
the martyrs’ fight is over, and they
are already victors, though their
triumph is not yet. The Blood of the
Lamb is here as in vii. 14 (where see
note) the Sacrifice of the Cross, which
is regarded as the primary cause (é:a,
propter, cf. WM. p. 498) of the
martyrs’ victory; His conquest of
Satan rendered conquest possible for
them (cf. Le. xi. 21 f, Heb. 11. 18),
while the loosing of sins which it
effected (Apoc. i. 5) silences Satan’s
accusing voice. Thus the Lamb is
the true curryopos of the new Israel,
its mapakAntos mpos Tov marepa (1 JO.
ii. 1). His Blood speaks of accept-
ance and not, as Abel’s, of wrath
(Heb. xii. 24). Yet the Sacrifice of
the Death of Christ does not spell
victory except for those who suffer
with Him (Rom. viii. 17, 2 Tim. ii.
1r f.). Thus a secondary cause of
the martyrs’ victory is found in their
personal labour and self-sacrifice ;
they overcame 61a tov Aoyor ths pap-
tuplas avrov (cf. vi. 9, xi. 7, Xx. 4), Le.
because of their testimony to Jesus
(ii. 13, note) and their indifference to
life itself in comparison with loyalty to
Him. Kai ovk ryarnoay states the ex-
tent of this victory; for Christ’s sake
they overcame the natural love of life.
There is here a clear reference to the
Master's teaching in Jo. xii. 25 6 @udav
THY uxny avrov amohAver adTny, Kal 6
T2 om dua Touro 130 | ovpavor] pr o A 1 28 30** 36 47 49 79 QI
pucay THY Wuyny avTov ev TO Koop@
rout@ eis Conv alavov pudager avrqy ;
other sayings of the same type occur in
the Synoptic Gospels (Mt. x. 39, xvi.
25, Me. viii. 35 f., Le. ix 24 vuige):
Compare St Paul’s response in Acts
XX. 24: ovdevos Aoyouv moLodtpat Thy
Wuxi Tiniay €uauvr@ krh., and see also
Acts xxi. 13, Phil. i. 20 ff On Wuyy
see Me. viii. 35, note, and for ovk
nyarnoav thy W. avrav cf. M. Anto-
ninus vil. 46 od diiowuynréov. "Aype
@avdrov is elliptical: ‘their non-at-
tachment to life was carried to the
extent cf being ready to die for their
faith’; cf. Phil. ii, 8 vmjxoos pexpe
Gavarov, ‘obedient to the extent of
surrendering life.” On dypi, péxpt, see
c. ii. Io, note. On the whole verse
Bede well remarks: “merito animas
pro Christo contemnunt, qui per san-
guinem Christi tantum vicerunt ad-
versarium.”
This reference to the martyrs is
proleptic in the present context, for
the fall of Satan precedes the age of
persecution. But the age of persecu-
tion and the victory of the martyrs,
which had begun some time before
the Apocalypse was written (ii. 13),
were consequent upon the expulsion
of Satan from heaven, and are there-
fore anticipated in this acclamation of
the Divine victory.
12. Sua tovto evppaiverbe, ovpavol
ktA.] The heavens (oi ovpavoi, here
only in Apoc.; cf. Dan. iii. 59 evAoyetre,
ovpavoi, Tov Kvpiov) and their inhabit-
ants might well keep high festival (cf.
xi. 10, note, xviii. 20, for this sense of
evppaivecOa). Earth had cause to
XII. 13]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN I
uw
N
- , \ \ ~ \ \ /
OKNVOUYTES’ OVal THY YNnV Kal THV Oartacoav,
J \ - oS \
btt KaTéBy 6 OiaoAos pos Vuas, Eywy Bupuov
/ ? \ J » / \ od
méeyav, Eldws OTL ONiyOV KalpoV EXEL.
Kal Ste eldev 6 Opakwy OTL €BANON Eis THY YHV, 13
Pp yny;
12 oxnvouvres] karagxnvouvtes C xaroixowwres & 26 29 30 31 98 | THY yqv (es T. ¥.
Sr. ayarny A) xac tnv Oadaccay] rn yn Kat TH Oadacon Q min* Ar ros KaroKouc:
THY ynv Kat Thy Oadacocay 1 Andr°°™™ | vuas] avrous syr®¥ | om peyar &
13 e.dev
SACP min?'] cdev Q 7 14 92 130 | ore EBANOn o Spaxwy Re-*
mourn, since it was henceforth the
only field of his baleful energies.
Sknvovvres here and in xiii. 6 seems to
be equivalent to karoccotyres, and
not to indicate brief or temporary
residence, as in 2 Cor. y. I, where
oikia Tov oxnvovs is opposed to
olkia aiwmos. Perhaps xarocxeiy is
avoided because elsewhere in the
Apocalypse it is used in reference to
the pagan world (c. iii., note); and in
oxnvovy there may be a reference to
the Divine tabernacling of which
mention is made in vii. 15 and xxi. 3.
As God ‘tabernacles’ in Heaven ‘with’
or ‘over’ its inhabitants, so they are
said to tabernacle there with Him or
under His safe keeping. Earth and
Sea are probably not to be explained
allegorically (as by Andreas: rovs ra
yniva dpovodytas kai tH Badacon Tov
Biov cAvd@ropevovs), but literally, of
the world as the scene of Satan’s
future operations.
ort KaTeBn 6 SiaBoros mpos das KrX. |
The Dragon’s ignominious fall (€874n)
is euphemistically described as a
descent (xaré8y). It has not impaired
his strength, and he sets to work at
once with redoubled zeal, goaded by
his defeat (€yov Oupov péyar), and re-
solved to make the most of an oppor-
tunity which he now knows to be brief
(eiSas Gre GAiyov Kaipov éye). The
participial clauses are parallel to one
another, revealing the two motives
which actuate Satan since the As-
cension. With efS#s «rd. Primasius
acutely compares the cry of the
‘Legion’ in Mt. viii. 30 fAGes SSe mpd
katpov Bacavioa nuas; Cf. St Luke's
comment (vill. 32): mapexa\ouy avrov
iva py émeraén avrois eis Thy a3vacov
aredOeiv. Earth is still the sphere of
devilry in all its forms, but the abyss
is its ultimate destination. ’OXiyor is
relative, like the ray’ which accom-
panies announcements of the Parousia.
In vv. 6, 14, the same interval of time
is represented as 3} years.
13. Kal ore eidev 6 Spdxwy sri
€BAn6n rr.) The narrative of v. 9 is
now resumed. The Dragon is too
shrewd to ignore the fact that his
expulsion from Heaven is final and
irretrievable. But he recognizes also
that his position on the earth offers
fresh opportunities. If he cannot
directly attack the Woman’s Son, he
can hurt the Son through the Mother
(cf. Mt. xxv. 45, Acts ix. 4). So he
goes in pursuit of the Woman, who is
identified with (771s, acc. to Blass,
Gr. p. 173, here nearly=7) the
Mother of the man-child: see note
on %. 2. "Ediwfev, while bearing its
original sense ‘pursue’ (cf. Rom. ix.
30 f,, xii. 13, Phil. iii. 12, 14), implies
hostile pursuit, as in Mt. x. 23, xviii.
34, Acts xxvi. 11, and thus approaches
to the technical ‘persecute’ which is
the prevalent meaning of diwxew in
the N. T. (Mt. v. 10 ff, 44, Acts vii. 52,
ix. 4f,, Rom. xii. 14, 1 Cor. xv. 9, Phil.
iii. 6). The historical moment in the
Seer’s mind is doubtless the dark day
in A.D. 64 when Nero began the policy
of persecution. From that time the
Empire as such was more or less hostile
to the Church, and in this hostility
the Seer sees the hand of the great
Adversary.
158 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN (XII. 13
Paws \ ~ e/ »/ \ / 14 \
I4 edlwEEeV THhV YuVaika NTIS ETEKEY TOY apoeEva. Kal
29 / = \ € / i, ~ a los
€000no av TH YVVALKL al ovo WTEOUYES TOU aeTOU TOU
‘
/ 7 / > Nears! > \ /
Meyarou, CVO DVT TAN CEN ECS TngyV. E€Pn ov Els TOY TOTTOV
Ps / , a \ \ \ \
avUTNS, OTOU TpEPETal EKEL KalpOV Kal Kalpous Kal
of oo > \ / on 1Y/ 15 Ye od
15 ijpuov Kapou a0 TpoTwrou TOU Opews. “Kat EBarev
13 edtwkev 130 | appeva (Q) min?! Hipp Andr Ar 14 €000y &°-* syrs” arm | ae
dvo] om at NQ min?! syré* Hipp Ar | rov aerov] om 7ov & arm | merarae Q*¥4 1 28 38
79 | om ets 1° 130 | Tov Torov] om Tov & | orov] wa 130 | tpepyrac Q min® Ar | om
Kat nuicv Karpov C
14. Kat €d60ncav ty yuvatki ai dvo
mrepvyes ktX.| *Aeros is probably here
as in Mt. xxiv. 28, and elsewhere in
this book, not the true eagle but the
griffon (Ww , gyps fuleus), a great
bird of the vulture type which abounds
in Palestine (Znc. Bibl, 1145); for
Tov peyadou cf. Ez. xvii. 3 deris o
peyas 0 peyadonrepos, o pakpos TH
exraget. Ai dvo0 mrépvyes is pressed
into the interpretation by Hippolytus
(ed. Lag. p. 32: rovr’ éoriy "Incov Xpr-
OTOU...0s exTeivas Tas aylas Xeipas ev
ayia €Uk@ jrdooe dv0 mrépvyas: he
adds a reference to Mt. xxiii. 37, Mal.
iv. 2), Victorinus (“duo sunt prophe-
tae”), and Primasius (“duobus utitur
testamentis”), but perhaps unneces-
sarily. The figure as a whole is based
on Exod. xix. 4 avéAaBov tpas ooel em
mrepvyov derov, and Deut. xxxii. 11
@s deros...duels Tas mrépuyas avrov
edéEato avrovs [sc. Kupsos]; a still
nearer parallel is Isa. xl. 31 mrepo-
dunoovow ws derol, where the prophet
transfers the eagle’s wings to the men
who are endowed with Divine strength.
For €d00noav see cc. Vili. 2, ix. I, 3.
The escape of the Woman (e. 6) is
now explained; even the Dragon is
no match for God-given powers. Meér-
ecOa: is used of the eagle’s flight in
iv. 7, vill. 13; cf. Job ix. 26 derod
merolevov (ntovvtos Bopay, Proy. xxiv.
54 (Xxx. 19) tyyn derov meropevov. For
eis THY €pnuov KTA. see v. 6, notes; a
comparison of the two verses shews
that rov rémov adtns=rov Tt. Tov nrot-
pacpévoy ait amv rou beov, and that
the 1260 days and the ‘season, seasons,
and a half’ are strictly convertible
expressions; see xi. 2f, note. On
the meaning of the time limit here
see Hippolytus (ed. Lag. p. 32): atrat
ciow ai yidrae diaxdorat €EnkovTa...as
Kpatnoet TUpavvos Si@k@v THY EkKANT lay
evyovoay amo médews els TOAW Kal EV
epnula kpuTTopéevny ev Tois Oper.
To some extent the solitary life is a
necessity imposed upon Christians by
their religion: to the end of the
present order the Church dwells in
the wilderness, and is a vow clamantis
in deserto. But as an historical fact
the withdrawal into the wilderness
began with the outbreak of persecu-
tion. The Church was constrained to
meet the policy of persecution by a
policy of secrecy ; she began to guard
the mysteries from the sight of the
heathen, to withhold the Creed and
the Lord’s Prayer from catechumens
till the eve of baptism, to abstain
from public amusements and from
society, to substitute loyalty to the
Christian brotherhood for an exclusive
patriotism ; cf. the interesting passage
in Ep. ad Diogn. v. 4, 5 mapado€ov
evdelkvUvTal TY KaTaTTaGW THs éavT@V
moAtreias* Tatpidas oixovow idias, GAN
@s Tapo.kol...zaca Syn marpis eotiw
avT@v, kal raca marpis E€vn.
"Amd mpoowmou Tov dpews = IBD
wan, cf. Jud. ix. 21 Okynoev eet amd
mpooamov ABe pede (“S *251D).
15. Kat €Badrey 6 ddus €x Tov ord-
XII. 16]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
159
af 5) > / > - eee ed - ‘
0 ois EK TOV TTOMATOS aUTOU OTITW THS YyuVaKOS
/ e / e/ > \ / /
@
vdwp S TOTaMOY, Va avTYHVY TOTAaMO:opHTOY OMe).
\ / c ~ q ’ ~
at €BonOnoev yn TH yuvatKl, Kal ivoueev ¥ yi TO 16
‘
15 aurnv] tavrny P 1 7 al | om wa...romon me ut eam perderet Prim
16 om
€Bondn. n yn TH yuv. me | om 7 yn 2° 34 35 40 41 42 al” arm anon™s
paros avrov xrv.| The Serpent—
dpaxwy is dropt here and in ov. 14; the
mind of the Seer glancing back at
the ddis 6 apxaios of v. g—unable to
follow the Woman in her flight, seeks
to intercept it by a flood of waters
which he pours out from his mouth
(contrast i. 16, ii. 16, xix. 15 ff.). The
thought of the godly wrestling with a
flood of eyil is familiar to the Psalmists
(Ps. xvii. (xviii) 5) yeluwappot dvopias
eferapaéay pe, XXXi. (XXxii.) 6 ev kata-
kAvop@ vddrwy ro\AGy mpos avrov ovK
é€yywovow, Cxxili. (cxxiy.) 4 f. rd ddap
KaTerovtTicev mpuas, xewappoy dundOev 7
Wx neev...ro Udwp TO avuTooraroy
(DAVID Dy2n), and the Prophets
(Isa. xlili. 2 éay diaBaivys d¢ védaros,
pera gov elt, kal trorapol ov cuyKdv-
govoiv oe); it may have been suggested
by the passage through the Red Sea
and the Jordan, or possibly by the
xefuappo. Of Palestinian wadys (ef.
Mt. vii. 27).
Ps. Cyprian (ad Novat. 14) inter-
prets the flood from the Dragon’s
mouth of the Decian edicts which led
to the fall of many of the faithful ;
Victorinus sees in it the passions of
the populace aroused against the
Church: “aqua...populum qui perse-
quatur eam significat,” cf. Primasius ;
“impetum persecutorum aqua signi-
ficat.” Andreas offers a choice of ex-
planations: rotr’ éeoriv, d0éwy dvdpar })
movnpay Sayover 7) Tokitwy TeipacpLay
TAN Gos.
The torrent let loose by the Ser-
pent is designed to sweep away the
Woman. Tloranodopyros is formed
regularly after the example of dvepo-
opyros, vSatodopnros (WM. p. 124);
for wor. woceiv Cf. npnuwpevny moceiv Kal
yuprny (xvii. 16)—the exact phrase is
used by Hesychius in his note on Z/.
Vi. 348 dwéepoev: rotayopopnroy éroi-
noev. The purpose which, consciously
or not, animated Imperial persecutors
was to destroy the Christian name.
The Seer discovers it already in the
work of Nero and Domitian; in the
edicts of Decius and Diocletian it was
openly avowed.
16, Kat €BoyjO@noev 1» yh TH yuvatki
xt\.] Instances were known in Asia
in which rivers or streams disappeared
into the bowels of the earth; thus
Herodotus had heard (vii. 30) that
the Lycus flowed underground near
Colossae, and the statement is con-
firmed by Strabo and Pliny (Ramsay,
Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, i.
p. 210 f.); at the present time the
Chrysorrhoas, which flows from the
hot springs of Hierapolis (cf. iii. 16,
note), is said to bury itself in the
plain between Hierapolis and Laodicea
(Ramsay, op. cit. ii. p. 86, note 2).
It is not easy to conjecture the exact
meaning of the symbol here. But the
general sense is clear: the Apoca-
lyptist foresees the failure of any
attempt, however virulent, to destroy
the Church (cf. Mt. xvi. 18). Help
would arise from unexpected quarters ;
the death of the persecuting Emperor,
followed by a change of policy on the
part of his successors, sudden revul-
sions of public feeling, or a fresh turn
of events diverting public attention
from the Church, would from time to
time check or frustrate Satan’s plans.
The phrase jockey «rd. is from
Num. xvi. 30 avoifaca 9 yf TO otdua
avrijs katariera avtovs; cf. Num. xxvi.
10, Deut. xi. 6, Ps. ev. (evi.) 17.
160
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XII 16
/ Ypres \ / \ \ e\ of
CTOMa QauUTHS Kal KATETLEVY TOV TOTAMUOV OV €BaNrev
€ if > =~ / 5 _
17 6 pakwy €K TOU TTOMATOS aUTOU.
Tkat w&oyicbn o
/ > \ = / \ lo - /
dpakwy ETL TH YUVALKL, Kat amnNOev romoat 7TONEMOV
\ a a Cr y ~~ - /
ueTa TWV NOLTWY TOU OTEPMATOS aVTHS, TWY THpOUV-
A \ lo ~ A> y \
TWY TAS e€vToAas TOU deou Kal EX OVTWY THV MapTuplav
18 “Inocov: *®
Wo 0 5) \ \ yA lo /
Kal €eoTaOn eri THv appov THs OaXacons.
16 OM Kat KaTeTLev...cTOMATOS aUTOU Syr | Tov ToTauoy ov] To vdwp o A arm? | efa-
dev] eveBarevy Q (14 92)
17 opy:cOn Q 7 36| om exe C Prim”? (mulieri) | rwv
Nowra] T. erthouray R 7. aywy Hipp om 130 | Iqoou] rov Inoov Q** 1 7 8 Iqoou
xpisrov vg"lelips4tol Prim tou deou N* Geou 98
18 estan NAC 87 g2 130 Vg syr
arm aeth"t anon®8] ecraéyv PQ 186 me syré¥ arm!’ Andr Ar
17. xai @pyiabn 6 Spaxwoy ent TH
yuvaixi xth.] The Dragon, enraged at
the escape of the Woman (for opyi-
¢ecOa emi with dat. see Gen. xl. 2,
Num. xxxi. 14; other constructions
are épy. emi with ace., 4 Regn. xix. 28,
Ps, Ixxiii. (Ixxiv.) 1, cv. (Vi) 405 opy.
eis (Deut. vii. 4) or ev (Jud. ii. 20, iii.
8, x. 7); épy. followed by dat. without
preposition (Num. xxv. 3, Mt. v. 22)),
seeks his revenge in other ways. If
he can neither unseat the Throned
Christ nor destroy the Church, yet
individual Christians may enjoy no
such immunity. In this hope he goes
off (ax7dOev) to make war on “the
rest of the Woman’s seed”—a clear
reference to Gen. iii. 15 €y@pav Once
ava pécov cov Kal ava péoov THs yu-
yaixs, Kal ava pecov Tov oméppatds
gov kal ava péecov tov oméppatos
ats. That believers are (1) brethren
of the Incarnate Son, and (2) children
of the Church, is taught elsewhere
in the N.T. (Rom. viii. 29 eis 76 etvac
attoy mpwtorokoy ev Troddois adeAots,
Gal. iv. 26 7 6€ dv@ “lepovoad\np...
éorivy pntnp nuov). From these two
conceptions, combined with that of
the Church as the Mother of Christ,
it follows that the Seed of the Woman
is not to be limited to the Messiah,
but embraces all who are Christ’s:
compare St Paul’s argument as to the
Seed of Abraham (Gal. iii. 18, 29 ro
oméeppart...os €atw Xprotos...ei dé vets
Xpicrov, dpa tov "ABpaaw oréppa ecreé).
On rovety 7oAepov pera see Xi. 7, Xiil.
7 SAX LQ;
T@Y THpovyT@Y Tas evToAds ToU Beou
xtA.] The younger sons of the Mother
of Christ are to be distinguished by
two notes; they keep the command-
ments of God (xiv. 12), and they bear
witness to Jesus (i. 9, Vi. 9, XiX. 10,
xx. 4). The O.T. note of piety takes
precedence, for the Apoc. comes from
a Christian Jew, whose mind is
steeped in the thought and language
of the older Covenant; but it does
not stand alone, for the writer sees
that obedience to the Law does not
constitute sonship without faith in
Christ. It is those who possess both
marks with whom the Devil is at
war; as Bede well points out: “man-
data Dei in fide Jesu Christi cus-
todire, hoe est pugnare cum diabolo,
et ipsum provocare in praelium.” On
Tnpeiv see i. 3, note.
18. kat eoradn emi THY Gppov THs
@axaoons| On his way to the war the
Dragon comes to a halt (éora6n, cf.
vili. 3) by the seashore (7 dupos ris
Oar., DY Sin is found from Gen. xxxii.
12 (13) onwards : yappos occurs only in
Sap. vii. 9). °Eoraény is an attractive
reading in view of the Seer’s circum-
stances ; nothing more natural for an
exile in Patmos than to stand gazing
out to sea, and in that position to
a. ¥
Kedadny arm
‘receive one of his great inspirations.
And, it may be added, nothing more
sy than for ectadH to lose its bar
-atan early stage in the transcription of
‘the book, and degenerate into écraén.
Nevertheless, the latter reading must
be accepted, in view of the over-
whelming support which it receives
from the best mss. (see app. crit.).
y Moreover it yields perhaps a more
elevant if a less obvious sense. The
picture of the Dragon halting on the
seashore to call up his terrible ally is
one of the highest interest, and forms a
real feature in the revelation, whereas
¢ordOnv is merely scenic. If éoradn
is read, the sentence clearly belongs
to ¢. xii. (R.V.); if eoradnv, it will
naturally stand as in A.V. at the be-
gint ng of c. xiii.
XII. 1—10.
BoM THE SHA.
‘I. kat eidoy ex rijs Oadacons 6n-
piov dvaBaivov xrr.| The Seer has
nticipated this vision in xi. 7 7d @npiov
rd dvaBaivoy ek ris a3iacov, where
note. The scene is suggested by
vu. 2 f., Th. eyo Aavind €Oecpour,
kal i8ob ot Téaoapes dive poe TOU ovpavod
mpooeBaddov els thv @adacoay Thy
peyadny (the Mediterranean), xai réo-
oepa Onpia peyada dvéBawev ek THs
Oaracons : cf. 4 Esdr, xi. 1 “ecce as-
cendebat de mari aquila.” The Sea
an apt symbol of the agitated sur-
e of unregenerate humanity (cf.
Ivii. 20), and especially of the
thing cauldron of national and
ocial life, out of which the great his-
orical movements of the world arise ;
f. Isa. xvii. 12 ovai wAnOos €Avar
\AGv: ads Gadacoa Kupaivouga, ovTws
0a) _ Apoe. xvii. 15 ra vdara
THe Wiip Beast
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
XM x edov SP min?! Andr Ar] cdov ACQ 7 14.92 | avrov 1°] aura &* 7
Btadnuara) a5. dexa & arm diad. recsepa me om dexa Prim | rats kepadars 130 THY
~
161
5 Cr Y f on
*Kal cidov €k THs Oaraaans Onpiov avafsatvoy, 1
BaF \ ‘ / ~
éyov Képata oéxa Kal Kepadas ErTa, Kal él Tov
a / , -~ oy / Ny xe Bi \ \
KepaTwy avTou déKa diadypata, Kal él Tas KE:adas
| dexa
a eldes...Aaol Kai OxAot elolw Kal Evy
kai ya@ooa. The Onpiov whicli rises
out of this troubled sea is, as in Dan.
Vii. 17, 23, some vast Empire, possess-
ing a strength which is used in the
interests of brute force. It is described
at length, still after the manner of
Daniel, but with independent details.
Like the Dragon, it has ten horns
and seven heads (cf. xii 3), but in
the case of the Beast it is the horns
which are crowned and not the heads.
The ‘ten horns’ come from Daniel’s
description of the Fourth Beast, in
the interpretation of which they are
explained as “ten kings” (Dan. vii.
24 Th. ra d€xa xépata avrod, déxa Bact-
Nets avaotnoovra, cf. Apoc. xvii. 12).
Daniel’s Fourth Beast is in all proba-
bility the Empire of Alexander, and
its horns either the Kings of Antioch
or the kingdoms of the Diadochi; see
Bevan, Daniel, p. 122 f., and Driver,
p. 98 f. The Seer has in view the great
persecuting Power of his own age,
the Empire of Rome; on its seven
heads and ten horns see c. xvii. 9, 12,
notes. An early interpretation, how-
ever, identified the Beast from the Sea
with Antichrist, e.g. Irenaeus (v. 28. 2),
who compares 2 Thess. ii. 10 ff.
kal emt tas Kepadas avrov dvduara
Braodnuias| His seven heads, if not
crowned, wore titles (or, if we prefer
the reading of NCP, a title), which
were of the nature of blasphemy (ef.
xvii. 3). What were the blasphemous
titles assumed by the Heads of the
Roman Empire in the first and second
centuries may be learnt from the
Imperial letters found by J. T. Wood
among the inscriptions of Ephesus ;
see e.g. Hicks, Ephesus, p. 150 [avro-
II
XIII.
162
> et) es /
2 avTou ovouata acdnuias.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIIL x
2 \ \ / ay oe
kat TO Onptov Oo eidov
“cy ef / \ e / > lon € a \
HV OMAOLOV Tapoanel, Kal Ol TOOES QAUTOU WS aPKOU, Kal
/ 5) os e / /
TO TOMA avTOU WS TTOMA HEOYTOS.
\ of
Kal EOWKEV
’ - ¢ / \ / 5) > \ \ lf
auTW O dpakwy THY OuvapLLy QAUTOU Kal TOV Opovoy
1 ovouata] ovoua SCP 1 28 79 95 al vg™demlps4tol me syrs¥ arm aeth Prim | om
Brac gnuas me 2 edov SCP al?! Andr Ar] cdov AQ 14 92 130] om nv 1 12 46
arm | apxrou 29 30** 47 87* go gI 92 94**
95 96 98 al Ar | om oroua 2° 38 130 syr8¥
arm! aeth | \eovrwy 8 14 92 syrr Vict | o dpaxwy] om oS
kpatwp]| Kaicap Oe00 Tpaiavod TlapO:-
kov vios | [Oe00 Nepova vliwvos, Tpai-
avos “Adpiavis SeBaoros; tb. p. 154
avto|kpatwp Kaicap Oeov *Ad|piavod |
vids, Oe[ 00 Tpaiavod Hapbtkod viwr los, |
Be0v Neplova exyovos, Tiros Atdtos
’Adptlavos | "Avt@vivos SeBacros. How
fully this language was reciprocated
by the cities of Asia appears from
other inscriptions which — record
honours decreed to the Emperor,
e.g. Hicks, p. 162 [avd|roxpdarope 0€@
Kaicapt; tb. p. 169 Oeots SeBacrots.
No Christian, none at least of Jewish
origin, could have read such inscrip-
tions day after day without a shock
to his inbred monotheism. The use
of Divine titles was a BXaodnpia rpos
tov Oedv (v. 6), and the very note of
Antichrist ; cf. 2 Thess. ii. 4 ff. Even
apart from direct blasphemy, the
pretensions of Rome were offensive
to men who believed in the sove-
reignty of God; ef. Renan, ?Ante-
christ, p. 413, “la grandeur, Yorgueil
de Rome, Vimperiwm quwelle se dé-
cerne, sa divinité, objet d'un culte
spécial et public, sont un blasphéme
perpétuel contre Dieu, seul souverain
réel dumonde.” See the Introduction
to this commentary, p. 1xxxvi ff.
2. Kai To Onpiov 6 etdov Hv Gporov
mapdadet xtr.| Daniel’s first Beast
was woel éawa, his second dépocoy
apxo, his third woe rapdadis. The
Seer’s Beast combines these features ;
whatever the Babylonian, Median and
Persian Empires had of strength and
brutality, was present in their latest
successor, the Empire of Rome, as it
was seen under Nero and Domitian.
In the Seer’s eyes Rome had the dis-
position of the leopard—the agility,
the cat-like vigilance and craft, the
fierce cruelty of that too familiar in-
habitant of Palestine and the further
Kast (Sir. xxviii. 23 (27) os mapdahis
Aupaveirar avtovs, Hos. xiii. 7 €oopac
avrois ws mapdaXis...kaTa THY OOov “Ag-
aupiov, Hab. i. 8 e€adodyra: rep rap-
dadews, Jer. Vv. 6 1. eypnyopnoe emi Tas
moves avrayv); the feet of the bear
(apkos rather than dpxros, see W.Schm.,
p. 65, Blass, Gz. p. 24), with their slow
strength and power to crush (on the
bear in Palestine see 1 Regn. xvii. 34,
4 Regn. ii. 24, Amos v. 19), and the
roar of the lion (also in ancient
times a Palestinian beast, haunting
the Jordan valley (Jer. xxvii. (1) 17),
and occasionally found prowling among
the Judaean hills (1 Regn. /.c.), and
specially dreaded by the shepherd in
charge of a flock (Zeph. iii. 3, Zech.
xi. 3)). The description, however im-
possible to realize as a picture, is
surely admirable as a symbol of the
character of the foe which the Church
found in the Empire, blending mas-
sive strength with feline dexterity,
following up a stealthy and perhaps
unobserved policy of repression with
the sudden terrors of a hostile edict.
On oropa déovros see 2 Tim. iv. 17,
and cf. TAB “ad sanguinem
armatum os”; Primasius: “leoni
[comparatur] pr ropter.. -linguae super-
biam.”
kal eaxev avT@ 6 Spaxev thy dvva-
pw avrov krA.]| “The Dragon works
through the Beast as his agent; the
war is of Satan’s making, but the
XIII. 3]
5) a \ 2 / /
avTOU Kal €€ovolav peyadny,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
163
3 \ / > ~
Kat Play EK TWY 3
lol ’ land t > / > / \ ec
Kepadov avTov ws éeodaypuerny ets Oavatov, Kat 1
2 Kat efovciay weyadny] OM 29 30 50 93 98+edwkey auvtw A**
3 Kat 1°] + edo
95 verte Mipsdem anons | uwiay] mdyynv me" | om ex Q* x 36 me arm | ws] wra B
min?49 Artxt om arm!
Empire is his tool for waging it. The
Seer regards the persecuting Em-
perors as yassals of Satan; a great
change has passed over the attitude
of the Church in this respect since St
Paul wrote to Roman Christians: ov
yap €orw e€ovoia ei py vrd Geor, ai
6€ ovoa wo Oeov Tetaypevar cioiy
(Rom. xiii. 1). Even after persecution
had begun, St Peter takes the same
position (1 Pet. ii. 13). The Apoca-
lyptist himself does not hint at re-
sistance, and the Church of the first
three centuries continued to be loyal
under the greatest provocations. Ne-
yertheless, it was clear to him that
the new Imperial policy towards the
Church was not of God. In some
sense Satan was the source of power
so abused ; his claim (Mt. iv. 9 raira
go tavra dwow, Le. iv. 6 enol mapa-
SéBora [yj ekovoial, cai & eav Oedr\w
6iS@uc ad’rnv) is admitted, so far as
regards the persecuting Emperors:
Nero, Domitian, were his vassals, and
all the powers and authority of the
apx@v rod Koopov rovrov were at their
disposal. Avvapts...@povos (ii. 13, note)
...e£ovoia: “jedes Wort ist mit feier-
lichem Nachdruck gesetzt” (Bousset).
With r. @pévoy ef. ii. 13, note.
3. kal play ex rdv Kebaday avrod ws
eopaypémmy xtr.] Miav...ds eopayp.,
se. efdorv, which has been supplied by
some Mss. (see app. crit.); v. 3 takes
up the narrative of v7. 1. ‘Qs éopay-
pevnv hints at a comparison between
the Beast and the dpriov ws eaday-
névoy (cf. Bede: “imitatione veri capi-
tis nostri”). Like the Lamb, the Beast
has sustained a mortal wound, a death-
dlow (7) Any) rod Aavarov avrod, ef.
WM. p. 297), which has fallen on one
of his seven heads (cf. xvii. 8,11). Ac-
cording to ¢. xvii. 9 the seven heads
have a double meaning ; they are seven
mountains, but also seven kings, ie.
they represent seven Emperors who
reigned over the city of the Seven
Hills. If it be asked whether any of
the earlier Roman Emperors received
a death-blow from which he recovered
or was supposed to have recovered,
the answer is not far to seek. In
June 68 Nero, pursned by the emis-
saries of the Senate, inflicted upon
himself a wound of which he died.
His remains received a public funeral,
and were afterwards lodged in the
mausoleum of Augustus. Nevertheless
there grew up in the eastern provinces
of the Empire a rumour that he was
still alive, and in hiding. Pretenders
who claimed to be Nero arose in 69
and 79, and even as late as 88 or 89
(Tae. Aist. i. 78, ii. 8, Zonar. xi. 18, Suet.
Nero 57). The legend of Nero’s sur-
vival or resuscitation took root in the
popular imagination, and Dion Chry-
sostom (orat. xxi. 9) at the end of the
century sneers at it as one of the
follies of the time. Meanwhile the
idea of Nero’s retwn had begun to
take its place in the creations of
Jewish and Christian fancy, e.g. in
the Ascension of Isaiah (ed. Charles,
iv. 2f.) we read that Beliar will
descend év etdec avOpdrov Baciéas
avopov pntpadr@or, and in Orae. Silyll.
iv. 119 f. cat ror an’ “Iradins Baoe
Neds péyas, ola te Sprarns | hevéer’
adavros arvatos vrép mépov Evpyrao;
ib. 138 n&ee cai ‘Pans o duyas, péya
€yxos deipas, | Evpyrnv dia8as mod-
Aais dua pupiadecow (cf. tb. v. 143 ff,
362 ff.). The legend has been used
by St John to represent the revival of
Nero’s persecuting policy by Domitian,
A) CY 4
104
mAnyn Tov Yavarov avTov eleparrevOn.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XII 3
Kal €0av-
/ / c na ~ ,
4 pacOn OAN 4 Yi OTTITw TOU Onpiou, 4Kal 7 POT EKU-
lo / e/ of \ / : =
moav Tw OpakoyTt, STL EdwKey THY EEoVTlav TH
é VENA \ / a é / NE Aig
plw Kal T POT EKVVHO AV Tw npl@ EY OVTES is
ef 7 / \ / / a 5
OPMOLOS Tw Onpiw, KA ats OuvaTal T ONEMNO AL MET
3 om avrov 2° Q* | cAavuacbn A 1 12 28 36 7g 186 syr®¥"] efavwacrwOn C
eOavpacey SPQ min?! Ar | ody 7 yn] ev on TH yn I 12 28 36 79 186
4 7H dpaxovTe]
Tw Onpiw me | ort edwker] Tw Sedwkore Q minPl45> Ay zw dovre 14 Q2 | THY eovorcay]+
avrov arm Prim | om kai tpocex. Tw Onpiw 186 | Tw Onpiw 2°] To Onproy A 7g alPanevid +
Tourw syré¥ | om cae 3° 6 7 8 29 31 alfere20 Ar | duvarat] duvaros Q minfere4? Ar
“portio Neronis de crudelitate” (Tert.
apol. 5); see more upon this point
in c. xvii. 8 ff. That Nero is intended
by the wounded but restored head of
the Beast did not escape the earliest
of the Latin commentators, though
he failed to detect the reference to
Domitian; on c. xvii. 16 Victorinus
remarks: “unum autem de capitibus
quasi occisum in mortem et plagam
mortis eius curatam, Neronem dicit.
constat enim dum insequeretur eum
equitatus missus a senatu, ipsum sibi
gulam succidisse. hune ergo susci-
tatum Deus mittet.”
kal edavpacdn orn 1 yi Oricw Tod
Onpiov| Both for the use of davpater Oar
(cf. Blass, G7. p. 44) and for the general
sense see c. xvii. 8 bavpac Onoovrat ot
kaTolKovvres em THS yis...BAemovT@Y TO
Onpiov xr. The eyes of the whole
earth—rijs yjs, not simply 77s oikov-
Bévns a8 In Xiil. 9—gaze with wonder
after the Beast and his restored head.
_ For the pregnant @avyalerdar oricw
see Jo. xii. 19 oricw atrov amnhOer,
Acts V. 37 améeotnoe \ady 6rigw avTod,
XX. 30 dmoomayv rots pabnras dnicw
éavrov, 1 Tim. v. 15 e£erpamnear bricw
tod oatava. Gunkel (Schénfung, p.
358), postulating a Semitic original,
believes 6micw to be a rendering of
OND read for NYS, but the con-
jecture is unnecessary, and not sup-
ported by evidence.
4. Kal mpooextvnoay to Sdpaxovte
xtd.| In its worship of the Beast and
the persecuting Emperors the ad-
miring world worshipped in fact the
evil Power which was behind them.
Or the sense may be that the vices of
the Emperors found ready imitators;
the demoralizing effects of their ex-
ample were apparent throughout the
Empire. As for the direct worship
of the Beast, toward the end of the
first century it was already co-
ordinated with the local cults; in
Asia the cities vied with one another
for the honour of erecting a temple
to Rome and the Caesars and the
neocorate attached to it. Such
fragments as the following from the
record of an ‘Epigraphical Journey in
Asia Minor’ (Papers of the American
School at Athens, vols. ii., iii.) speak
for themselves: [vewxoplov roy ma-
tpiov | [Oeav Kali tov xupiov | [av}
toxpatopos...dvaay||ta tots] marpiots
O[eois Kai Trois Se|3acr[ois]...deois Se-
Bacrots kal TH Tarpiot...apxiepeds TOV
SeBaotav. More upon this subject
may be found in Renan, Saint Paul,
p. 28f, Ramsay, Church in the
Roman Empire, Letters to the Seven —
Churches, passim; the authorities are .
collected by Mayor, Juvenal i. pp.
229, 404 ff.; for an exhaustive mono-
graph see E. Beurlier, Ze culte im-
perial,son histotre et son organisation
(Paris, 1891).
Tis dyows To Onpio;—an intentional )
parody of Exod. xv. 11 ris dpotds got
ev Oeois, Kipre; ef. Pss. 1xxxii. (Ixxxiii.)
1, lxxxviii. (Ixxxix.) 6, exiii. 5, Mic. vii.
18, Isa. xl. 25, xlvi. 5—perhaps not
—
ie” al My Dime: Fae ee — aa
XIII. 6] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 165
col \ > / , - / ~ y
avTou; ‘kal €000y a’T@ oToua NadovY pEyara 5
\ / \ > / ’ a > / co
kal Brarpnuias, Kal €600n a’tTw €Eovcia Tromoa
pajvas TETTEPAKOVT A dvo. “Kal nvoree| v | TO oTopa 6
lal / \ \ / lol
avTou eis BNacdnuias mpos Tov Beov, BAacpnyjoa
al / o \ \ \ > ~ \ > a
TO OVOMa aVTOU Kal THY OKHYNY avTOU, TOUS EV TW
5 om kat €5067...B\acd. 1 31 32 Prim | Br\acdnwas] BrAacdnucay PQ min® syrs¥
Ar Pracpnua A 12 28 34 35 al | om efovora &* (hab &**) n efovora 130 | ronca]+o
Oedex & (signa quae voluit aeth) roXeuov roca Q min?! Ar rodeunoar 14 92 me (cf
arm) | reooapaxovra P min?! | dvo] pr cat A 16 95 vg syr Irint 6 Bracdnuav PQ
min?! yg*™ syrr arm Prim Ar | ro ovoua avrov] avrov &* | om Kat THY oKHYNY avTOU
C vgt!* | rous ev rw oup. ox.] pr car 8-* PQ* 1 al™ vg me syre4 arm Iri"t anon™s
Prim om rovs 130 Twv...cKnvourTwy syrs
without reference to the name Sym,
The worship of a monster such as
Nero was indeed a travesty of the
worship of God. Tis Svvarae sode-
pioa per avrod; points to the motive
which prompted the worship of the
Beast. It was not moral greatness
_ but brute force which commanded the
homage of the provinces. The in-
vincible power of Rome won Divine
honours for the worst and meanest of
men.
5. Kai €360) atta corona adody
peydda xrd.] The words or. dad.
peyada are from Daniel’s description
of the Little Horn (Dan. vii. 8, 20).
In their assumption of Divine titles
(v. 1 note) the Emperors followed in
the steps of Antiochus Epiphanes,
who (1 Mace. i. 24, NV) €AadAnoev
vrepnpaviay peyadny. With xai Bdao-
gdnpias cf. Dan. vii. 25 pata eis Tov
UYuorov \adyjoe. In the repeated €566n
there may be a reference to éSaxev aire
6 Spaxey of v. 2, cf. v. 4; but more pro-
bably, as elsewhere in the Apocalypse,
€6d6n points to the ultimate Source
of all power, without Whose permis-
sion Satan himself can do nothing.
For rotjoa pavas reo. dvo cf. xi. 2,
xii. 6, 14, notes. Tlouwjoar may be
simply ‘to do, ie. to carry on his
work, as MWY in Dan. viii. 24, xi. 28;
_ pivas will then be the accusative of
duration. But perhaps it is better
to understand 7. here in the sense of
‘passing time’; cf. Mt. xx. 12 pilav
@Gpav erroincgav, Acts XX. 3 moijoas Te
pnvas Tpeis, and the Latin facere diem.
The Beast’s power endures as long as
the Woman’s abode in the Wilder-
ness, the prophesying of the Two
Witnesses, and the Gentile profana-
tion of the Holy City.
6. Kat tvokev TO ordpa avrod els
Braadnuias mpos tov Beov) "Avoiyew
To oroua is used frequently, if not
exclusively, of the beginning of a
discourse or prolonged utterance; cf.
Ps. xxi. (xxii.) 14, Ixxvii. (xxviii) 2,
evili.. (cix.) 1; Sir. xv. 53 Mik wi 2s
Acts viii. 35. The Beast’s blasphemy
was not casual but sustained, when
once his silence had been broken; the
assumption of Divine Names in public
documents and inscriptions was a
standing and growing blasphemy. This
blasphemy was aimed at the Divine
oxy, i.e. as the Apocalyptist hastens
to explain, roves €v t@ ovpav@ oxn-
vovytas ; Cf, xii. 12 ovpavol xai of év
avtois oxnvotrres. Primasius seems to
have read rov...cxnvodvros (“taberna-
culum eius qui in caelo habitat”),
though he interprets: “id est, adversus
deum et ecclesiam quae in caelo
habitat” (Haussleiter, p. 130); but
the harder reading of the Greek text
is to be preferred. Tods...cxnvotdyras
either the ‘company of Heaven,’ or
166
7 OUvpava OKHVOLYTAS.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIIL. 6
6 \ > / > ~ /
‘kal €000n avT@ ToUoat TONeE-
a lon t / \ ~ / if
OV META TY AYLWY KAL ViKnHoal avToUs, Kat é€do067
3
rn y \ > \ \ \ \ o>
avTw@ 退ovala emt Tacav :uAnv Kat Naov Kal yAwWo-
Nas.
8 cay Kai €Ovos. §
\ / \ / ¢
Kal POG KUVHO OUVGLY auTOV TAaAVTES Ol
~ \ cad - eG if Wy sy
KATOLKOUVTES ETL THS YNS, OU OU YyEeypaT Ta TO dvopa
_
om 1 36 49 gt 186 al me arm
7 Kat €6007...vixnoat avrovs om ACP 1* 12 14 g2 arm Ir'™*| cae Naov] xk. Naovs C
8 avrov ACQ min?!99°] aurw XP 1 7 38 49 87 gt 95
186 al”4 | ov 1°] wy Xe-* PQ min?! yg me syr syr®”¥'4 arm aeth Prim Andr Ar al | ov
2°] ovre Q 8 29 alP!al | 70 ovoua] ra ovowara XP x 28 79 gs vg arm aeth Prim Ar
possibly the Church viewed as ideally
installed in the erovpama; Andreas
is perhaps on the right track when he
says: oxnvy d€ tov Oeov Kai 7 ev capi
TOU Aoyou TKHY@DLS...Kal 1] EV TOLS ayloLs
avaravors (cf. Jo. i. 14, Apoc. Vil. 15).
Blasphemy against God was coupled
with false accusations laid against His
saints, the loyal members of the
Church. The clause Bracdnpjoa...
oxnvovvras is epexegetical, developing
Bracdnpias mpos Tov Oeov.
7. kal €560n avtT@ Trotjoa 7oepor
xtA.| Daniel’s account of the Little
Horn is still in view; cf. Dan. vii. 21
eJewpovv, Kal TO Képas ékeivo emolet
TOAepov peTa TOY ayiwy Kal isxyvoev
mpos avrovs. The Beast, acting for
the Dragon (xii. 17), makes war upon
the Seed of the Woman, i.e. the faith-
ful, and succeeds. Like the }U'"1P of
Daniel’s vision, i.e. the loyal defenders
of Jerusalem against Antiochus, the
citizens of the new Jerusalem must
expect to fall before the persecuting
Emperor. Wherever the Gospel was
carried, Rome was there beforehand;
the Beast’s authority extended over
ail the nations and races which sur-
rounded the Mediterranean (€560n
avt@ €fovcia él macay dvAny kTA.).
No escape from him was possible for
the members of the Church, although,
as the Seer has already foreseen (xii.
14 ff.), the Church herself, the Mother
of the Saints, was beyond his reach.
With vixnoa cf. c. vi. 2, note.
Kai €606n...vuxjoat avrovs is omitted
by the best uncials, but probably
through homoeoteleuton, the eye of
some early scribe having passed from
€600n to €de6n.
8. Kal mpookuynoovew avrov mavtes
of karouxovvres ktA.] Not only did the
Roman Empire seem to the provincials
a power of world-wide extent, but it
had acquired a religious significance
which rendered it yet more formidable
(vw. 4 note). The Caesars were not
merely obeyed, they were worshipped
by the whole world. The mase. adrév
points to the impersonation of the
Beast in such Emperors as Nero or
Domitian; for the acc. after mpoo-
kuvew (the older construction), cf.
Mt. iv. 10, Le. iv. 8, Apoc. ix. 20,
Xill. 12, xiv. 9, II, xx. 4, and see Blass,
Gr. p. 89. Tlavres of Katouxodvres emt
Ths yns is hyperbolical, even if the
Empire is viewed as co-extensive
with the orbis terrarum; and the
writer hastens to guard himself by
adding : ob ov yéypamra: kth. There
were those in the Roman world who,
like Daniel and the three at the court
of Babylon (Dan. iii. 16 f.), refused
to worship the Caesars. Those who
worshipped, though for the moment
the immense majority, were only
such as were not in the Book of Life.
Ov...avrod is unexpected after raves,
but the purpose may be to mini-
mize the significance of the general
acceptance of the Caesar-cult, or
possibly to call attention to the in-
dividual responsibility of the wor-
shippers. Each Caesar-worshipper by
his very act proclaimed himself to have
XIII. 10]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
167
? =~ 3 n~ / ~ - ~ ) / =~ 3»
aitou év TH Bu3Niw THs Cwns TOU apviov Tov Expay-
/ ’ \ - /
pévou amo KataBoAns Koopou.
/
akovocaTw.
of »f zs
%et TIS EXEL OUS, 9
10 yf > > / ’ ?
€l Tis Els alyuadwotay, Els atypuarw- 10
8 avrov] avrwy N* gs syr arm | ev] ere Q | rw (om NR*C) AiBw] 77 BiBrw (&*)
I q]nonn
g ous] aures arm Prim +audiendi vg"?**.®** me arm
IO €lS atx-
padwoway 1°]+amayet 33 130 (er. 35 our. Ar) vgtledem lps, 5,6tol mevid syrr Trint Primt"
exet ax. 6 8 29 31 Qt 93 94 96 97 98 186 | om es acyu. (2°) NCPQ 186 me arm
(hab A yg*™ %)
no place among “the living in Jeru-
salem.” On the ‘Book of Life’ see
iii. 5, note; and compare with the
present passage cc. xvii. 8, xx. 12, 15,
xxi. 27. Here and in xxi. 27, the
Divine Register is represented as
belonging to “the Lamb that was
slain,” ie. the crucified but now risen
and exalted Christ, Who purchased
the Church for God with His Blood
(y. 9), and has authority to cancel the
names of disloyal members (iii. 5).
The reference of ab caraBodis Koopou
is somewhat ambiguous; the order
suggests that the words should be
taken with rod éodaypévov, in the
sense indicated by 1 Pet. i. 18 f.
eAuTp@OnTe...TYyLi@ aiwaTe Ws apuvod...
Xpicrod mpoeyvwopevov pev mpo KaTa-
Bodjs Kocpouv xri., but the close
parallel in xvii. 8 (@avpacOnoovrat ot
KaTowKouvTes emi Tis ys, ay ov yé-
yparrat TO ovopa emi TO BiBAlov THs
(wns ard KaraBodjs Koopov) Seems to
be decisive in fayour of connecting
amo xara8. koopov With yéypanrac in
this context also; and this is sup-
ported by such passages as Mt. xxy.
34 yromacperny viv Baoreiav amo
kataB. xoopov, Eph. i. e£ehéEaro
nas év a’t@ mpd xataB. koopov. On
the whole Arethas is right: év wees
Bdr dxovotéov 7) “Qu ov yeypanrat..
Tou eoaypévou: €Trel ov yeyparray,
ard karaSons Koo Mou yeyparrat, ouUTw
yap Set voeiv, ovX os 1 ypapy € EXEL, ore
pnde amo KataBoAns Kocpou 7 Tod
apviov oayy.
As to the phrase dvd (mp0) caraBo-
Ajs Kocpov, it is unknown to the Lxx.,
though used by Mt. Zc. in a quotation
from the Psalms, where it represents
DIP 3! (uxx., am’ dpxjs). The N.T.
has it ten times (Mt.*, Le, Jo, Eph.’,
Heb.2, 1 Pet.1, Apoc.*). KaraSodn
is the foundation of a house in 2 Mace.
ii. 29, and karaSadr\ceocbat Gepedrov
occurs in Heb. vi. 1; the xaraSodr
koopov is ‘the founding of the whole
visible order, the creation being
represented as a vast building under
the hands of the Divine Architect, as
in Job xxxviii. 4 €v r@ Oeuedtovy pe
mv ynv, and Heb. iii. 4 6 8€ mavra
carackevaoas Oeos: cf. Hort on 1 Peter
l.c., and Dalman, Die Worte Jesu, i.
p. 136.
9. €t Tis Exet obs, dxovcarw| For
the Apocalyptic form of this saying
see ii. 7, note. It is a call to serious
attention, and here, as in ii. 7, I1, 17,
it is prospective and not retrospec-
tive, preparing the hearer for the
proclamation which is to follow. ‘Let
every member of the Church who has
the power to comprehend it take to
heart the warning now about to be
given.’
10. el Tis eis alypadwolay, els alyp.
Urayet xtv.] The epigrammatic style
of this saying has perplexed the
scribes (see app. crit.); some add a
verb after the first es alyuatooiar,
while others omit the second. Trans-
late: “if any [is] for captivity, into
captivity he goes; if any shall slay
with the sword, he must with the
sword be slain.” The verse starts
upon the lines of Jer. xv. 2 dao els
@avaroy, eis Oavarov* kat doot eis payat-
pay, eis payaipavs cat dot els Armor,
eis Aynovs Kat Gooe els aiyuatwciay, eis
168
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIII. 10
/ c / yf ’ / > a ~ > \
OlaV UTTayel €l TLS EV paXatpy AT’ OKTEVEL, O€L QUTOV
€v payaion amrokTavOnvat.
l
/ ~ /
Y WITT TWV aylwv.
UNL eS € € \ \
WOE EGTLY 1} UTOMOVYH Kat
II ™Kat eidov adAo Enpiov avaBaivoy é€x THs iis,
cal €lyev KEepaTa Ovo bmota aoviw, Kal éAaAEL ws
Kal ElyEV KEP iu pviw, K a
10 umayerw me | paxaipa bis SPQ mine™™*4 Andr Ar | aoxrever] amoxrever S& 28
79 syré™ amoxrevver 35 95 130 amoxrawe: 186 aroxravOnvar A om 2 6 8 14 29 30 31
32 alP'a10| om de A| om ev payaipy (2°) 2 6 8 14 29 30 31 32 38 47 alPlal |
TioTls Kat 7 UTouovn Syx8* | migTis] OAs 38 97
11 evdov SCP min?! Andr Ar]
oov AQ 7 14 32 130 186 om aeth | dvo] dexadvo 12 om 2 6 8 13 29 31 32 alfred Ar |
opova] ovoua C kat omowoy ny syré¥
aixuakooiay. But after adopting the
last clause of Jeremiah’s proclamation,
it goes off in quite another direction,
referring to the saying of our Lord in
Mt. xxvi. 52 mavres yap oi daBovtes
paxaipay ev payaipyn amoAovvra. Pri-
masius conforms the first half of the
verse to the last, translating: “qui
captivum duxerit et ipse capietur,” as
if it had run: éay tis aiypadorevon,
aiypatotevOnoera. Butnosuchchange
is necessary; the verse hangs together
well enough as it stands in the best
Greek text. The whole is a warning
against any attempt on the part of
the Church to resist its persecutors.
If a Christian is condemned to exile,
as St John had been, he is to regard
exile as his allotted portion, and to go
readily ; if he is sentenced to death,
he is not to lift his hand against the
tyrant; to do so will be to deserve
his punishment. For od€ éorw kr.
see xly. 12, note.
11—18, THe Winp Breast FROM
THE EARTH.
II. kal eiOov GAXo Onplov dvaBaivoy
ék ths yns ktA.] A second Beast is
seen in the act of rising, not as
the first out of the sea, but out of
the earth. In Daniel’s visions four
Beasts ‘‘came up from the sea”
(Dam. vii. 3), but in the interpretation
(tb. 17) and in the Gk versions of both
passages they “arise out of the earth.”
From this Bede infers the identity of
the origin of the two Apocalyptic
Beasts (“quod est autem mare, hoc,
teste Daniele, est terra”). But the cases
are different ; the Apocalyptist is not,
like Daniel, interpreting his vision,
but relating another, which he con-
trasts with the first. If the Beast
from the sea denotes the world-wide
Empire of the West, the Beast from
the earth is of humbler pretensions, a
native of the soil (cf. Arethas: éx tis
yis...00ev kat racw avOperots 1 yeveris)
—a product of the life of the Asian
cities.
Early Christian opinion was di-
vided upon the interpretation of the
second Beast. Irenaeus (v. 28. 2),
who identifies the first Beast with
Antichrist, finds in the second Anti-
christ’s ‘armour-bearer’ (cf. 1 Sam.
xvii. 7), the false Prophet. Similarly
Hippolytus (ed. Lag. p. 24): To pev ody
Onpiov dvaBaivoy ex THs yhs thy Baot-
Aelay THY Tov avTLypioTov ecoperny
héyet, Ta O€ SVo Képara kal Tov pet avTov
Wevdorpodyrny. Andreas mentions
other interpretations: +d Onpiov rodto
ol ey TOV avTixptoTtoy dacw, €répows
dé foe Tov catavav eivat, Kat Ta dvo
avtTov Képata Tov ayTixpioTov Kal Tov
Wevdorpodnyrny.
kai etyev képata Avo Guora dpvie KTd.]
The equipment of the second Beast
was as unpretending as his origin.
In sharp contrast to the first he had
but one head furnished with two horns
(ef. Dan. viii. 5), which were like those
ofalamb. But if his appearance sug-
XIII. 12]
dpakwy.
ca ~ > / > lod
Waray Toil evwrtioy avTOoU.
\ - ~
Tous ev aur KQ@TOLKOUYT@S
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
169
= \ \ @ he / - / /
“Kal Tiv €€ovciav TOV mpwrov Onpiov 12
\ ~ \ - 4
KQ@l TOLEL ag ynVv Kal
iva mpoaKuyijq ove TO
Onpiov TO mpwTov, ov EAEparrevOn 1) TANYH TOU Oava-
12 OM 7acav arm | rover 1°] errovec 38 Vg me syr arm aeth Ir'™* Hipp Prim rocecrac
186 | movet 2°] roinoe 34 35 87 Byr8” ero. Q 6 7 8 14 29 31 38 4Q AlP!4% ygcleam dem lips
me syr arm aeth Hipp Ar | wa mpocxuynoovew AC 7
14 30* 36 98] wa mrpockuynowow
39 9 Pp
PQ min?! Hipp Ar xac mpock. syr®" mpockww &| ro Onpiov To rpwrov] Tw Onpw Tw
ampwrw 6* 35 41 42 87 95 | om Tou Oavarov A
gested innocence and even weakness,
his voice was the roar of a dragon; cf.
a fragment of Hermippus quoted
by Wetstein: 16 apdcwmoy dpviov
€xew Soxeis, Ta S€ Evdov ovdev diapépers
Spaxovros. Though both dpvio and
Spaxey are anarthrous, they doubtless
allude to the Lamb of c. y. 6 and the
Dragon of c. xiii 1. The second
Beast is in some sense at once a
‘Pseudochrist and an Antichrist: e£o-
powtcba pédAet TO vid Tod Beov, Kai
atvros éavrov Bacwéa emiderckyiow
_ (Hippolytus) ; “agnum fingit, ut Ag-
num invadat” (Primasius).
The description recalls Mt. vii. 15
mpooéxere amo Tov Weviorpopyray,
oirwes épxovrat mpos vpas ev evdvpacw
mpoBarav, erwbev dé ciow vxou ap-
mayes. Of. Victorinus: “magnum
falsumque prophetam dicit, qui factu-
rus est signa et portenta.” The second
Beast is in fact in later chapters of
the book called 6 Weuvdorpodirns (xvi.
13, Xix. 20, xx. 10), while rd GAXo Onpiov
or 76 6. rd Sevrepoy does not appear ;
from this chapter onwards the only
@npiov mentioned is the first Beast, or
the wounded head which is identified
with him (xiv. 9, 11, Xv. 2, xvi. 2, Io,
fay evi G iL, XIX. 19, 20, xx. 4, I0),
In the second Beast we have a reli-
gious, as in the first a civil, power;
he is a Wevdorpodnrns (xvi. 23, xix.
20, xx. 10), who claims a spiritual
power which he does not possess, and
misinterprets the Divine Will in the
interests of the persecuting State.
Some ancient interpreters saw in him
the Christian ministry turned to,un-
worthy uses; cf. Beatus: “bestia de
terra praepositi mali sunt in ecclesia.”
Such men may be in the background
of St John’s thought, but the imme-
diate reference is rather to the pagan
priesthood of his own time; cf. iv. 14,
15, note.
I2. xal tiv e€ovsiay Tov mpwrTov
Onpiov macay woet KTA.] The authority
of the Dragon, which was delegated
to the first Beast (xiii. 2), descends
to the second; the first fights the
Dragon’s battles, the second supports
the first by methods of his own, but
with a strength which is derived
ultimately from the Dragon. Try
efovciay...evertoy avrov is a pregnant
sentence; written out at length it
would be ryv efouciay 7. mp. 6. racav
AaBav E€otnkev evariov avTod mov Td
6€Xnpa avrod, or to that effect. “Eva-
mv avrov recalls 3 Regn. xvii. 1 6
beds Iopand & rapéorny éva@roy avrot.
The true prophet lives in the pres-
ence of God, taking his orders from
Him and doing His pleasure; the
False Prophet stands before the
Beast, whose interpreter and servant
he is.
kal trovet Thy ynv Kal rods év avrn
xrA.] It is the business of the second
Beast to promote the worship of the
first; for this end the False Prophet
has been entrusted with his power.
Tlowei...va, ‘causes to,’ cf. Jo. xi. 37,
Col. iv. 16, Apoc. iii. 9 (Blass, Gr.
p. 225 f.). Th yy nal rods ev avry
xatoixouvtas, cf. vv. 4, 8. Tod Onpiov...
170 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIII 12
? > \ =~ => / / \ lal
13 Tov avTov. “kat Troll onpela peyada, wa Kal Trp
ond ~ > / > \ lo > /
Tom €K TOU oupavou KaTaPBaive els THY YynV EVWTLOV
‘
rn \ a \ = Se
14 Tov avOpwrev, “Kal mNavVa TOUS KaTOLKOUYTAaS ETL
lol - \ ~ \ / lad a > /
THs ys Ola Ta Tnpeta a ESO a’TH Toca evwrLOY
~ If / ~ fal > \ a ~
TOU Onpiov, Aeywv TOLS KQ@TOLKOUOLVY €77L THS yuns
12 0m avrov 2° P 14 92 vg Prim al 13 Toe] Tornoe 35 87 me syr8¥ arm? [rt
anon*"= erocec 31 Hipp vg°*°™ ( fecit) aeth Prim | om peyaha me | kac rup wa Q
min*® Ar | srovn ex T. ovp. kaTaBawewv] @. Ex T. oUp. KaTaBnvat 130 EK T. op. KaTaBaw7
(Q) minfere3> me Ar | es] ere Q minfre3? syrew
Kouvras] pr Tous ewouvs 2 6 8 29 30 31 32 49 186 alfere30 Ar | om dia Ta onpeta...eme THS
14 mAavnoet syx8" | Tous KaTot-
yns Q* 130 syr (propter ouoiored.) | Neywv] Aeyov B** 1 14 92 94 95 Aeyovros Q™E
od eOeparevOn xd. is repeated from
v. 3, where see note.
13. kal movet onpeia peydda krA.|
Being a false prophet the second
Beast simulates the miracles wrought
by true prophets ; cf. Exod. vii. 11 f.
(2 Tim. iii. 8), and see Deut. xiii. 1
eay Oe avaoTH ev cot mpopntns...Kat A)
got onpetoy 7) Tépas KTA. ‘Great signs’
were expected and believed to accom-
pany the mission of the Church (ef.
Jo. xiv. 12, ‘Mc. xvi. 20), but they
were not to be limited to it; see Me.
xiii. 22 éyepOnoovrat...\revdorpopprat
kat ddcovow onpeia kai Tépara Tpos TO
aromhavav ef Suvardy rovs éxdexTovs ;
2 Thess. li. 9 ob éorw 7% mapovcia Kar’
evepyeray TOU gatava év macy Svvdper
kat onpelos kal Tepacw Wevdovs. Call-
ing down fire from heaven was one
of the miracles attributed to Elijah
(1 Kings xviii. 38, 2 Kings i. 10); if
the writer of the Apocalypse was the
son of Zebedee, he would not have
forgotten that he had himself desired
to imitate the O.T. prophet (Le. ix.
54 “IdxwBos kai “Iwavns etray Kvpte,
Geders etr@pev mip KataBAva awd Tod
ovpavov;). In the present case the
sign of calling down fire would doubt-
less be exhibited in connexion with
the worship of the Beast, for which
it would seem to be a Divine guaran-
tee. “Iva after mori p. o. is scarcely
distinguishable from dere (Burton
§ 222); the Prophet’s powers extend
so far that he can even (kai) cause
fire to descend from heaven, and that
in the face of the world (évdmev trav
avOporey). -
14. kat mAava Tovs KaTotKovvTas emt
ths yns ktA.| To deceive mankind is
a characteristic power of Satan (xii. 9
6 mAavav TH oikovperny SAnv, Where
see note) and it has descended to the
false Prophet ; see reff. cited on 2. 12.
The success of the latter is due to
the signs (dia ra onpeta) which he is
empowered to work (vv. 13, 15). These
are done ‘before the Beast’ (v. 12,
note), i.e. in the presence and with
the approval of the Imperial officers.
It is hardly possible to misunderstand
the Apocalyptist’s meaning. The
Caesar-worship was a State function
at which the Proconsul and the other
magistrates assisted, and the pagan
priesthood wrought their onpeta before
these representatives of the Empire ;
their jugglery addressed itself to
persons in authority and not only to
the ignorant populace. Cf. the Intro-
duction, p. xci. f.
A€ywv Tols KaTotKovow...roimoat e€i-
kova T@ Onpio xrdr.| Yet the chief
purpose of the onpueta wrought by the
magic of the priests of the Augusti
was to popularize the new cult, by
promoting the religious use of the
statues of the Emperor (on \éeyav=
keAevwy followed by, the infinitive see
Blass, Gr. pp. 232, 240). Any repre-
sentation of the reigning Caesar which
served to place him before the eyes of
XIII. 15]
Lol > / C / rat
TOMOaL ELKOVA Tw Onpiw, os
Mayaipys Kal ECnoev.
THE APOCALYPSE
OF ST JOHN 171
y \ \ -~
Exel Thy wAnynY THs
> } ~~ ~ ~ —
Skat €000n avT@ dovvat rvevpa 15
lod > / ad / e/ \ / c > \ ~
TH €lKOVL TOU Onpiou, iva Kal Narnon my €LKWY TOU
14 moimoae 2°] pr cae S| os] o Sx min?! syrs* Hipp Ar | exec] ecxev Q mina
syr Ar | ryv mdnynv] om Tnv (NS) Q 2 6 8 13 14 26 29 30 al! | rys waxacrpns (-pas PQ
min™" 4) Kar efnoev] Kae e{noev amo rns wax. Q minP4% Ar x. ef. aro rns mANyNS
THS fax. 16 39
15 avrw NP**Q min™=vd Hipp Andr Ar] avry ACP*™ | om
Souvac C | om wa kat Aadnon 7 ecxwv Tov Onprov C 14 16 28 31 Og 130 Me Syrr arm
the provincials might be described as
an eikwyv (see Lightfoot’s note on
Col. i. 15), whether it were merely the
Emperor’s head (effigies) wpon a coin
(Me. xii. 16), or an imago painted or
wrought upon a standard, or executed
in metal or stone. Busts or statues,
however, are doubtless intended here.
Such imagines, together with other
symbols of the power of Rome, had
always received the highest honours
from loyal subjects of the Empire ; cf.
Suetonius, Zib. 48 “largitus est...
quaedam munera Syriacis legionibus,
quod solae nullam Seiani imaginem
inter signa coluissent” (ie. because
they alone had been loyal to himself;
ib, Calig. 14 “aquilas et signa
Romana Caesarumque imagines ado-
ravit”). When Christians were brought
before Imperial officials an image of
the reigning Emperor was produced
by way of testing their Christianity.
Cf. Pliny’s famous letter (ep. 96, A.D.
112): “qui negabant esse se Christia-
nos aut fuisse, cum praeeunte me deos
appellarent et imagini tuae quam prop-
ter hoe iusseram cum simulacris numi-
num adferri ture ac vino supplicarent
...dimittendos esse putavi,” and the
appeal of the eipjvapyos to Polycarp
(Mart. P. 8): ri yap Kaxov éorw
elretvy ‘Kipws Kaicap, cai emdioac
(ie. to offer incense, see Lightfoot,
ad loc.) xai rovrois dxodova, kai dia-
oolfecOa; cf. Hus. H. £. vii. 15 Xpi-
Tiav@ ye dvTe Kal Tois Bacidevor jar)
@vovrr. But in the present passage
the reference is rather to tmagines
set up in the S<S8aoreia or temples of
Rome and the Augusti. The judicial
use of the Emperor's ‘image’ was
perhaps as yet unknown, but already,
as it seems, the pagan priesthood had
succeeded in securing for it religious
worship with results disastrous to the
Christian communities (v. 15).
“Os Exes THY TANyHY KTA., AS in TP. 3,
12, but with the addition of payaipyns—
a new feature which makes for the
identification of the wounded head
with Nero—and with é{noev substi-
tuted for 7 mAnyn...edeparevbn. The
Beast did not die with Nero; he lived
on and reappeared in Domitian, who
resumed Nero’s policy of persecution
(ef. note on xiii. 3).
15. Kal €006n ait@ Sotvat rvetpa
Ti eikove xrA.]| Another onpeioy
wrought by the magic of the second
Beast. That such tricks were em-
ployed in the SeSaoreia is by no
means improbable. As we are re-
minded by Andreas, it was the age of
Apollonius of Tyana, whose legerde-
main was freely attributed to the
powers of evil: ioropnrac modXaKis
yonteiais Aadjoa Se elxovev kai &o-
avev kal dSévdpwy xat vdarav dia re
*"AroAAwviou dia tre érépwv Saiuovas.
In the Clementine Recognitions (iii.
47), Simon Magus is made to boast,
“statuas moyeri feci, animari exanima
...haec non solum feci, sed et nune
facere possum,” a claim doubtless sug-
gested by the writer’s experience of
contemporary magic; as for calling
down fire, see Apringius on v 13:
“haec magi per angelos refugas et
hodie faciunt.” It is not necessary
to suppose that either Simon or
Apollonius (Ramsay, Erp. 1904, ii. 4,
172
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIII rs
fi e/ e/ \ \ /
Onpiov, Kat TOON [iva | OTOL €ayv Ly TPOTKUVHT WoW
lal 3 / ~ / > vox
16 TH ELKOVL TOU Onptov aToxtav0wcw.
16
Kal TTOLEL
/ \ \ \ \ / \ \
TTAVTAS, TOUS MLKpOUs Kal TOUS bMeyanXous, Ka@l TOUS
15 OM Kat Toinon...Tov Onpiov C 28 | womoe & 14 36 79 92 95 98 | om wa RQ
min*? yg Trint (hab AP 7 11 26 36 g5 vg"lecoddPl Hippbis Prim al) | rpooxuvnoovew &
ny #
kTavOwow] pr wa 130 186
7” 14 31 36 42 130 186 | ryv eckova A 1 al®™™ om arm | tw Onpw arm | ao-
16 move] monoes X* vg syr8™ Hippse™! women 130
Jecit Prim | rovs uixp. x. Tous weyaous (Om Tous 2° &)] magnos et pusillos Prim |
Tous TAovd. K. Tous mTwKous] Tos TTWXOUS K. Tous mous. N 7g
p. 249f., Letters to the Seven Churches,
p. lor ff.) is directly referred to; the
second Beast is probably, like the
first, a system rather than a person,
though, as the first culminated in
Nero, so the best known magician of
the age may have been regarded as
an impersonation ef the second. But
that magic was used by the Caesar-
priests is probable enough, as Ramsay
has well pointed out (7b. p. 98 ff.), even
if the Apocalypse is the only witness
to the fact; nor is it impossible that
theymay have acted under the sanction
of the officials, so that the Empire it-
self lent its weight to the proceeding.
‘Magic’ was not thought unworthy of
a place in high quarters, as St Paul
learnt at the outset of his missionary
work ; cf. Acts xiii. 6 edpov avdpa twa
payov Wevdorpopnrny...os Av ov TO
avOurrara.
Thus in the immediate view of the
Seer the second Beast represents the
sorcery and superstition of the age
as engaged in a common attempt to
impose the Caesar-cult upon the pro-
vinces, behind which there lay the
Satanic purpose of bringing ruin upon
the rising Christian brotherhoods. In
its wider significance the symbol may
well stand for any religious system
which allies itself with the hostile
forces of the world against the faith
of Jesus Christ.
Ivevpa here =mvevpa (wis (xi. 11),
in the sense of breath or animation.
“Iva kal Nadynon: the vitalizing of the
image went so far that it was even
able to speak, an effect doubtless pro-
duced by the art of the éyyaorpipvéos;
of contemporary ventriloquism there
is probably an instance in Acts xvi.
16, where see Knowling’s note. The
reading ¢06n avr7 has good support
(see app. crit.), but, as Dr Hort admits,
it is unintelligible: “it is impossible
either to account for the text [avrj]
as a corruption of av7@, or to interpret
it as it stands”; he suggests that “r7
yn may have been lost after avrn, or
have given place to it” (Votes, p. 138).
But to bring in from vv. 11, 12 ff. “the
conception of a spirit of the earth”
seems artificial, Can atry be a pri-
mary error due to the mind of the
writer having reverted to eixova (v. 14),
or to his eye having been caught by
77 etkov, Which immediately follows ?
Kai roujon, sc. 7 eixov. As they
stand, the words can only mean that
the ventriloquist used his opportunity
to make the image suggest that all
who refused worship to the image of
Caesar should be put to death.
16. kat movet mavras, Tovs puKpovs
xt\.| The False Prophet causes all
who accept the Caesar-cult to receive
amark of fealty. Tods pxpous xa. (ef.
xi. 18, xix. 5, 18, xx. 12) covers the
entire population, from the Asiarch
down to the meanest slave. The
construction changes after the long
string of accusatives: had the writer
stopped to think of the formation of
his sentence, he would naturally have
written rovet iva mavres, of piKxpol KTA.,
AdBoow, or rove’ va Tac, Tois pLKpois
kTA., doow avrois OY Even moet Tavras,
TovUs puKpous KTA., AaBeiy OY iva AaBo-
XIII. 16] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
173
Vs \ \ / \ \ ? / \
WAOVTLOVS KaL TOUS TTWHYOUS, KaL TOUS €AevOepous Kal
\ / e/ - > ~ / \ r
TOUS dovAous, LVva Owe avuTols XaPayHa €7rl THS
\ rad - ~ »\ \ \ / > lal
xelpos avtwy Tis Oe~ias 1) El TO METWTOV aUTOY,
16 om Kae T. Trwy. K. Tous eXevd. Prim | eXevepous] deamoras syr®™ | Gwow %*
(wor 8") ACPQ 6 10 12 13 14 17** 35 36 37 38 49 51 87 91 92 96] dwoe 1 dwon 186
arm Hipp dwoovow 4 18 29 31 40 46 94 dwowow 2 7 16 28 30 32 79 93 97 98 al”
5007 syré¥ "4 Na Swor (sine avrots) 26 95 habere (pro wa 6. avr.) vg Prim al | xapay-
para Q min‘re% Ar | ro werwrov] tov wetrwrov C Twy merwrwv Q 1 28 130 186 al™ vg
syr Prim
ow. The indefinite plural déow (v. é.
Secovow) finds a parallel in ce. x. 11
Aéyovaw, Xvi. 15 BAerwow. Dr Hort
suggests (Votes, p. 139) that the ori-
ginal reading was dec, written by
itacism Awci. But dow, which is
read by all our uncials, makes excel-
lent sense; the second Beast worked
through his ministers, the menials of
the Augustan temples.
Xapaypa may be either a work of
art such as a graven image (Acts xvii.
29 xapaypate Téxvns), Or, as here and
in ce, Xiv., XVi., xix., xx., the impress
made by a stamp; cf. the use of
xapaxrnp in Ley. xiii. 28 where the
scar of a leprous spot is called y.
Tov xaraxavparos. To the procedure
ascribed to the second Beast there is
a striking parallel in 3 Mace. ii. 20,
where Ptolemy Philopator I. (B.c. 217)
orders such Jews as submitted to
registration to be branded with the
badge of the Dionysiac worship: rovs
Te aroypahopevous xapaooer Gat, kal Sict
mupos els TO dpa Tapacjpw Avoriow
cnooopvAAw. Deissmann (Liblical
Studies, p. 242) shews that in Egypt
under the Empire official documents
were stamped with the name and year
of the Emperor (e.g. L 8’ Avroxparopos
Kaicapos Nepo’a Tpaiavod S«Bacrod
Teppavixod Aaxixod), and that the
stamp was known as a ycpayna; but
he produces no instance of persons
being similarly marked. Others have
thought of the branding of soldiers,
slaves, and temple deyotees ; ef. Gal.
vi. 17, with Lightfoot’s note, and Philo
de monarch., p. 22
Aelay TOV YELpoKUNT@Y, ypdupaow avTny
OmoAoyovrTes...ev TOls THpaTw KaTacTi-
Covres avtny ovdnpo wemupopéevo. But
it is difficult to believe that such a
mark was actually imposed on all the
provincials who conformed. Ramsay
(op. cit., p. 110 f.) is disposed to think
rather of certificates, similar to the
libelli of the Decian persecution,
which were put into the hands of
those who sacrificed, and to regard
the mark on the forehead as merely
“the apocalyptic description of a
universal reputation for conspicuous
devotion to the cult of the Emperor.”
This is hardly a satisfactory solution,
and in our present ignorance it is
perhaps better to be content with one
which is suggested by the symbolism
of the Book. As the servants of God
receive on their foreheads (vii. 3) the
impress of the Divine Seal, so the
servants of the Beast are marked
with the ‘stamp’ of the Beast, “in
fronte propter professionem, in manu
propter operationem ” (Ps. Aug.) ; the
word yapayza being perhaps chosen (as
Deissmann suggests) because it was
the technical term for the Imperial
stamp. For a partial parallel see Pss.
Sol. xv. 8 fh rd onpeiov rod Oeod én
Sixaious els cwrnpiav...Kai ovx expe’Eor-
Tat of TowvrTEs avopiay TO Kpi“a Kupiou
..TO Yap onueiov THs awwXeias ert rot
petorou avrayv. That the Antichrist
would seal his followers became a
commonplace in the Christian legend ;
see Bousset, Der Antichrist, p. 132 ff.
a ‘
ievrac mpos dov-
174
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIIL. 17
a7 Ulcer] Wa py Tis OUVyT at ayopac as i] TwWAHT AL El Ba
6 €ywy TO Xaparypea
18 dpiOuov Tov bvoMaTos avTOU.
iy
TO oro TOU Onpiou 1 TOV
18 OE 1) copia ECTIV.
6 éxwv vouyv Wnpiratw tov dpiOuov Tov Onpiov,
17 om ka &*C 6 28 32 79 96 vg?! me syrr Ir™ Hipp Prim al (hab &* APQ
min?! ygexctol arm aeth Ar) | un tis] unders 130 | Suvarac PQ 1 6 7 14 28 31 32 50 186
all? | ro ovoua] pr 7 & 36 38 vgcledemips4.6 anon*s rov ovouaros syrs” arm | 7 Tov
aptOuov] pr 7 Tov apiOuov Tov Onpiov Q
ovoua 14 30 (g2) arm
17. wa py tis dvyntat dyopacat 7)
modjoa x«td.}| There is possibly a
reference to 1 Macc. xiii. 49 of de e&k
Ths akpas ev
extropeverOar eis THY y@pay kal ayo-
pacety kat modeiv. But the cases
differ materially. Here citizens who
do not bear this mark are not pre-
vented from entering the markets, but
if they enter none will buy their goods
or sell them the necessaries of life.
Such a ‘boycotting’ of Christians might
result partly from the unpopularity of
their faith, partly from a dread of
offending the dominant priesthood or
their Roman supporters. If we ask
whether the fear expressed by the
Apocalyptist was realized, there is
no certain answer. As Ramsay says
(op. cit., p. 107 f.), “how much of grim
sarcasm...there lies in those words [iva
py Ovynrat krd.] it is impossible for us
now to decide...but that there is an
ideal truth in them, that they give a
picture of the state of anxiety and ap-
prehension, of fussy and over zealous
profession of loyalty which the policy
of Domitian was producing in the
Roman world, is certain.” Cf. Eus.
H. E. Vv. 1 @ore py povoy oixtav Kat
Badaveiwy Kal ayopas etpyerOat TA.
TO dvopa tov Onpiov n Tov apiOpor
Tov ovduatos avTov is in apposition to
TO yapaypna; the stamp may bear the
name or its number. The number of
the name is probably the name itself
written in numerals, according to a
sort of gematria known to the Apo-
calyptist and his Asian readers, but
/
"TepovoaAnu ekwAvoyto
18 0 exwv] pr kau syr8¥ | rov apiOuov] To
not generally intelligible. The point of
7) Tov apiOpor is not clear. According
to Arethas, the name and the number
are alternatives (dirt) dé rovrou 7 yve-
ous 7) Ova mapapopas avrov Tov ovdparos
7 Oca Wyov). But as no yapaypa would
have borne the Christian cipher, it is
better to treat 7 here as practically
equivalent to rotr’ éorw—‘the name,
or, which is the same thing, the num-
ber’ Where the heathen provincial
saw only the name of the reigning
Emperor, the Christian detected a
mystical number with its associations
of vice and cruelty.
18. ode 1 copia éeoriv xrd.] A
similar formula occurs in ¢. xvii. 9
ade 6 vovs 6 éxov codiay. Schoett-
gen compares the cabbalistic phrase
NOT MN NNDINI NN. ‘AH codia is
apparently the spiritual gift answering
to the gift of aroxdduwis (cf. Eph. i. 17
mvevpa aopias Kal aroxadvyyews)—the
power of apprehending and inter-
preting mysteries. Here was an op-
portunity for the exercise of this
power; let the hearer or reader
interpret what is now about to be
revealed. ‘O ¢ywv voy xrX., ‘let him
who has intelligence—o vovveyys, a
character not without its value in
spiritual things; cf. Dan. xii. Io ov
auvyncovegw avopuol, Kal of vonmoves Tur-
noovow; Me. xii. 34 iddv adrov dre
vouvex@s arekpiOn eirey adt@ OV pa-
Kpov et amo ths Baoweias Tov Oeov—
calculate (for Wnditew ef. Le. xiv. 28)
[the meaning of] the Beast’s number,
for [beast though he is] his number
XIII. 18]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN gf
eal
> \ \ 5) / > / \ G ? 6 \ ? -
ap.Ojuos yap avOpw7rou €O TLV’ Kal O apt fMos GQuTOU
éEaxoo101 éEnkovTa €&,
18 om cat 8 67 8 14 29 31 alP'9? syré” | o apiOuos avrov] om & syr®*+ecrw CP
I 10 18 28 37 38 49 79 91 95 96 Veem@ ™'P™ syr arm Hipp?* anon*s | efaxooroe (-crae
&) c&nxovra c& (NX) AP(Q min™ yES’)] eEaxooror (-crae C) dexa €& C (5 xis’) 11 quidam
ap Ir anon*s
is that of a man,’ ie. so far as the
arithmetic goes, it is simple and in-
telligible, because it is human and not
bestial ; cf. xxi. 17 peérpov avOparov, 6
€aTw dyyedov.
kal 6 dpiOuos avrov é€axdowo €&n-
xovra €£] Within a century after the
date of the Apocalypse the precise
figures were uncertain. Irenaeus bears
witness that while all good and old
copies had yés’, and this reading
was attested by those who had seen
St John, there were those who read
US’ (¥. 30, I ev maou Trois orovdaios Kal
dpxaiots avtvypapots Tod apibuod TovTov
KEetpeVvou, Kal papTupoUyTwY aUTOY eKEivoV
TOV kat OYw Tov “Iwavyny EwpakoTor...
éeopadnoay twes erraxodovdnoartes idiw-
Tiope...avri tay && Sexadwv piav Sexada
Bovropevor ecivac), and attempted to
interpret the cipher on these lines.
The reading thus curtly dismissed
gained so good a footing that it
survives in one of our best uncials
and in two cursives, and in the com-
mentary of the Pseudo-Augustine,
where the writer, probably following
Tyconius, says (Migne, P. Z. xxxv.
col. 2437) “sexcenti et sexdecim graecis
litteris sie faciunt yis’,” and inter-
prets accordingly (see Introduction,
p- cxxxvii., note 2). It can hardly
therefore have originated in a simple
confusion between £ and « (which
indeed is itself unlikely, see Nestle,
Text. crit. p. 334), and is probably
a true though less widely received
alternative for yés’. With refer-
ence to the meaning of the cipher,
Irenaeus, notwithstanding his Asian
origin, speaks with far less confidence.
If a clue had existed at first in the
churches of Asia, it had been lost,
or had not reached the Churches of
Gaul. Irenaeus’s guesses (for they are
obviously no more) are based on the
hypothesis that the second Beast
directly represented Antichrist. The
number, he says, is that of Noah’s age
at the time of the Flood (Gen. vii. 6),
plus the height and breadth of the
image set up by Nebuchadnezzar (dAn
yap 1 €ikov eéxeivn mpoTimwats Hv THs
Tov avTtxpiorou mapovoias); and it also
alludes to the six millennia of the
world’s history (y. 29, § 2). When he
comes to transform this number into
a name for Antichrist, he mentions
several guesses—the impossible word
eyanOac (=5+400+1+50+9+1+
200), AaTEINOC (=30+1+300+5+I0
+50+70+ 200), “Latini enim sunt
qui nunc regnant,” and Teitan (300
+5+10+ 300+1+ 50); of these he
thinks the last best, though he declines
to decide (njpeis ody ovx aroxwduveto-
MeV TEpl TOU OvoOpaTos TOU ayTLypicToU) ;
urging that ‘if the writer had wished
us to know the name, he would have
written it in full’ (%b. 30, § 3). And
this in the face of St John’s 6 €yav
voov Wn pirat.
Nor is Hippolytus more illuminat-
ing. Regarding the stamp as bearing
the number of the Beast, which like
Irenaeus he reads as yés’, he sees
in it the word apnoyme=dpvodpa
(=1+100+ 50+70+400+40+5), ex-
plaining: éed) xai mpe@ny...rois uap-
Tvgt TOV XptaTou T poeTpeTov ot dvopot
“Apynaa, noi, rov Gedy gov Tov
eoravpwpévoy (ed. Lag. p. 110 f.). Later
patristic interpreters offer a large
choice of conjectures, some of which
are yet more improbable or even
absurd. Such attempts to solve the
XT.
176 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIV 4
1 *Kat eidov, Kat l0ov TO apviov éxTos ert TO pos
XIV 1 ecdoy RP min?!] cdov ACQ 7 14 36 92 130 186 | ro apyov] om 70 P x 28 35
36 49 91 96 130 al arm Andr | eoros SACP 79] eorws Q 1 alP'4l0 Or Meth earnkos 6 8
14 49 91 98 al™ vid Ar eorynkws 7
enigma can only be regarded, as
Andreas remarks, ev yupvacias Aoye,
and bring us no nearer to the truth.
Least probable of all are the attempts
of many interpreters to find in the
cipher 666 the name of one or an-
other of the conspicuous characters
of modern history; such guesses not
only are inspired by personal anti-
pathies, but betray ignorance of the
real functions of Apocalyptic prophecy.
Gunkel’s theory (Schépfung, p. 378)
which finds in 666 the words Dian
MI IP, ‘primitive chaos,’ i.e. Tiamat,
is not more convincing. If the
number represents a name, the name
is doubtless to be sought among
the @npia of the first century. It is
interesting to find that the Greek
letters of the style of Caligula (raioc
Kaicap) represent numbers which
added together make 616, while the
Hebrew letters Dp }193 (Nero Caesar)
make 666, or 616 if the first word is
written as in Latin without the final
n. Against this last explanation it has
been urged that Caesar is written
4D'p in the Talmud, a spelling which
would bring the total to 676; but the
abbreviated “DP is perhaps admissible
in a cipher, and it is not without ex-
ample (Renan, ?Antechrist, p. 415,
note 4). Certainly Nero Caesar suits
the context well; the Beast or per-
secuting world-power might fitly be
named after the Emperor who began
the policy of persecution, and was
himself an incarnation of its worst
characteristics. Another line of inter-
pretation may perhaps be combined
with this. It has been pointed out
(Briggs, Messiah, p. 324, Milligan,
Revelation, p. 235) that in 666 every
digit falls short by one of the perfect
number—a mark of Antichrist. In
7 | ro opos Xwy] opos C
Orac. Sibyll. i. 328, 888 represents
Christ : oxté yap povadas, roacas be-
kadas & ént ravras | 78 éxatovradas
oxTo... | ovvoua Onrdaoe: ov O evi
pect ajar vonoov | abavaro.o Jeov Xpr-
arov ratd vicrow. The contrast is
significant.
See further the Introduction to this
commentary, p. Cxxxviii., (text, and
note 2); and Hort, Apocalypse, p.
DOU
XIV. i1—5. THE VISION OF THE
144,000 oN Mount Zion.
I. kat eldov, Kai iSov To apyioy Eros
xtd.] The vision of the two Beasts
and their followers is fitly followed by
a reassuring picture of the Lamb in
the midst of His Church; “au milieu
de flots de colére apparait maintenant
un ilot de verdure” (Renan). Of
Primasius: “invicta quoque ecclesiae
castra oportuit declarari, ne tam
vehementi persecutionis impetu vel
succubuisse vel periisse eandem eccle-
siam infirmus animus aestimaret.” To
apviov looks back to y. 6 (where see
note), Vii. 17, xii. 11, xiii. 8, and stands
in contrast with the anarthrous dpvie@
in xiii. 11, On the other hand the
ExaTOV TETTEPAKOVTU TETTapeES XiALaoEs,
though doubtless alluding to the
144,000 of ¢. vii. (cf. Origen, in Joann.
t. i. 1), are not directly identified with
the latter (Arethas: 7 yap av pera Tov
apOpov mponveyxev, Sai pyud yxududdes”
eixov). ‘The distribution of the 12,000
among the tribes is no longer in view:
the total number is used either as
that of a great but limited gathering,
or possibly with reference to the
“Twelve Apostles of the Lamb” (xxi.
14); cf. Andreas: ai dé pud’ xAcades...
TO TOU GmogTOALKOU OTOpoV Trokupopoy
dndodor, Tis €v Exdot@ xaptTos S@deKa-
Kis XtAvoaT ov (12 X 12 X 1000) amrepyaga-
pecs &
XIV. 2]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
/ \ ~ ‘ / /
Cw, kat yet’ avTou ExaTov TeroEpakovTa TETaapeES
, 4 ’ - \ \ »f -
yirrades EX OVO AL TO OVOMaA AVUTOU Kat TO OVOMA TOU
\ - / ’ \ ~ / -
TATPOS AUTOU YEYPAUMEVOY ETL TMV METWTWY AUTOV.
2 hee
Kal )KOVOa
\ ~ ~ «
pwvnv €k TOU OVpavoU ws
\ cf /
Pevny VOaTwv 2
Tow Kal ws pwryv BpovTHs peyaAns, Kal 1) porn
Hv NKoVTa Ws Kapwowr KOapiCovtTwr év Tats KiOa-
I per avrov)+apiOuos Q min® syr Ar | exarov reccepaxovra (recoap. P) recoapes]
8’ min?! (item v. 3) Ar | om avrov kat To ovoua P 1 om 70 ovoua 7 16 28 | ye -
P 3 7 19 30 | yeyparw
Hevoy | katouevoy 1 | OM ws Pwr ny VdaTwv 7o\Awy Me
27 puvn nv] Porgy Px 2879 91 |
om ws 3° 1 gt | Om KiGapwiwy 130 pr pwvy arm Meth | xiOapwiov xiGapitovra me syré”
peévns. But, as in vii. 4 ff., it is the
living Church which is in the Seer’s
thought, not the dvapiOunros oyxXos
of vii. 9; not, i.e, the Church in her
final completed glory, but the faithful
who are on earth at any given time.
emi to dpos Siwy] The site of the
new City of God; cf. Heb. xii. 22
mpoceAndvOate Sioy oper, where West-
cott remarks : “Zion is distinctively the
Acropolis... Mount Zion represents the
strong Divine foundations of the new
Order.” For ‘mount Zion’ (})"¥ 17 ef.
xvi. 16,° Ap Mayedar) see Ps. ii. 6, xlvii.
(xlviii.) 1 ff., Ixxvii. (Ixxviii.) 54, 68,
Ixxxvi. -(Ixxxvii.) 1, cxxiv. (exxv.) I,
Mic. iv. 7, Obad. 17, 21, Isa. xxviii.
16, lix. 20; it is the O. T. symbol for
the security and strength which belong
to the people of God. Thus ‘ Mount
Zion’ is the counterpart to the rdozos
Hromacpevos Of c. xii. 6, 14; seen in
the light of this new vision, the place
where the Woman takes refuge is
none other than the impregnable rock
on which the Church reposes (Mt. xvi.
18). With the present passage cf.
4 Esdr. ii. 42, “ego Ezra vidi in
monte Sion turbam magnam, quam
numerare non potui, et omnes canticis
conlaudabant Dominum”; 7). xiii.
35, 39, “ipse autem stabit super
cacumen Montis Sion...et quoniam
vidisti eum colligentem ad se aliam
multitudinem pacificam,” ete.
Dr Barnes points out that €ords ém
To bpos S. answers to éorabn emi rhv
S. R.
dppoy (xii. 18); the Beast is on the
sand, the Lamb on the rock. Com-
pare the contrast in xvii. 3, xxi. 10,
€xovoat TO dvopa avtov xrd.} In
c. vii. the 144,000 bear the imprint of
the Divine Seal, which protects them
against assault (cf. ix. 4). Here their
foreheads are inscribed with the Name
of the Lamb and that of His Father
(ef. iii. 12 6 wikdv...ypaye ex avroy rd
dvona Tov Oeov pov...kai Td dvoid pov
TO Kawov, XXil. 4 TO 6vopa avrod [se.
Tov Oeov OY Tov 6. Kai rod apviov]} eri
Tov peToTwy avToay, and see notes
ad ll.), ~ metaphor which supplies a
more direct parallel to the methods
of the Beast, whose servants are
branded with the yapayua of his name
(xiii. 17, xiv. 11). The Divine name
on the forehead suggests at once the
imparting of a character which corre-
sponds with the Mind of God, and the
consecration of life to His service.
2. Kal HKovea hwy ex Tov ovpavor
xta.] Not, as the ancient commen-
tators usually assume, the voice of
the 144,000, but that of the ‘company
of Heaven’ with whom the Church is
closely united through the presence in
her midst of the Lamb; cf Heb. Ze.
mpooednAvOare 3. dpec...kal pupiaow
ayyAiav ravnyipa, Where see again
Westcott’s notes.
Much of the phraseology of this
verse occurs elsewhere in the book:
e.g. for jxovea gd. ex rod ovpavod cf.
X. 4, XIV. 15, XVili. 4; for daviy vdarav
I2
178
3 pas avTwv.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 2
3 \ | € oN A \ > /
Kal aoovol Ws wonvy Kany €vwmrlov
a \ / fn / , \ ~
TOU Opovou Kal €VW7T LOY TWYV TEDOAPwWY Cw Kal TWYV
f \ ) \ 2Q/ a \ sO) >
mpoecBuTepwy* Kal ovdels EdvvaTo pabety THY won El
€ / / / €
un al éxaTov TEeTTEpaKoYTA TEgTapEs YiALadEs, ol
2 avrwy] om C avurov syré*
3 om ws NPQ min” me syr arm aeth Or Meth
Prim Ar (hab AC 1 28 36 79 95 al vg) | kawny]+xae qv & (nv sup lin &!) | om kar.
mpecBurepwv C | rw mpecB.] pr evwriov ® syré” arm | om kat 4° 130 | ovders] ovde
es Q 8 11 29 30 31 32 93 94 ove arm | ndvvaro PQ min” ydvvayyy arm | at exarov]
om at &-* 7 28 32* 93 | reccapaxovra P min?!
moAnar, i. 15 (4 Esdr. vi. 17); for os
d. Bpovrijs, Vi. 1, xix. 6, and on «Odpa
in connexion with celestial music see
y. 8, xv. 23 avn xiOap@doy occurs
again in xviii. 22, and «@apifew in
Is. xxiii. 16, I Cor. xiv. 7. For the
meaning of xiOdpa see the note on
Wenioe
3. Kal dovow ds BdyY Kawyy KTA.]
On xauv7 ody see v. 9, notes. Inc. v.
the New Song is sung by the (@a and
the Elders, representing Creation and
the Church. Here it is sung before
the (da and the Elders, and therefore
not by them, but apparently by the
Angels, who are not themselves re-
cipients of the benefits of Redemption.
They are represented, however, in the
N. T. as deeply interested in all that
concerns the salvation of man (Le. xv.
7, 10, Eph. iii. 10, 1 Pet. i. 12), and as
joining in the praises of the Lamb
(Apoe. y. 11 f.). Here they lead the
Song, which the redeemed themselves
have yet but imperfectly learnt.
There is a feeling after the truth which
lies behind this vision in more than
one of the Prefaces that precede the
Sanctus in the ancient liturgies ; ef.
e.g. the Liturgy of St James (Bright-
man, i. p.50): ov vuvovow... lepovoadnp
7} emoupavios tmavyyupis, ekkAnoia
mporoTokay...mvevpata Sikaiwv...\ruxat
paptripey ... dyyedor, apxdyyedor ...
yepouBip...kal...cepabip a...Kékpayer...
TOV €7TLViKLOV dpvov...adovra, and the
still more explicit form in the Roman
Preface: “cum angelis et archangelis...
hymnum gloriae tuae canimus,” and
our own: “with Angels and Arch-
angels...we laud and magnify thy
glorious Name.”
kat ovdels edvvato pabeiy thy w@dxy
ktA.| Even the 144,000 have need to
learn the Song; it does not come to
them naturally, or without effort;
every Eucharist, every thankful medi-
tation on the Passion, is an exercise
in the art. And only they can learn
it; the music of the heart (Eph. v. 19,
Col. iii. 16) cannot be acquired without
a receptivity which is a Divine gift;
cf. Jo. xiv. 17 6 6 koapos ov Sdvara
AaBety, dre ov Oewpet avro ovde ywwadoket,
1 Cor. ii. 14 Wuyexds b€ avOpwros ov
déyerat Ta Tov mvevpatos Tov Geod.
Commentators who interpret the
144,000 as an inner circle of saints,
whether ascetics or others, and Mount
Zion as belonging to the future order,
are compelled to limit the New Song
to a section of the redeemed: e.g.
Andreas: ryv kawny @dyy diddoKovra
THY TOLs TOAOIs OV poVOY Ev T@ TapovTt
Bim adda Kat ev To péAXdovTe ai@ve
ayv@oTov.
Al...xuduades, of Hyopacpevor amd THs
yns: ‘the...thousands, namely, those
who have been purchased [for God,
by the Blood of the Lamb, ef. v. 9]
from the earth’ or (z. 4) ‘from among
men.’ ’Azo here denotes not ‘separa-
tion, but ‘extraction,’ as ex in v. 9;
see Blass, Gr. p. 125. The 144,000
are not taken away from the earth
(Jo. xvii. 15), but while they are upon
it they recognize their relation to God
and to Christ.
XIV. 4]
HYOpaTMEeVOL amo THS YAS.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
179
rt ea eee > Ay \
OUTOL E€lOlVY OL META 4
_ 5) / / , ’ ec
yuvaikey ovK euodivOnoay, Tapbevor yap Elow* ovTOL
e > ~ Cod > / / \ cf /
ol akoNovGouvTes TW apVviw O7TOU ay UTTaAYEL.
3 7. yns|+Aegypti aeth
OUTOL
4 0m ovro ecw A vg aeth"* | ovro 2°] + ew Q
min?! yg™ syr Meth Ar Cypr®* Prim | o axo\.] om ot & | vrayer AC 7 16 28 36 87]
vrayn &PQ min?!
4. ovToé eiow of pera yuvatkay KTA.]
Cf. Tertullian, res. carn. 27 “virgines
scilicet significans et qui semetipsos
castraverunt propter regna caelorum.”
But if our interpretation is right, oi
pe y. otk euodvvOncay xrr. must be
taken metaphorically, as the symbol-
ical character of the Book suggests.
As Tyconius cited by Bede remarks,
“virgines...castos dicit et pudicos”;
they are the xa@apoi 17 xapdia of
Mt. y. 8, the map8évos ayvy évi avdpi
nppoopern Of 2 Cor. xi. 2. No con-
demnation of marriage, no exclusion
of the married from the highest
blessings of the Christian life, finds a
place in the N.T. Our Lord recog-
nizes abstinence as a Christian prac-
tice only in cases where men are able
to receive it (Mt. xix. 12). If St Paul
thinks of celibacy as the better state
(1 Cor. vii. 1, 8), and moreover gives
his reasons for doing so (7b. 32), yet
he does not discourage marriage be-
tween Christians; indeed, he not
only allows (7). 36) but in many cases
recommends it (7b. 1,8). The Epistle
to the Hebrews even eulogizes “the
honourable estate of matrimony” (xiii.
4 Tijtos 6 yauos ev macw Kal 1 KoiTn
apiartos). The Apocalyptist does not
differ from the Pauline school, but
he remembers the attitude of the
Levitical ritual towards sexual inter-
course (Exod. xix. 15, 1 Sam. xxi. 4),
and transfers the podvopds which it
involved in the eyes of the Law to the
abuses of God’s ordinance of which
pagan society was full. That chastity
should be chosen as the first distinctive
virtue of the Christian brotherhood
will not seem strange to those who
reflect that pagan life was honey-
combed with
grossest kind.
With the use of rap6évos mase. ef.
the Apocryphal Life of Asenath, 3
éativ 5€ ovtos 6 “lwo avnp OeoaeBns
kal codpev kal rapOévos, ib. 6 damacov
Tov ddedkdhov gov, dure Kai avros
mapOevos. The term is applied by
Suidas to Abel and Melchizedek, and
by Nonnus to St John, who was
traditionally a celibate to his death.
In Clement of Alexandria’s Hypo-
typoses the first Epistle of St John is
said to have been addressed “ad
virgines (7pos map8evous),” and an echo
of this inscription probably survives
in the headings of the Epistle in one of
Sabatier’s Latin mss. (Ad Sparthos),
as well as in the [pos Hapéovs of a
cursive Greek ms.; cf. Westcott,
Epp. of St John, p. xxxii. f., note 2.
ovrot of axodovbodvtes TO apvia TA. |
A reference to the Lord’s familiar
call dxodovOer por (Me. ii. 14, x. 21,
Le. ix. 59, Jo. i. 43, xxi. 19), and to
such sayings as those reported in
Me. viii. 34, Jo. viii. 12, x. 4, 27, xii. 26.
The conception had rooted itself in
the Christian imagination from the
first; cf. 1 Pet. ii, 21 vpiv vroAipravev
Umoypappov iva emakoXovOnanre Trois
iyveow atvrod. As to its meaning,
Augustine’s “sequimini virginitate
cordis...quid est enim sequi nisi .
imitari?” supplies the only answer:
the Christian life is from first to last
an imitatio Agni. Cf. Eus. H. £. v. 1,
Wv yap cai éore (Vettius Epagathus)
ynowws Xpurrov pabyris, dxohovOay TS
dpvi@ omov ay vmayy. Origen, in
Joann. xi. 16 fragm. (ed. Brooke, ii.
p- 289): efra ds yrjowos avrod pabntys
(St Thomas in Jo. xi. 26), xpivas avra
immorality of the
L2—2
180
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 4
> / 6 5) \ lo 5) fa) / 5) \ rc 6 lo \
nyopae nOoOaVY aTO TWY AV PoOTov aTraoxy TW Ew Kael
lon 9 / 5 \ 5) lan / > ~ > € /
5 TM apviw, “Kal ev TW TTOMATL aVTWY OVX evpeOn
= yf , >
VetOos* auwpot Elo.
4 nyopacOnoar] pr vro Inoov Q 6 7 8 14 29 31 38 186 alPs* syr Ar | om amo Tw
avOpwrov C | arapyy ACPQ min?! yg me syr Ors Meth Andr Ar] am apyns & 16
3 9 a ethvid
5 wevdos] Soros x alParevid | auwuor] anwunroe 7 +yap SQ min*reomn
ygcleam**demharl*lips6tol me syrr arm aeth Or Meth Andr Ar (om yap ACP 12 130
ygam*fuharl**lips4,5) pr or. 186 | evow]+evwmov Tov Opovov Tou Beou vgiledemlipss + oyrot
eloW ol akoNovbourTes TW apyiw 33 35 48 Ar
dxodovbeiv drow ror ay amin, €Bovhero
avT@ Kai tovs Aourovs paOnras xapite
Tov Incod cuvarobécba Ta oopata
avuT@v.
The reading érov ay vmayer, though
rejected by Blass (Gv. p. 217), admits
of explanation; dv qualifies drrov only ;
the direction is uncertain, but the
movement (vdyec) is actual. In all
life Christ is leading, as a matter of
fact; and the indicative emphasizes
this point.
ovro nyopacOnoav...anapx) TO be@
kat T@ apvio| This amplifies and inter-
prets of 1-yopacpevos ard Tis yns. The
144,000 were purchased as an arapy7,
the firstfruits of the harvest of the
world; for this sense of arapyn cf. Rom.
XVi. 5 amapy7 THs Acias eis Xpioror,
1 Cor. xvi. 15 dmapxy ths *Axaias.
Here the azapyy is the generation of
Christians who were living in the last
years of the first century, and who,
relatively to the company of the faith-
ful in all future time, were as the
firstfruits of the great Oepiucpuos (Mt.
ix. 37). An alternative but perhaps
less probable interpretation regards
dmrapx7 as contrasting the contem-
porary Church with the mass of
mankind (cf. 2 Thess. ii. 13 efAaro
dpas 6 beds amapyjv—so BEGP, yg.,
Syr.'ch—eis owrnpiav), or with crea-
tion in general (cf. Jac. i. 18 «is ro
elvat nuds arapxny Twa T@Y avTOU KTLC-
patrwy, where see Mayor's note).
But the arapy7 is not only the first
instalment of the human harvest; the
word is connected by its O.T. associa-
tions with the service of God. The
144,000 are an dm. T@ Oe@ Kal TS dpvio
(for the collocation see vii. 10, XXil.
I, 3), Le. they are offered and con-
secrated to the Divine service: ef. the
law of the firstfruits in Exod. xxii. 29
(28), Deut. xxvi. 2ff.; the phrase
mpoodepew Or apopifew amapxny TO
kupi@ occurs in Ley. ii. 12, Ez. xlv. 1,
xlviii. 9. The new Israelite offers to
God his own body (Rom. xii. 1), and
the spiritual sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving (Heb. xiii. 15), of alms
and ofierings (tb. 16f.), of heart and
will (1 Pet. ii. 5).
5. kal ev T@ oropatt avtav ovx
evp€On wWevdos] See Zeph. iii. 13 of
kaTa\ouTrot TOU "Ioparr.. .ov pin evpedn
€v TO oTomate a’tav yAdooa SoXia,
and with the passage as a whole cf.
ES.) XVenoue
Opel TO Ayi@ Tou; Topevopevos Gua@pos
...\adav adAnOecav ev Kapdia avrov, os
ovk eddAw@oev ev yAooon avrov. After
purity truthfulness was perhaps the
most distinctive mark of the followers
of Christ, when contrasted with their
heathen neighbours ; ef. Eph. iv. 20-25.
The Lamb was characterized by the
same trait: cf. Isa. liii. 9, as quoted in
1 Pet. ii. 23, ovdé evpeOn Sodos ev TO
arépate avtov. On ovx evpéOn (xd
N31D2) Tyconius cited by Bede remarks:
“non dixit, ‘non fuit...? sed non est
inventum.” The distinction, however,
is in practice often slight: cf. WM.
Pp. 769f,, &e., see cc. V. 4, xii. 8, Xvi. 20,
XVilis 20 ff, xxVaae
"Ap@pol ‘bbe
movnpos ev avOpemr@ wWevdos.
Tis KaTACKnVOTEL ev TO
Cf. Sir. xx. 24 popos
From
oe
XIV. 6]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 181
4) , / /
°Kal eidov aXXNov cyyeNov TETOMEVOY ev pEeTov- 6
6 edov SCP min?’] Sov AQ 7 14 36.92 | omadov R* Q 130 alP!4% Or Ar | reroyevov
AC 14 29 31 35 38 79 gt 186 al® Or Andr Ar] rerayevoy & rerwuevoy PQ 1 alm |
Hecoupaynuari] werw ovpaynuati &* necoupavicuare I ovpayw aiuare exovra syr (cf. viii. 13)
this fatal blemish the followers of
Christ were free. "Apwpos is fairly
frequent in the Epistles of the N.T.;
ef. Eph. i. 4, v. 27, Col. i. 22, where it
goes with d@yos or with dys and dvey-
kAntos; Christ is duvis dyuwpos kat
dom os (1 Pet. i. 19), and Christians are
texva Ocov dupa (Phil. ii. 15, and ef.
Jude 24). Behind all such uses of the
word there lies the tradition of the
Greek O.T., in which Gyopos is a
Leyitical term for sacrifices not
vitiated by any flaw rendering them
unfit to be offered. In this sense
it is the regular equivalent of O'Dh;
for the history of this use see Dr
Hort’s interesting note on 1 Pet. /. ¢.
Hence dGyewpos in Biblical Greek is
not ‘blameless, as the etymology
would suggest, but ‘unblemished,’
sacrificially perfect. The 144,000 were
such ; their self-consecration was free
from the insincerity which would have
rendered it unacceptable in the sight
of God. The interpretative gloss évw-
mov TOV Opovov Tod Geov (cf. app. crit.)
is misleading; the scene is not laid
in Heaven, but on Mount Sion; see
v. I, notes.
6—13. THREE ANGELIC PROCLAMA-
TIONS, AND A VOICE FROM HEAVEN.
6. Kat eidSov Gddov ayyedov xrr.]
Each of the angels who now appear
in succession is a new persona
dramatis (aos, ef. vii. 2, viii. 3, x. 1,
notes), to be distinguished from his
predecessor. The first of the three is
thus distinguished, as it seems, from
the Seventh Angel of the Trumpets,
the angelic being last mentioned
(xi. 15). He appears flying in the
meridian (for pecoupaynpa see viii. 13,
xix. 17, notes), i.e, where he can be
seen and heard by all whom his
message concerns; and he carries
(€yovra, cf. i. 18, v. 8, vi. 2, al) an
announcement of good tidings to the
world at large. On evayyéAtov see
Me. i. 1, note; the noun is not used
elsewhere in the Johannine writings,
though the verb occurs here and in
c. x. 7. The ancient interpreters
(e.g. Primasius) compare Mt. xxiv. 14
KnpuxOnoetat Toto TO evayyeAvoy THS
Baodelas...els praptipwv macw Tots
eOveow, kai Tore n&er TO TéAos, While
Origen seems to think of a literal
proclamation of the Gospel before the
end by an angelic ministry (in Joann.
t. 1. 14 ov piav dé cai Bpayxeiay rw-
Tevovrat Stakoviay evayyedcKny ayyedot,
ovdé povny tv mpos Tovs tTomevas
yeyernnevnys adda yap emi TA perew-
pos kal inrayevos Gyyedos evayyéAuor
éxwv evayyeAeirar wav €Ovos). But
ai@viov evayyedvoy cannot be rendered,
as by A.V., “the everlasting Gospel” ;
the parallel cited from Rom. i. 1,
evayyeAvoy Geod, is not apposite, since
evayyeduor is there sufficiently defined
by the genitive which follows it (ef.
WM. p. 155). Doubtless like dpvio
and Spaxey in xiii. 11, and ydcades in
xiv. I, this anarthrous evayyéduy
alludes to that which answered to
the name par excellence, but it is
not synonymous with it. St John
has in view, as the sequel shews, a
particular aspect of the Gospel, a
Gospel which announces the Parousia
and the consummation which the
Parousia will bring. Aiwmov, like
evayyéAuov, iS am. Aey. in the Apoe.,
though frequent in the Gospel and
first Ep. of St John; and it is not
easy to determine its import in this
connexion. Origen supposed it to
refer to a future revelation as com-
pared with the Gospel which the
Church preaches already; thus he
writes (in Rom., i. 4): “quod aeternum
dicit Ioannes in Apocalypsi, quod tune
182
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 6
of / eld
pavyati, ExovTa evayyeNtov aiwyioy evayyeANloa
> A A / > \ - -~ \ > \ lo ys!
€77£ TOUS Ka@nuevous e7l THS YHsS KaL ETL TTAV EOvos
\ \ > \ / / ~~
7 kat duAnv Kat yA@ooayv Kat aor, "Neywv ev pwvy
/ / \ \ \ , > > /
peyady PofnOnre Tov Geov Kat dote aitw do€ar,
e/ ER e e - J > ~ \ /
Ort HAOEV 1 WPA THS KploEwWS AUTOV, Kal TPOTKUYN-
na 7 \ > \ \ \ = \
TATE TW TONTAVTL TOV OUVpavovy Kal THY YHV Kal
6 evayyedioa] evayyedicacbar & 10 28 33 35 36 49 51 79 96 130 Or | om em 1°
Q min?! Ar | rovs KaOyuevous (ros Kabyuevois 38 97)] Tous Karoxovvras A 14 28 7g
92 186 al anon*€ tous xa0. Tous KaTouk. I Tovs Kab. kat KaToix. 36 | om em 3° 1 28
36 79 al me Ar
7 Neywr] Aeyouca 1 vg*™ Or Cypr Aeyovra 186 om &| om ev
A | ¢o8nOnre]+potius Cypr Prim | rov Geov] tov xupioy Q min*? g yg*ledemharitollipss
anon™s Ar | tw mronoavtt] (avTov) Tov rornoavta Q min* (Or) Ar
revelandum est cum umbra transierit
et veritas venerit, et cum mors fuerit
absorpta et aeternitas restituta” ; but
the contents of the Angel’s message
do not accord with his suggestion.
The middle ages produced an Evan-
gelium aeternum (ce. A.D. 1254; cf.
Introduction, p. cexii. f.), and a book
with the same title appeared in
Germany as late as 1699, both works
being founded, as it seems, upon
a similar misapprehension ;_ see
Fabricius, cod. apocr. N.T. p. 337 ff;
Fabr.-Mansi, Bibl. lat. med. aet.,
iii, p. 397- In aidmoyv evayyedcov
the epithet may be either retro-
spective—‘a gospel which has had
an age-long history’ (see Rom. xvi.
25 puotnpiov xpdvots aiwviow cect-
ynuevov), or, as is more probable,
prospective,—‘a gospel belonging to,
stretching forward to, the eternal
order’ (cf. Me. iii. 29, note)—aidyov
as contrasted with the mpockaipa of
the present life (2 Cor. iv. 18), a
gospel which is a direct antithesis to
the promises of brief indulgence with
which the Empire excited the hopes
of its subjects, the pants et circenses
after which the Roman populace
gaped (Juy. sat. x. 80).
evayyeAioat emt tovs KaOnpévous ert
Ths yns KTv.| On the act. evdayyediCew
see x. 7, note; the infinitive defines
the purpose for which the evayyéAcoy
wasentrusted tothe angel, and is nearly
equivalent to iva evayyedion. The
Angel’s gospel was directed to (ert
T.k., Cf. 1 Pet. i. 25 1d evayyehioOev eis
vpas, Gal. i. 16 iva evayyeAiCopae adrov
ev Tots €Oveow, Apoc. x. 11 bet oe mad
mpopytevoa emt aois) the polyglott
peoples who made up the Empire;
for mav €@vos x. dvd) k. yA@ooa kK.
Aaos see Y¥. 9, Vii. 9, xi. 9, xiii 7. The
phrase xa@jc@a ert rhs yas = karoukeiy
emt tHs yns 18 Hebraic, cf. eg. Jer.
XXXli, (XXV.) 29 emt Tous kaOnpévous
€or y =I vaweds by. for
other instances in the N.T. see Mt. iv.
16, Le. xxi. 35, and ef. Apoc. xvii. 1.
7. eyor ev horn peyady PoBnOnre
xt\.] The Angel’s call seems to be
the reverse of a gospel; it announces
that judgement is imminent, and sum-
mons the pagan world to repentance.
Like St Paul’s speech at Lystra (Acts
xiv. 15 ff.) it contains no reference to
the Christian hope ; the basis of the
appeal is pure theism; the terms
poBeicOa tov Oedv, SdEav Sovvat Ta
Oe (xi. 13), are O.T. phrases (Eccl.
xii. 13, Josh. vii. 19), and no muorevere
ev T@ evayyeAiw tempers the sternness
of the cry (Mc. i. 14). It is an appeal
to the conscience of untaught heathen-
dom, incapable as yet of comprehend-
ing any other. Yet there is a gospel in
the implied fact that repentance is
XIV. 8] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 183
/ \ \ ,
Odracocav Kal myyas vdaTwv. *kal addos SevTEpos 8
af / a Sf
ayyeNos yKkoNovOnoev Néywv "Erecev Errevev Baf3v-
\ / a cy - Sf ~ ~ ~
wy 1 pmeyaAn, 7 EK TOU oivou TOU BUMOU THs TropVElas
7 Oadaccav] pr ryy SQ 1 130 186 alfred? Or Andr Ar 8 ad\os devrepos
avyyedos &* (sine ayy.) AQ 1 alft?3° gs et 130 (sine ayy.)] adXos ayy. devrepos R“* CP
6 9 10 17 18 28 36 (sine adXos) 37 40 186 al® me syr adXos ayyedos 14 Vg BYTE”
aeth anon*s | om ezecey 2° N°-* (transiliente &*) CQ 130 al?! me aeth | 7 2°] 7
peyahn)+7mods 130 ort r 36 Ar om &* PQ 186 alP'49 me Prim | om Tov owov
syrs” | om Tov @umov 1 96 vg™ Prime™™ | rropyias &°-* CQ
still possible, and the very judgement
that impends promises a new order
which is the hope both of the Church
and of the world. "H\@ev 7 apa kth.
Cleves 23, XVi. 32, infra v.15.
T@ romoarrt roy ovpavoy xri. is again
from the O.T.: ef. Ps. exlv. (exlvi.) 6,
and see Acts /.c.; the phrase sums up
the claim of the Creator as such wpon
the allegiance of mankind, and the
appeal of Nature can go no further.
Tnyat vdarev, DY PVD or NY, as
in Exod. xv. 27, Lev. xi. 36; cf. ¢. viii.
10, XVi. 4.
8. Kai GdXos devtepos ayyedos HKo-
AovOnoev xrr.] Another angel, a
second, follows the first. His mes-
sage interprets in part the “hour of
judgement” of which the first had
given warning : “ fallen, fallen is Baby-
lon the Great.” “Erecey €recey B. is
an echo of Isa. xxi. 9 Sag n>p) nep)
(LXX., mémt@xey twénrwxey B.). As in
xi.7 (rd Onpiov), the writer assumes that
the recipients of the book are familiar
with a symbol which he has not
hitherto used, and therefore partly
anticipates what he has to say about
it at a later stage. There is reason
to think that in Jewish and Christian
circles Babylon was already an accept-
ed synonym for Rome ; besides 1 Pet.
Vv. 13 7) €v BaBvA@ue cuvexdext?, Where
most of the indications point to Rome,
cf. Orac. Sibyl. y. (a pre-Christian Jew-
ish book) 143 dev&erar ex BaSvA@vos
avaé oBepos kai avadys, ib. 159 f. cal
prc&ec movrov re Babdy xavtnv BaBu-
Aava | “Iradins yaiav @, tb. 434 al at
cot, BaBvAdyv xypvadbpove xpucoredire,
and the Apoc. of Baruch (contem-
porary with the N.T., Charles, p. xvi.)
xi. I. Early Christian interpretation
supports the view that Babylon=
Rome in 1 Peter and the Apoc.;
cf. Eus. H. EZ. ii. 15 cvvra€ac hao
‘A -~ . > Ul > 3 y
-[rov Ma@pxov ro evayyedAov] én’ adrijs
‘Pauns, onpaiver te TovT avrTov, TH
ToAW TporikwTepoy BaBSvAdva mpocet-
movra (the information appears to be
derived from Clement of Alexandria
and perhaps ultimately from Papias
of Hierapolis) ; Tertullian, adv. Mare.
iii. 13 “ Babylon etiam apud Ioannem
nostrum Romanae urbis figura est,
proinde magnae et regno superbae
et sanctorum Dei debellatricis.” The
phrase B. 7 peyadn comes from Dan.
iy. 27 N32 923, xx. and Th.; the
epithet is used wherever Babylon is
mentioned in the Apocalypse (xiv. 8,
XVi. 19, XVii. 5, XVilil. 2, Io, 21), and
emphasizes the Nebuchadnezzar-like
self-importance of the rulers of Rome
rather than the actual size or true
greatness of the city; in the latter
respect Jerusalem was in the eyes of
a Jew 7) 7odus 9 peyaAn (xi. 8, note).
But Rome was as dissolute as she
was proud, and a source of moral in-
fection to the world; # éx rod olwou KrX.
justifies the doom pronounced by the
second Angel upon her. Tod oivov
Tov Oupov ths wopveias avrfs (here and
in xviii. 3) brings together two phrases
which occur separately elsewhere, viz.
€x TOU OlvoU TOV OupoOd Tov Geod (xiv. 10),
and éx Tov oivov tis mopveias avris
184 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIV. 8
ees / / \ s/ 9 \ oS sf
Q auTys TemoTiKey TavTa Ta EOvy. kat aXXos ay-
/ qn / ~~
yeAos TplTOS iKOAOUOnoev avTots éywv év pwvy
14 »/ ~ \ / \ > /
peyary Ei tis TPOGTKUVEL TO Onpiov Kal THV €lKoVa
> a \ / / ? \ lol /
avTov, Kal NauBaver yadpayua emi TOU pmEeTwTTOU
Ny SNS \ ~ a \ \ /
10 avTov 7 éml THY YEipa avTOU, Kat avTOs TieTaL éK
8 aurns] ravrns Q 2 7 29 all> | remrortkev] werrwxay (vel -xev) S°%-* (12) (130) me
arm* Prim 9 adXos ayyedos tptros ACPQ min* yg2™* futolvid me syr arm Andr]
TpiTos ayyedos vgetem aeth Cypr Prim Ar ad)os ayyedos I 14 92 ayyedos 12 | avros]
avrw A Prim | om ev dwvn peyady me | To Onptov (7. Ovocacrnpiov Ar. rornpov 14)] Tw
Onpiew C gs | avrov 1°] avrwy C | om kar 3° C 14 | xapayua] pr ro 28 35 36 37 79 95
130+ avrou syré" | rw verwrw & | om avrov 3° 14 92 arm4
(xvii. 2). There is doubtless a refer-
ence to Jer. xxviii. (li.) 7 mornjpiov
xXpuaovv BaBvday ev xeupt Kupiou, pedv-
gkov Tacav THY yhy: amo Tov olvov
avrijs ériogay €6vn; cf. also Hab. ii.
15, where the Chaldeans are in view:
@ 0 ToTiC@y Tov TANGiov avTov avatpoTA
Godepa, and see infra, c. xvii. 4, note.
The wine of Rome, as of Babylon, was
the intoxicating influence of her vices
and her wealth; but viewed from
another point, it was the oivos rod
@vpod, the wrath which overtakes
sin; cf. Ps. lxxiv. (Ixxv.) 9 mornpuov
ev xetpt Kupiov, olvov axparov mAjpes
Kepdopartos...kal Tiovrat TavTeEs of duap-
Twdol THS yns. Ths mopvelas aris:
the Seer ascribes to Rome a character
which the Prophets of Israel had
ascribed to more than one of the great
pagan cities of antiquity ; thus Nine-
veh (Nah. iii. 4) is a wopyn kadz Kal
em txapns...7) ToovVGa €Ovn ev TH Tropveta
avrns, and Tyre (Isa. xxiii. 16f.) a
mopyn emAeAnopéevn Who, on her res-
toration to favour, eora: éymopiov
(ANIM) macas rais Bacirelas rhs
oikovpevns ; even Zion had come to
deserve the title (Isa. i. 21 mas éyévero
Topyn ToALs mLoT? Tecwv;). While the
charge of mopyeia might be amply
justified by the moral condition of
Rome under the Empire, it probably
refers chiefly to the utter venality of
the capital, which was ready to sell
both body and soul for a price; cf.
Sallust, Jug. 35 “urbem venalem et
mature perituram, si emptorem in-
venerit,” and see Mayor’s note on
Juv. x. 77. As Delitzsch (Isaiah, i.
p. 412f.) truly says, a “commercial
activity” which, “thinking only of
earthly advantage, does not recognize
a God-appointed limit, and carries on
a promiscuous traffic with all the
world, is...a prostitution of the soul.”
On the wopveia of Rome see xvii. 2, 4,
XVill. 3, 9, notes. Tyconius seems to
have followed a text which for 7...
memotukey read ort...mémaxav (Hauss-
leiter, p. 136, cf. xviii. 3), while the
text of Primasius had wémrexay for
mémwxay (a vino trae fornicationis
suae ceciderunt universae civitates).
9. Kal Gos ayyedos Tpiros nKoAOv-
Onoev xrr.| The third of this succes-
sion of herald angels denounces the
Caesar-worshippers; cf. xiii. 12 ff,
notes. This is a counter-proclamation
to that which is put into the mouth
of the Image of the Beast; if the
supporters of the Caesar-worship
threatened recusants with boycotting
and even death (xiii. 15, 17), the angel
seeks to deter them from yielding by
the prospect of a worse doom.
On ryy eikova adrod see xiii. 15, note,
and on ydpayya xili. 16, 17, notes.
10. kal avros mierat xtd.] Not, ‘he
too as well as Babylon’ (Bousset), for
Babylon is not represented as drinking
of her own cup; but rather ‘he shall
11]
“
\ / lol /
¢ €vwrioy TOU apviou.
a syr
. ) (1 7 14) 28 79 (92) (186) (Ar)
; _ drink,’ where xai opens the
losis (WM. p. 547, note 1), identi-
12 the person who is to drink with
who has worshipped. The wrath
ch he must drink is now defined;
wrath of God; the cup which
is the cup of His anger against
A Divine copyy, which is corre-
A with the Divine righteousness,
postulated throughout the N.T.,
p. Rom. i. 18, iii, 5, xii. 19,
i. 6, Apoc. Vi. 17. Oupos (or
od) Tow Beod, the white heat
od’s anger, is an 0O.T. phrase
representing myn AN (cf.
Q, Xxii. 22)—an_ anthropo-
image, but one which covers
reality; in the N.T. it
only in the second half of the
pse, where it is frequent (xiv.
mt, 7, Xvi. We 04, X1x-.\15):
epagpévov dxpdrov: an O.y/-
taken over perhaps from the
F Ps. Ixxv. 9 where dxparoy
1 represents OD, wine mixed
spices but not with water (see
1 8. 0). Cf. also Jer. XX Nii. I (xxv.
) Tornp.iov TOU olvou ToU axparou
y = PND ma DID, Pss. Sol.
J ier Oca TOUTO exepacey avrois 6
Dua mAavyoews: emdtirev av-
npiov oivov axpdrov els néOnv.
w emphasizes the strength of
toxicant ; or, as Andreas says,
saning may be: cowwrjoe alta
is
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
185
/ coal la lal ~ col /
oivov Tov Oupov Tov Oeot Tov KEeKeparpevou
Ww ~ , - a 2 '
9aTOU eV TH TOTHPiw THS OpYNs avTOU, Kal Paca-
Q/ 5) \ \ / ? / > / TNE 3
UNOETAL EV Trupe Kal Oeiw reamed has a yee aylwv
c -
kal 0 Katvos Tov Bawa- iI
~ lo > / \
MOU AUTwWY Els aiwvas aiWywy avaBaivEel, Kal ovK
10 Tov Oeou] Tov Kupiov syr®™ | ev Tw wornpiw] ex Tov mornpiov A 7 16 39 ex Tov
0 130 | rns opyns] Tv opynv A | BacamaOnoovra A 8 14 36 g2 | ayyedor ayy
Bs 92 95 vecteam fcollips: syr] ray ayiwy ayyehwy Q min?! Cypr Prim Ar tov
ehwv A 26 me aeth"* (pr avrov) rou deov arm | om kar ev. Tou apyiov 130 | apyiou]
II autwy] avrov 7 16 39 41 42 49 Vg"P* arm? Ar om arm‘ | evs aiwvas
pS (c. rw at.) AQ 130 (¢. Tous at. Twy at.) alP! syrr] evs awa arwyos (vel arwywv)
THS TOU TLuLwpNTLKOD TrOTNpiov TrOoTEws,
akpdrov pev Kal autyovs Oeiwy olk-
Tipper, dua TO Kpioews Sixaroy.
kal BacavcOnoerae év Tupi kai Oei
ktd.] For Bacavifew see ¢. 1x. 5, note,
and for mip kat Oeiov, ib. 17, note;
compare also xix. 20, XxX. IO, XXi. 8;
the imagery looks back to Isa, xxx.
33, Ez. xxxviii. 22 and ultimately to
Gen. xix. 24 (cf. 3 Macc. ii. 5). The
punishment is aggravated by the
presence of spectators. If Christians
at the stake or in the amphitheatre
suffered in the sight of a multitude
of their fellowmen, those who deny
their faith must suffer before a more
august assembly, composed of the holy
angels and the Lamb. There is a
partial parallel in Le. xii. 9 6 6é
dpynoapuevos pe every tTav avOparwy
arapynOnoetat evorrioy TaY ayyéA@y TOU
Geod; but in this passage not only
angels are witnesses of the punish-
ment— it is inflicted also in the
presence of the Lamb. As in vi. 16,
Ths Opyns tod apviov, the name in-
tensifies the horrors of the situation.
The Bacavopos is aggravated by a
consciousness of the pure spiritual
beings which are around, but still
more by the presence of the Lord Who
died for the sins of men and has been
denied and rejected by these sufferers.
II. kat 6 xamvos rod Bacanopod
avray eis aldvas xtX.] The Seer is
186 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIV. 11
EXoucLW avaTravow nmepas Kal VvUKTOS, OL 7 POO KU-
vouvres TO Onpiov Kal THY EiKOva avTOU, Kai el TIS
12 NauBaver TO Yapayua Tov bvouaTos avTOU. “woe
1} UTOMOVY TMV aYyiwYy ExTLY, Ot TNPOUYTES Tas évToAas
13 tou Oeov kat Thy miotw Incov. Kat nKovca pwvns
IL 70 Onpiovy Kat Ty etkova] Tw Onpww K. TN ELkove 36 95 TH Evkovy 7 | TO xapayua]
om To A
Any 130 me
still thinking of the fate of Sodom
and Gomorrah ; cf. Gen. xix. 28 idod
avéBawev POE THs yns @oel atpis
kapivov; Isa. xxxiv. of. é€orae 9 yn
avTis @s micoca Katopévn vuKTos Kal
neepas, Kat ov pn oBeoOnoerat eis TOY
ai@va ypovoy, Kat dvaBnoeTae 6 KaTVOS
avtjs avo. Contrast Apoec. ix. 5
BacavicOnoovrat pihvas mévte. The
partial punishments inflicted under
the Trumpets have now given place
to a judgement which is final and a
sentence without time-limits. The
denial of Christ by a Christian was
a sin for which the Church knew no
remedy, an aiw@mov auaptnua which
brought a corresponding recompense.
OvK €xovow avaravow npépas Kal vuK-
TOs, SC. ao Tod Bacavicpod ; contrast
iv. 8 avaravow ov €xovow nuépas Kat
vuxtos Aeyortes “Aytos ktA. Those who
desert Christ for Caesar will be the
victims of a remorse that never dies
or sleeps. The passage is quoted by
Cyprian (ep. 58. 7) in A.D. 252-3 to
deter the African Churches from
sacrificing: “grassatur et saevit in-
imicus, sed statim sequitur Dominus
passiones nostras et vulnera vindica-
turus...ille metuendus est cuius iram
nemo poterit evadere, ipso praemo-
nente et dicente: ne timueritis eos
qui occidunt corpus...qui amat ani-
mam suam perdet illam...et Apoca-
lypsis instruit et praemonet dicens:
st quis adorat bestiam etc.”
12. de 7 vroporn Tay ayiwy éoTiv |
A comment by the Seer, in a charac-
teristic form; cf. xiii. 10 ddé éorw 7
I2 ot TnpouvyTes] Twv THpovvTwy & 36 38 g5 pr woe I 7 49 79 91 186 | om
tou Jeov 1 | Incou] pr Tov 37 49 91 96 186+xpioTov 28 71
13 pwrns] pwrvny peya-
Umopovn Kal 7 mictis Tov ayiwy, 1b. 18
ade 7 codia €ativ, XVii. 9 dde 6 vots o
éxov codiav. Here, in this struggle
with the Empire, lay the Church’s
opportunity of working out her salva-
tion through patient endurance in
well-doing. For vropovn see i. 9, ii. 2f.,
19, iii. 10; and cf. Rom. v. 3 7 6Aies
vmopovny Katepyaterat, 1 O€ vmopov7
Soxuysnv, 7 Sé Soxiyuy eAmida; Jac. i. 3
TO Ookipoy Uuav THs TigTews KaTEpyda-
(erat vmopovnv. The Caesar-cult sup-
plied the Saints with a test of loyalty
which strengthened and matured those
who were worthy of the name. Such
were those who kept the command-
ments of God and the faith of Jesus—
oi tnpovvres defines tay ayiwr, though
the construction is broken, as if rives
eioly of ayvot; had intervened—a phrase
which combines the chief note of O.T.
sainthood with the chief factor in the
Christian life; cf. xii. 17, note. Tyyv
miativ Incod, the faith which has Jesus
for its Object; cf. Me. xi. 22 miorw Geod
(note), Jac. ii. I thy miotw Tov Kupiov
npov I. X., Apoe. il. 13 tH mwiotw pov.
13. Kal jKxovca Povns €k TOU ovpavod
Aeyovons Tpayov xrd.] The Seer’s
meditation is broken by a Voice from
heaven. His own insight had enabled
him to see in the persecution which
impended a call to vmopovn7. But
something further was needed for the
comfort and guidance of the Asian
Christians in the immediate future;
and the Voice now imparts it. It is
a message for the Churches, to be
registered and communicated to them ;
XIV. 13] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 187
€k TOU ovVpavov Neyovons Tpavyov Maxkapiot ot veKpoi
¢c > / 5] / Fis 2 Py 3) / / \
ol €V Kupiw amt o0vpnoKovTes at apTl. Val, Aevyet TO
~ Vv / ? ~ / - \
MVEA, iva avaTTaNnoOVTaL EK TWY KOT WY aUTMV' Ta
\ / - a > -
yap epya aitwv akoNovbe? pet avTov.
13 Aeyourns]+po 1 28 36 38 49 79 Qt 96 186 vgledemtol armexe4 Prim | ev Kupiw
SAQ mine™ "4 syre"] ev xpicrw CP 130 in deo syr | arodvnoxorres] resurgentes me |
am apr. cum praeced coniung P gi 96 97 syrr Ar cum sequent Q 130%! fere39 ygelelipss
Prim non interpung SAC 186 | avaranoovrat SAC] avaravoovra Q 1 al?!a!° avarav-
owvTac P min?! avaravwvra 186 | ex Twy KoTwy] aro Tw kK. 130 amo TwY epywy 14
g2 | om ra yap epya...ueT avrwy syrs" | yap NACP 18 26 38 95 vg syr Aug Prim] de
Q min?! Andr Ar om me"! | yer avtwy]+xKat odnynoe avrous ets {wns myyas vdaTuv
mevid
for ypayov as a formula introducing
such messages see i. 11, 19, ii. 1, 8 ete,
iii. 1, 7 ete., xix. 9, xxi. 5, and contrast
X. 4 pe) ypayns.
Makapuor oi vexpot of ev Kupi@ aro-
O@voxovres is a new beatitude which
needed a Voice from heaven to pro-
claim it. St Paul, speaking by reve-
lation (ev Aoy@ Kupiov), had taught
that the dead in Christ (1 Cor. xy. 18
of KouinOevres €v Xpiot@, I Th. iv. 14
Tovs kounbévras dia Tov “Incov, ib. 16
oi vexpoi ev Xprore) Were not to be the
subjects of a hopeless grief, as if they
were shut out from the glories of the
Parousia (1 Th. iv. 15 ff.). St John
(Apoe. vi. 9) had seen the souls of the
martyrs under the Altar, crying, ‘How
long?’ and had heard them bidden to
rest awhile (iva dvaravcovra ert xpovov
puxpov). The Voice from heaven car-
ries these revelations a stage further.
Those whoshould dieinthe Lord hence-
forth, as the martyrs did, were to be
felicitated for the rest on which they
entered. “Am dpv, ‘from this time
forth’ (Jo. xiii. 19, xiv. 7), must be
connected, as its position shews, not
with paxdpor but with oi aro8ynokortes ;
nothing is said with regard to the
past, the purpose of the revelation
being to bring comfort to those who
in the coming persecutions would need
a strong consolation. It is a message
in the first instance for a particular
age, and referred to those who were
to be called to suffer for their faith.
Yet in view of the quite general terms
in which it is couched (of droOynoKovtes
ev Kupi), the later Church has felt
herself at liberty to use it for the
comfort of her mourners; audivi
vocem de caelo found a place in the
Sarum offices for the dead, and its
English equivalent immediately follows
the committal to the grave in our own
Burial Service. Cf. Primasius: “ uni-
versis pollicens felicitatem.” But the
limitation ev Kupi@ remains; as An-
dreas observes: 1 €« Tod ovpavod dav)
ov mavras pakapiter Tovs vexpovs, adda
Tovs ev Kupi@ dmoynoxovras. Thus
this Divine paxapiopos differs widely
from that which is sometimes indis-
criminately pronounced on the dead
by pagan writers (see exx. in Wet-
stein); a general paxapioe of vexpot
finds no justification here.
vai, Neyer TO TVEVpa, (va Gvarrancovrat
xtA.] The Spirit in the mind of the
Seer responds to the Voice from above
him ‘Yea (cf. i. 7, xvi. 7, XXii. 20),
they are blessed, to rest (as they shall)
from their labours.’ “Iva here passes
into the meaning of 6dr, ‘in that’
rather than ‘in order that,’ nearly as
in Jo. viii. 56 #yadAtacaro iva iSy, “ he
rejoiced to see.” For the future after
iva ef. cc. vi. 4, ix. 5; and for the form
avarajcovra see Blass, Gr. p. 44, and
add to his exx. Ovyrh. Papyri iv. p. 4
‘ > ’ > ’
[Bacrevoas avarra |norerat. Avatraveo-
188
14
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 14
> \ \ / / \ > \ \
™ Kat eidov, Kal ioov vepeAn EvKH, Kal ert THY
/ , / CaN > 0 / of > \
vepeAny KaOnpevovy Omotov viov avOpwrov, Exwv Ent
oa ~ > Lod / Lox Ars) om \
TNS KepaAdns auTOU oTepavoyv Npucovy Kal Ev TH KELL
> ~ /
15 avTou dpéravoy o€v.
Skal addos ayyedos €EnNOev
14 0M xat edov & 130 syré¥ | edov P min?"] cdov ACQ 7 14 92 | KaOnmevos omotos I
7 49 91 al kabqpuevos 130 | wov RAQ 2 89 11 13 14 27 (28) 30 31 32 al8] uw C 6 7 38
186 al*tm Andr Ar wou P 26 wos 1 | exwv] exovra &* 13 26 27 28 29 42** 79 95
exovre 38 | rns Kearns] Tyv Keparnv A 8 28 29 30 38 40 51 79 93 94 98 130 | emt
Thy xetpa Syr8" | ofv]+ cay arm?
dar is more usually followed by azo
(2 Regn. vii. 11, Esth. ix. 16), but
ék occurs, eg. Plat. Crit. 1064 os
€k pakpas dvaremavpévos ddov. In
the words that follow, corav, épya are
(ii. 2, note) antithetical ; the ‘labours’
of the saintly life end in the grave,
but not its ‘works’; its processes,
methods, habits, results remain, and
follow the saint into his new life;
cf. Pirke Aboth vi. 9 (ed. Taylor?,
p. 103) “in the hour of a man’s decease
not silver nor gold nor precious stones
and pearls accompany the man, but
Thorah and good works alone.” The
contrast is latent in yap: ‘they shall
rest from their labours—I say not
from their works, for their works go
with them.’ There is a further contrast
between the sentence as a whole and
the doom pronounced on the disloyal
in &. 11 (avaravow ovk éxovaw); cf. Pri-
masius: “e contrario illos impios dixit
die ac nocte requiem non habere.” ’Axo-
hovGetv perd, cf. vi. 8; Blass, Gr. p.113f.
14—20. THE VISION oF THE HaR-
VEST AND THE VINTAGE OF THE HARTH,
14. kat eldov, kal Sod veséAn even
xtd.] The revelations of the last
section (vv. 8—13) now culminate in
a vision of the Parousia, represented
as a time of general ingathering of
the fruits of life. First, the Seer sees
‘One like a Son of Man’ (for 6ocov
viov see i. 13, note), the same Person
who had appeared in the first chapter
of the Book, seated on a cloud (Dan.
Vii. 13 LXXx. iOov él ray vededAdy Tod
avpavod ws vids avOpemou Apyxero, cf.
Mt. xxiv. 30, xxvi. 64, Acts i 9, 11),
the white cloud (cf. Mt. xvii. 5 vebéAn
gdetwn) which was so familiar an ob-
ject to dwellers by the Mediterranean
and Aegean; not the dark storm-cloud
which to the Hebrew mind suggested
the inscrutable mystery of unrevealed
Deity (Ps. xcvi. (=xevii.) 2 vepéAn Kat
vidos KikA@ avrod), but the symbol
of light and blessing. Like the Elders
in c. iv. 4 (cf. Tert. de coron. 15) the
Figure on the Cloud is crowned with
a victor’s wreath wrought in gold, a
orépavos xpucovs, contrasting sharply
with the or. axavOwos of the Passion
(Me. xv. 17), but not an imperial
dadnpya ; the crowned Christ is here
the Conqueror rather than the King.
He comes however not to conquer— ,
this He has already done (iii. 21)}—
but to reap, and His hand carries not
a sword but a sickle, sharp and ready
for its work. It is instructive to
compare this description with the
vision of c. i. 13 ff on the one hand,
and with that of xix. 11 ff on the
other; in each case the ornaments
and instruments are appropriate to
the character sustained. In c. i. the
royal Priesthood of Christ is the pre-
dominating thought; in c. xix. He
appears as the true Zmperator ; here
the writer’s aim is to bring together
the thought of Christ’s victory over
sin and death with the hope of His
return to raise and judge mankind.
I5. Kat dddos ayy.e&nrGev €x Tov vaov
kpd¢ev KTd.] ”“AdAos here looks back
to v. 9, not to the human form on the
XIV. 16] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 189
€k TOU vaov, KpaCwy ev wr peyaln TO KaOnpévw
\ : p / v ug is v ; sie a
> ~
emt ths vedeAns [leuov to dpéravov. cov Kal Oe-
TA £ c / / of > / c
purov, OTe AOev 1 wpa Oepioa, ort €EnpavOn 6
\ lal - 16 Ay ash G / ’ ‘ ~
Oepio nos THS YNS. Kal €Barev 6 KaOypeEvos eri Tis 16
/ \ / > mw 3 \ \ ~ . ore /
vepeAns TO dperravov avTou ert Thy ynv, Kal EOEpic On
15 vaov]+avrov & aeth oupavov 1 7 12 16 28 38 49 79 186 al arm! | dwn peyadr]
d. 7 weyadn 1 Om Prim | nAGev] +o 7* al”!4+ cov 1 12 17 36 186 | Bepioa] pr Tov
29 49 91 93 96 130 al rou Oepiouov & 38 | om ore eEnpavOn o Bep. THs ~yns syre™
16 rns vepedns SA 16* 36 38 47 97] Ty vedednvy CP min?! Ar ry vededn Q 7 8 13 14
92 93 94 | om Kat ebepic On y yn ME
cloud just described. Another angel
—the fourth in this context—comes
forth from the Sanctuary (cf. xi. 109,
xiv. 17, xv. 5 ff., xvi. 1, 17), ie. from
the Presence of God, carrying to the
Reaper the command of the Lord of
the Harvest (Mt. ix. 38) to begin His
work. Even the Son does not fix
or even know the time, which it
belongs to the Father to determine
(Me. xiii 32, note; Acts i. 7). "Em
ths vedeAns: cf. emi thy vedeAny in
v. 14 and perhaps v. 16; there is no
perceptible change of meaning.
Tléuyov ro Spemavov gov xrd. echoes
more than one passage in the Prophets,
eg. Joel iii. (iv.) 13 ée&amoorei\are
Spémava (31D Anbu), OTL TapéaTnKey
Tpuyntos (1322), Jer. xxviii. (li.) 33
€re puuxpov kal m&ee 6 auntos aris (sc.
BaSvddvos). There are also parallels
in our Lord’s teaching, e.g. Me. iv. 29
bray d€ mapadot 6 xapros, «vis azo-
ored\Xet TO Spemavoy, ori mapeotynKev
© Oepiopos (Where see notes); Mt. xiii.
39 0 Oe Oepiopos currédea aldvos ear.
The harvest, however, is not here,
as in Mt. Zc, the whole produce of
the world, the results, good and evil,
of human history, but rather the
wheat-harvest considered apart from
the tares; the evil appear below
(v. 18 ff.) under another metaphor,
"Ore HAGev 7 Opa: the time, though in
the Owner's Hands (Acts i. 7), does
not depend on any arbitrary decree,
but on the maturity of the crops, of
which He alone can fully judge.
"EEnpavOn, aruit, arida est, properly
of the drying up of the juices of the
wheat plant; in Joel i. 17 &e&npavén
ciros refers to premature desiccation,
but here that which indicates perfect
ripeness is probably intended. The
R.V. ‘overripe’ is perhaps scarcely
justified ; the idea conveyed is rather
that the precise moment has come for
reaping, and there must be no further
delay. The aorists Aber, eénpavén
approach the sense of the perfect ; cf.
Ellicott on 1 Thess. ii. 16 (pp. 31, 147).
16. kat €Badrev 6 kaOrpevos xrh.]
Vg. rightly: e¢ misit...falcem suam
in terram. No violence is suggested
by ¢Badrev; cf. Mt. x. 34 ovx #drOov
Badeiv cipnyny [em ryv yiv]. The Person
on the cloud, at the Angel’s call, sets
His sickle to work, by casting it on
the earth, and in due time the earth
is reaped. There is no need to fill in
the imagery; enough is said to em-
phasize the fact that the Son of Man
is the Divinely commissioned Reaper
(Jo. v.27). He may use the ministry
of men (Mt. ix. 37 f.) or of angels (Mt.
xiii. 39, 41), but it belongs to Him to
put in the sickle. It does not appear
how the ingathering is to be effected,
or how long the process will last. In
the vision there is no interval between
cause and effect (€Sarev...€bepicOn),
but the completion of the work may
occupy a generation or an age.
190
17 4 yn.
18 > > > ~ sf \ 2 \ } / > /
EV TW OUPaVW, EX WV Kal AUTOS Pem aVOV o€v.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 16
\ of sx! can ° a a
kal addos ayyeros EEnOEv EK TOV Vaov TOD
\
Bal
Gros ayyedos €EnOev Ex Too GuotacTnpiov, [o]
of > / 5) \ lat / \ > / >
EX WY e£ovclay Eml TOU TUPOS, Kal EhwvnoeV pwn
17 c&mOev] nOev Q | ev tw ovpayw] om Tw C | dperavoy o&v] poupatay ofevay et
similiter infra me
18 om e&m\Oev A vg2™™ Prim | om ek Tov OvovacTypiov Prim | o
exwv AC vg (qui habet) syrr] om o SPQ min°™ 4 me | rou rupos]+rov duvovacrypov
arm | epwvnoev] +ev 6 7 8 14 29 al™ Ar | dwvy] kpavyy CP min?! Andr Ar
17. Kal GAdos ayyedos e&HAOev &k
Tov vaov xtr.| Another—a fifth—angel
issues from the Sanctuary, who like
the Reaper on the cloud (kai avros)
is armed with a sharp sickle. A
second ingathering follows the first,
as the vintage followed wheat-harvest
(cf. Deut. xvi. 9 f, 13). In this
second process the chief part is
assigned to an angel, who gathers in
the fruit of the Vine of the Earth,
as the Son of Man had gathered in
its wheat.
Both the wheat-harvest and the
vintage are mentioned in Joel iv. 13
(na AND... PSP 23), and the Seer
follows the O.T. prophet, but with a
difference ; he treats the two harvests
as distinct, placing them in their
natural order, and using them as
symbols of two separate spiritual
ingatherings. In the Prophets the
harvest, whether wheat-harvest or
vintage, represents the overthrow of
the enemies of Israel, who are ripe
for their fall; in the Apocalypse,
which like the Gospels identifies the
wheat with the true ‘children of the
kingdom’ (cf. Mt. xiii. 30, 38 roy de
girov auvayere eis THY aToOnKnY pov...
TO S€ Kadov omeppa ovTol eiow oi viol
tis PBacwdelas, cf. Me. iv. 29), the
vintage, from its association with the
‘wine of wrath’ (xiv. 8, 10, notes),
represents the evil, whether within
the kingdom (Mt. Zc.) or outside it
(Mt. xxv. 31f). Thus, by a new
treatment of the old metaphor of
a Divine harvesting of men, the
Apocalyptist gives full expression to
the Lord’s teaching as to the great
separation between man and man
which is reserved for the Parousia.
There is delicate beauty in the as-
signment of the ingathering of the
Vintage to an angel, while the Son
of Man Himself reaps the Wheat-
harvest. The work of death is fitly
left in the hands of a minister of
justice ; the Saviour of men appears
eis cwtnpiav (Heb. ix. 28). Cf. Arethas:
oUTE 6 KUpLos avTos a&tot THY TUVAOYHY
TomjoagGa ws Tept T@Y TpwOTe@Y, OTE
TO prev eis tas dmoOnkas TO O8€ eis
TO dtedevTNTOY mapaméumer mp, GAA
Tis TOV ayyedov.
18. Kal GAdos ayyedos €&fAOev ex
tov Ovovaotnpiov krv.| Another angel
—the sixth—brings to the Angel of
vengeance a message similar to that
which the angel in v. 15 had brought
to the Son of Man—the Divine
authority to begin the Vintage of
the earth. The two messages closely
correspond, mutatis mutandis; ro
dperavoy ro o&% holds its place, the
sickle being used in vine-culture and
the vintage as well as in harvesting
the grain (cf. Hesiod, scut. 292 of &
eTpUyev olvas, Speravas €v xepaly Exov-
res, Plat. resp. 333 D orav 67 dpemarov
d€n vdarrev, 7 Stxavocdvvn xpHoyos
kal Kowy Kai idia- drav dé xpnoGa, 7
dpumeAoupyixy); With rpvynoov rods
Borpvas cf. Le. vi. 44 orapvAny tpv-
yoow, and the Lxx. phrases rpvyav
dumedova (Deut. xxiv. 21), tpvyay
tpvyntov (I Regn. viii. 12); Borpus is
am. Ney. in N.T., but fairly common in
XIV. 19]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
1g!
/ lod sf \ / \ > \ /
meyadn TW ExovTL TO Operavov TO o€U Eywr
/ ‘ / Vis ges \ fi \
MMéuxpov cov To dpéravoy To 0&0 Kal TpvYynToV ToUs
-~ / -~ co / of e
Borpvas THs duTréXov Tis Yiis, OTL Hkuarav at oTa-
guAa aris.
» eof \ /
Kal EBarevy 6 ayyedos TO Opéravoy 19
~ \ -~ \ > / \ of ~
auToU Els THY ynv, Kat ETpVYyNoEV THY apTreNOV THS
a Aceh ? \ \ la 6 na - () = \
ynus Kal éBarev ELS THV Anvov TOU UvfsOU TOU VEOU TOV
18 om Aeywr 130 | Borpvas] Borpus 28 79 Boravas g4 ef arm* | om rns aumedou I
arm‘ | om ore nx. at Tad. avrns me | nKuacev 1 crapvdAn Q min* Ar | aurys] rns yns
Q 7 alPla30 syr Ar
19 eBadev 1°] efeBadev 2 7 8 29 87 al”? Ar | evs ryy ynv] ere Tys
ans & 38 97 syré” | ryv Anvor] ror Anvoyv J OI 94 97 98 al r. adwvay C | Tov peyar] Thy
peyarny & 7 28 35 79 95 130 Syr®¥ om 12 34 Vict
the Lxx., with or without orapvAjs
following. “Ore yxuacay ai oradvAat
avrjs answers to dre efnpavOn 6
Oepicpos in v. 15, Where see note.
*Axpatew is used in 4 Mace. ii. 3, the
only other instance in Biblical Greek
of the use of the verb in the ordinary
sense of adolescence, but the lexicons
quote passages from Thucydides (ii. 19)
and Xenophon (ell. i. 2. 4) where it
describes the ripening of corn. Sra-
van is properly the ripe grape-cluster
as opposed to dudaég, cf. Gen. xl. 10
memerpot of Borpves atadvaAis, Job xy.
33 tTpvynbein S€ ws Supak mpd apas ;
as contrasted with Borpus, it describes
the grapes rather than the cluster on
which they grow.
The Angel-reaper of the Vintage
proceeds from the Altar, where he is
in charge of the fire ; cf. xvi. 6, note.
Earlier passages in the Book refer to
the Altar of Burnt Offering (vi. 9, xi.
1), and the Altar of Incense (viii. 3, 5,
ix. 13); here and in xvi. 7 there is
nothing to shew which of the two is
intended. If the former, we are re-
minded of the blood of the martyrs
which cries for vengeance; if the
latter, of the prayers of the saints by
which the end is hastened. ‘O éyov
efovciay emi rod mupos is a suggestive
description of the minister of wrath ;
ef. Arethas: rotroy émi tis cokdoews
voet Tay aceBav rerayOar.
19. kat €Badev 0 ayyeXos Td Spérravov
avrod xrd.}| The ingatherer of the
Vintage does as the Reaper of the
Wheat-harvest had done; eis ry
yiv is practically=emi r. y. in v. 16;
while e@epic@n 4 y7 is balanced by
erpvynoev THY Gumedov THs yns. But the
next clause, cai €Sadev eis thy Anvov
xrA., enters upon a detail which has
nothing to correspond with it in the
former scene, and its object is to leave
no doubt as to the symbolical meaning
of the Vintage. It is the Vintage of
the Vine of earth as contrasted with the
‘Vine brought out of Egypt’ (Arethas)
and the “True Vine,” whose branches
bring forth fruit unto God ; it is that
part of the earth’s produce, those
results of human history and life,
which must be trodden by the Feet
of God; ef. Isa. lxiii. 2 da ri cov
epuOpa ra iparia, cal ra evdvpard vou
@s dro tatnTod XAnvod ;...caTerdrnca
avrovs ev Ouuo pov. Cf. Victorinus,
“ecaleatio torcularis retributio est
peccatoris” ; Arethas: 7) rpvynots rév
arapvAG@y tovs Aiav dvouous alvirrerat.
On Anvos see Me. xii. 1, note, and on
éupos, in relation to God, v. 8 supra,
note. Tov péyay is explained by some
of the Latin commentators as an ace.
after €SaXev: ‘he cast the great one into
the wine press’; so Primasius: “sisit
in torculari irae Dei magnum.
Superbum etiam magnum vocat...nam
torcular, sicut Graeca exemplaria con-
tinent, feminini generis posuit” ; and
192
20 peyav.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIV. 19
/ € A sf ca /
Kal eratnOn 4 Anvos EEwOevy THs mTodEws,
re ce) > > af lo a
Kal é&nGev aia €K THS Anvou axypt Twv yahwwv
a e/ > \ / / € /
Tov inmwv, ato oTadiwy xiAiwy é€aKooiwy.
20 erarnOn] eTtOn 1 | 7 Aqvos] o X. 16 36 38 g1 97 98 | céwOer] cw N 1 28 38 79
al Arco™™ | rs Anvov] Tov dA. 42 98 | aro] ws arm | xiALwy e~axoowy (ax Q 6 8 14 28
38 al)] x. diakoowwy N* 26 syr8” ducxihiwy e€axoowy 130 x. efaxooww e& (axS’ 79)
Andr°°™™ decem et sex aeth
Beatus: “misit in torcular irae Dei
illum magnum...id est unumquem-
que superbum.” But ryv Anvoy...rov
peyav is doubtless a solecism, which
can only be excused on the ground of
rapid writing, but finds a parallel in
Xxi. I14 To Teiyos...€xov. “O Anvos,
though used in class. Gk, receives no
support from the best mss. of the
Ex wand: Nels 3\,in Gens) xxx: 138,
adduced by Blass, the true reading
is €y rais Anvots.
20. kal émarnOn 7) Anvos eEwbev ths
modews] Apparently the scene is laid
in sight of the city, though not within
its walls. The city is doubtless the
‘Holy City’ of xi. 2, ie. Jerusalem,
but Jerusalem idealized as in ¢. xxi.
At Jerusalem in the time of Zechariah
(xiv. 10) the King’s vzoAnma seems to
have been on the slope of the Mount
of Olives, the predicted battlefield on
which the nations gathered against
Jerusalem were to receive ,their final
defeat (Joel iii. 12 ff., Zech. xiv. 2 ff,
12 ff.). Possibly there is an allusion
here to these facts; but in any case
the place of execution would naturally
lie “outside the gate” (Heb. xiii. 12).
kat e&ndOev aiwa ex THs Anvod KTA.]
The red blood of the ‘Vine of the
Earth’ (cf. Gen. xlix.11, Deut. xxxii. 14),
bursting from the trodden oradvadai,
overflowed and spread to a distance
of 1600 stades, rising so high that
riders or men in chariots (ef. xix.
Ii—1I5) passing through would find
it up to their horses’ bridles; ef.
Enoch c. 1, 3 (ed. Charles, p. 286 f.):
“in those days the fathers together
with their sons will be smitten in
one place...until it streams with their
blood like a river...and the horses
will walk up to the breast in the
blood of sinners, and the chariots will
be submerged to its height.” The con-
ception rests ultimately on Isa. ]xiii.
3, 6, but the metaphor is worked out
with the exuberance of apocalyptic
symbolism. Much difficulty has been
found in explaining the distance
named as the limit to which the over-
flow spreads. It has been supposed.
to answer to the length of Palestine,
which is given by Jerome (cf. ep.
129, ad Dard.) as 160 Roman miles
=1280 stades (cf. the reading of
& Syr.8-), and by Antoninus in the
itinerarium as 1664 stades, measur-
ing from Tyre to £/-Arish. In this
case do otadiov yiwriar éEaxociav
is practically equivalent to the O.T.
phrase ard Adv kat é€ws BnypodBee.
But it is more in accordance with
Apocalyptic arithmetic to regard 1600
(=4%x4x 100) as symbolical of com-
pleteness; except within the walls
of the City, the deluge of blood was
everywhere; or as Victorinus explains,
followed by Primasius and the later
Latin commentators, it spread “per
omnes mundi quattuor partes ; quater-
nitas enim est conquaternata ; quater
enim quadragies mille sexcenti sunt.”
The point to be illustrated is the
finality of the blow dealt to the
enemies of the Israel of God; ef.
Lactantius znstit. vii. 19: “virtus
angelorum tradet in manus iustorum
multitudinem illam quae montem
circumsederit...et fluet sanguis more
torrentis.”
According to Bede Tyconius wished
to interpret the whole passage (v2. 14
“XV 1 ecdov P min?) wor RACQ 7
2 By as a prophecy of the benignant
rk of the Church after the con-
sion of the Empire: “messorem
_indemiatorem ecclesiam inter-
itatur post persecutionum flammas
escentem et potestatem ligandi
ndique tenentem.” But such a
is inconsistent with the general
se of this chapter, which leads
eader on from the existing con-
ion of the Church to her final
umph at the end of the present
XV. 1—8. PREPARATION FoR THE
m Seven PLacurs.
Kai elOov GAO onpueiov ev TO
6 «Tr.| “AA\o onueiov looks back
xii. 1, 3. This view of the appear-
es as ‘signs’ belongs exclusively to
e second half of the Apocalypse, and
ves to connect the present vision
h the series which began with the
a of the Sun-clad Woman. The
1 Bowls are usually classed with
Seven Seals (c. vi.) and the Seven
apets (cc. viii—xi.), and with the
Bccially they have an obyious
ity; but their relation to the great
of the book which begins at
1 is even closer; they belong to
drama of the long conflict be-
en the Church and the World.
A kal Bavpacréy : cf. v. 3 peyada
aqupagra Ta epya cov, Kipee ; the
occurs in the later Greek
ters, e.g. Dionysius of Halicarnas-
and Diodorus Siculus (Wetstein
yyéAous émra (cf. viii. 2) €yovras
re émra, Tas €oxaras. Three wAnyai
named in ix. 18, and in xi. 6 the
esses are empowered to strike
| earth ¢y macy mAny7; but the
8. R.
‘9
"a
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
Iq 92 130 | Om entra 1° syr8”
Pl] (Sov sicut in v. 1 | vadwny 1°] vedurnv 13 (29) 31 35 38 49 91 93 96 (9
193
a. > J FS - - / \
*Kal cidov a\Xo onpetov év TW OVpave peya Kai 1 XY.
By. / / c \ Sf \ c ‘
UMaTTOV, ayyeNous ETA EXOVTas TANYas ETTA,
= e > ~ / « ‘ ~~
is €oxyatas, OTL év avtais é€TeNETOn 6 OuUsos TOU
5) /
. *Kal eldov ws Oadacoav varivnv peEemeypevny 2
2 edov P
7) 98 130
plagues now about to begin are dis-
tinguished from all that came before
them as ‘the last’ (cf. xxi. 9), the
final cycle of such visitations: the
last, because, as the Seer hastens to
explain, they complete the physical
manifestations of the Divine Wrath.
"Ore xrd. explains and justifies the
emphatic tas exydras. But the ex-
planation is not altogether easy to
understand; the aor. can cause no
difficulty in view of x. 7 éredéoOn 70
pvotnpiov Tod Oeov (where see note),
but is it possible to conceive of the
wrath of God as burning itself out
in any manifestations such as these ?
Must it not endure as long as evil
endures? *Eredéo6n, then, can only be
taken in a limited sense, as meaning
that there will be no more similar dis-
plays of God’s righteous displeasure
against human sin; there may be
reserves of wrath, but its cosmic
effects will cease. With mAnyas éxra
the commentators compare Ley. xxvi.
21, 24 €ay pera tavta rwope’nabe ma-
yrot...mpocOnow vpiv mAnyas Emra Kara
Tas duaptias vpor...kal maragw vas
Kay émrtakts avtl Tay apapriay par.
In the case of the Last Plagues the
septenary number is peculiarly ap-
propriate ; cf. Victorinus: “septem
plagis, id est, perfecte”; Primasius :
“angelorum numero vel plagarum uni-
versitatem consummationis arbitror
praesignari.” It denotes at once thc
finality and the completeness of the
visitation.
2. Kai eldov os Oddagcay varivm
pencyerny mupi] A parenthesis follows
(vv. 2—4), in which the Seer, after
briefly introducing the Seven Angels,
catches a view of the Martyrs in their
*
13
194
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XV. 2
\ ~ lal / \ lon
Tupl, Kal TOUS VIK@YTAaS €K TOU Onpiou Kal €K THS
q Wad C lol ~~ / ’ r
EiKOVOS aUTOU Kal €k TOU apLOuoU TOU bvoMaTos avTOU
2 vixouvras C | ek Ts etkovos Kat ex Tov Onpiov Q 2 4 6 8 13 14 26 27 29 31 33 39
4092 95 al® | om ex 2° & 7 33 h Prim | kat ex Tov apiOuou] pr ex Tov xapayyaros
avrou I 17 35 30 39 79 80 161 186 al
bliss on which his eye rests for a
moment before he proceeds with the
terrors of the Last Plagues. In the
Vision of Heaven, the distance be-
tween the spectator and the Throne
is filled by a Sea of Glass (iv. 6 os
Odhacca vadivn opoia Kpvttadd\@ ; see
note ad /.), and this image is now
recalled, though the writer, after his
manner (xiii. 11, xiv. 1, notes) does
not use the article to emphasize the
identity of the Sea in this place with
the Sea in c. iv. As he now sees it,
the crystal light of the Sea of Glass is
reddened as by fire; with pepeypevny
mupt, cf. Ex. 1x. 24 To mip ddoyigfoy
(MOBO) ev rH yaddy, and c. viii. 7
xarala Kal wip pepwtypéva ev aipati.
The red glow on the Sea spoke of
the fire through which the Martyrs
passed, and yet more of the wrath
about to fall on the world which had
condemned them; cf. Mt. iii. 12 ro 6€
axvpov Katakavoet Trupt doBéorw, and
the agraphon o éyyvs pov eyyis Tod
mupos ; see also Heb. xii. 29 kal yap 6
Geos nav rip Karavadioxov. The (da
and the Elders who are mentioned in
c. iv. and again in xiv. 3, do not
appear here, for the attention of the
hearer or reader is concentrated upon
another group with widely different
associations. Tovs vkevtas—not r.
vuknoavras (cf. xii. II), or even +.
vevixnxotas; for it is the abiding
character of ‘conqueror’ on which
emphasis is laid, and not the fact of
conquest ; cf. 6 wey in ii. 7, 11, 17,
26eils 5) 12. 21 exxi. 7) he swords
that follow define the field on which
the victory is won and the character
formed; the conquerors are martyrs
who suffer in the conflict with the pro-
moters of the Caesar-cult (cf. ¢. xiii.
notes), and “come victorious from the
Beast” (R.V., cf. Benson: “come con-
quering forth from the Wildbeast”) ;
the construction is a pregnant one,
“by virtue of their victory they escape
out of the hand of the enemy.’ Blass’s
“probably =rnpnoavtas éavtous ex” i
frigid, and the Latin phrase “victo-
riam ferre ex aliquo” usually quoted
from Livy viii. 8 does not altogether
meet the case. The all-powerful Beast
is compelled after all to let them slip
from his grasp; they, and not he,
gain the day. The genuine Acts of
the Martyrs shew them in the light
of conquerors up to the moment of
death, eg. Ep. Smyrn. 19 8a tis
Umopovis KaTaywviaapevos [o IloAv-
kaptros | Tov Gdukov Gpyovra kal oUT@s TOY
Ths apbapaias oréavoy amohaBar ;
Kus. HE. v. 1 7) dé paxapia BXavdiva trav-
Tov exxatn, Kabamrep pntnp evyerns (cf.
4 Macc. xvi. 14) rapoppnoaca ra Téxva
kal vixndopous mpoméuyyaca mpos Tov
Baowdéa...€amevde mpos adtovs xaipovca
kal dya\\wwpérn eri rn e€0d@. Passio
S. Perpetuae 18 “inluxit dies victo-
riae illorum, et processerunt de carcere
in amphitheatrum quasi in caelum,
hilares et vultu decori.” But the
Apocalyptist follows the victors into
the life beyond, and sees them cele-
brating their victory in the Presence
of God. It is a strangely different
view of their condition from that
presented by c. vi. 9 ff, but the an-
nouncement of xiv. 6 has partly pre-
pared the reader for it; the present
vision, like that of vii. 9 ff., anticipates
the final joy in which their rest will
issue.
For rod Onpiov, tis eikovos, Tov
dptOuov see xiii. I, 14, 17, Xiv. 9, II,
xix. 20, xx. 4, and notes there.
XV. 3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
195
e ”~ > \ \ / © /
éoTwtas éri tiv OadXaccay Thy vadivnys EXOVTAaS
Kapas Tou Oeou.
3Kal dove Thy wonv Mwvoéws 3
Tou dovAov Tov OEeot Kat THy Gov TOU adpviov,
A€vyorTes
2 vahwwny 2°] vedwny 7 13 (29) 35 38 49 91 95 96 (97) 98 130 | KOapas] pr ras Q
27 8 13 16 26 27 29 35 38 43 87 94 97 alPtue Ar xiGapay 130 | Tov Geov} pr Kupiov &
3 Om adovow..
-Tov Beov C | adovew] adovras & Ps-Cypr Prim | Mwoews P 28 81 al™®
Mwvon 130 | rov dovdov] om rou Q al?! Ar | om ryv winy (2°) 130
€oraras ent thy Gadaccay Thy vadivny |
Not on the shore of the Sea, like Israel
in Ex. xiy. 30, but on the Sea itself
which forms the solid pavement (cf.
Mt. xiv. 25 ff.) of the final approach
to the Throne (iy. 6). Their exodus
from the spiritual Egypt (xi. 8) has
led them through the Red Sea of
Martyrdom, which is now exchanged
for the Crystal Sea of Heaven. Like
the Elders in y. 8, and the 144,000 in
xiv. 2, they carry zitherns—xAdpas tod
Geov, not merely of unusual sweetness
and power (cf. Ps. lxxix. (Ixxx.) 11
Tas xeSpous tov Oeov), but dedicated to
the service of God | (of. 1 Chron. xvi. 42
pox Y b> opyava Tov @dav Tod
6eov, 1 Th. iv. 16 ev Seyi Geod).
The symbolism is well explained by the
ancient commentators, e.g. Primasius:
“Jaudibus corda dicata”; Andreas:
my enpediy Conv ev cuphavia tov
aperav, Kpovoperny TO TAHKTP@® Tov
deiov mvevparos.
3. kai ddovow thy Bdjpv Mavoéas
tod SovAov rov Oeov| The allusion
to the Exodus, hitherto latent, now
becomes evident; ef. Ex. xy. 1 rore
joev Mavojs cai of viol “Iopayd Thy
edn taitny TO bed. There is indeed
another @4) Mavoéws in Deut. xxxii.
which was used as a Sabbath hymn
in the Jewish liturgy (Wolff, curae,
y. p. 563); the two songs are placed
together among the dai of the Church
in the liturgical Psalter of cod. A (a’
@6n M. ev tH "E€ddo, 8 od. M. ev ro
Aevrepovopiw), and both find a place
among the Canticles both of Eastern
and Western Christendom (Jntr. to
the O.T. in Greek, p. 253f.); but it
is surely the song of victory which is
in view here rather than the swan-like
song ascribed to the dying Lawgiver.
Moses is 6 dovA0s rod Geod, an O.T. title
= in? 73y, where 732Y is variously
render ed in the Lxx. by Oeparroy (Ex.
xiv. 31, Num. xii. 7), dotAos (3 Regn.
Vili. 53, 56, Ps. civ. (cv.) 26), or mais
(Isa. xlii. 1). The contrast drawn in
Heb. iii. 5 between Moses the Servant
and Christ the Son (Mavojs pev muorés
...@s Oeparav...Xpirtos Sێ ws vids) is
latent here also, for rov Sovdov is
followed immediately by rod dpviou,
the exalted Person who throughout
the Book is associated with God.
Kal rv @dnv tov apviov. The song
of the martyrs is not only the song of
Moses, triumphant over Pharaoh and
Egypt; it is also the song of the
Glorified Christ, the conqueror of the
world (Jo. xvi. 33) and of Death (c. i.
18). The martyrs not only overcome
Domitian and the power of Rome;
they share the victory of Christ
(c. iii. 21). St John does not write
Tv @dnv Movoéws Kal rod dpviov, for
the notes are distinct though they
form a harmony. As_ throughout
the Book, the Apocalyptist places
together, without confounding, the
experiences of the two dispensations,
bringing out of his treasure things
new and old. Primasius is right, if
his words are taken in a wider sense
than he probably intended: “in
Moysis autem yetus, in Agni vero
cantico novum significatum est testa-
mentum.”
I13—2
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
BOs
\ As
Meyada kat Oavparta ta épya cov, Kupie
¢€ \ e / / \ > \ ¢c
oO Geos O T AVTOKNATW) * OlKaLaL Kal arnOivat at
€ / \ ~ 5) > / \
4 000i cov, 6 Bacirevs Tov éBvev: 4*Tis ov pH
~ / \ / i / / e/
onda, Kupie, kat do€are TO dvoua wou ; Tt
J ef / \ of e/
povos boos, Tt TavTa Ta EOvy HEovow Kat
/ Sens, / of \ , /
7 POO KUVNO OVC LY EVWTLOVY DOU, OTL TA O1KalWwUaTa
wou epavepwOncar.
3 dixarat Kat] o Stkacos me | dex. kK. ad. at odo] Sikarca Kat adnOwa Ta epya syre¥
arm}4 | 0 Baowdevs] Baoiiev X* 18 29 47 90 98 130 | eOywy R*APQ 1 6 7 8 14 130
186 alP'140 me arm‘ aeth Ps-Cypr Prim Andr Ar] awywy &*C 18 g5 ygclefudemtollipss
syrr (cf arm?)
4 ov fn] ce ov N 95 ce un 130 | poBynln]+ce 6 7 8 29 38 186 alPl
ygtlelipss syrr Ar | om Kupie 14 92 130 vg**™ arm aeth"* Cyp Prim | dofacn Nr 7 8
29 38 al?! Andr @avuacn 130 | om ort povos ocros me | oovos NACP 1 28 31 38 79
al vg (pius) syr8’¥ Cypr Prim Ar] ays Q 6 7 8 alP!44? sanctus g sanctus et pius f
sanctus es et iustus syr sanctus et dignus adorari arm+ee 10 36 37 (38) (47) 49 95
96 | mavra Ta eOvn] mavres Q 6 7 14 29 43 al® | evwmiov cov]+xupe A 95 130| Ta
dix. gou] dex. evwriov cov &
3—4. peyada kal Oavpaora Ta épya
gov, Kvpie xtA.] The words of the
Martyrs’ Song are almost wholly from
the O.T., as the following brief catena
will shew: Ps. Ixxxv. (Ixxxvi.) 9 mavra
Ta €Ovn...7€0vow Kal mpooKuvyncovew
every gov, CX. (CXi.) 2 peyada Ta
€pya Kupiov, Ps.cxxxyiil. (CxXxxix.) 14
Oavpdovra Ta épya cov, Amos iy. 13
Kuptos 6 Oe0s 6 mavtoxpatop, Deut.
XXXli. 4 Oeds, Gdn Ova Ta épya avrov,
kal Tacat ai odol avrov kpices, Jer. xX.
7, 10 (Q™8) ris ov pn hoBnOnoerat,
Bactided €Ovarv;...0 d€ Kvptos beds...
eotl...8agtevs aidvios, Tob. xiil. 10
evrAoyer Tov Bagihéa TOY aidvar,
Mal. i. 11 7d dvopd pov Sedo€aorar
ev trois €Oveowv, Deut. xxxii. 4 Sikatos
kat doLos (2%) Kupuos, Ps. exliy.
(cxlv.) 17 Kupios...60cos (TDM) ev
macw Tots €pyos avrov, I Regn. xii. 7
amayyeA@ vu THY Tacav Sikacoovyny
(A, ras macas dixatoovvas) Kupiov. The
thought as well as the phraseology of
the Song is strangely Hebraic, and
at first sight does not appear to be
specially appropriate to the occasion ;
there is no reference to the martyrs’
own conflicts, and none to the victory
of the Lamb; it is rather a hymn of
praise than a paean, nor does it
obviously answer to its description
either as the ¢4) Movoéws or as the
@67 tov dpviov. There is perhaps a
reason for this. In the Presence of
God the martyrs forget themselves ;
their thoughts are absorbed by the
new wonders that surround them;
the glory of God, and the mighty
scheme of things in which their own
sufferings and victory form an in-
finitesimal part, are opening before
them; they begin to see the great
issue of the world-drama, and we
hear the doxology with which they
greet their first unclouded vision of
God and His works. Their song,
though it has little to do with martyr-
dom or victory, at any rate suits the
context, preparing the reader for the
judgements which are about to follow ;
leading him to view them, as they are
viewed by the victors, sub specie
aeternitatis.
For peyada kai Oavpaora see %. 1,
note; for wavroxpatwp, i. 8, note.
’AAnéwai, cf. iii. 7, 14, notes; the
combination Sikatos cai adnOiwos (or
ad. x. dex.) occurs again in Xvi. 7,
XV. 6]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
197
\ \ ~ 7 rsa / G \ co ~
5kal META TavTa E100”, Kal nvolyn O vaos THS OKHVYHS 5
- / > - > ~ 6 \ > nvAO c € \ 6
TOU MapTuplou EV Tw OUPaVwW, Kal €En OV Ol ET TA
5 mera tavra] wer avta C | ecdov RP 1 186 min] wdov ACQ 7 14 92 130| kar
nvovyn] kat cdov f vg me anon*’s Prim xa: «dou arm*
xix. 2. With povos dcvs cf. Rom. xvi.
27 pove copa, 1 Tim. vi. 16 6 povos éxwv
a@avaciay, and the clause in the vpvors
é€wbivos (O.T. in Greek*, iii. p. 833),
6tt od ef povos adyws. “Ocws, pius,
is used of God in the N.T. only here
and in xvi. 5 (in Heb. vii. 26 it refers
to the Incarnate Son); it represents
God as fulfilling His relation to His
creatures, even as He requires them
to fulfil theirs towards Himself. Ta
Sixaipata gov, ‘Thy righteous acts’;
a dixaiwpa is a concrete expression of
righteousness, whether in the form of
a just decree (e.g. Deut. iv. 1 dkove ray
Sixatoparey (D'PNiI), Le. i. 6 mopevd-
pevo. €v maoas ais évro\ais kat
Sixarc@pacw Tov Kupiov dpueurtot), Or
a just act, as here and in xix. 8 ra
Sixar@pata toy ayiov: cf. Sanday and
Headlam on Rom. i. 17, v. 18, and
Westcott on Heb. ix. 1
It is not easy to choose, on internal
grounds, between the readings ray
éOvav and roy aidvev. For the latter,
besides the references given above,
see I Tim. i. 17 ro d€ Baowdet trav
aidywv, Enoch ix. 4 od ef 6...8acieds
Tov aiavwv: 6 Opdvos tis SdEns cov eis
magas Tas yeveds Tov aid@vos, Kal Td
évoua gov TO Gytov Kal péya Kai evAo-
ynrov eis mavras Tovs aidvas. On the
other hand rév éévav is suggested by
the passage in Jeremiah to which the
next words refer, and on the whole
agrees best with the drift of the
canticle. The true Sovereign of the
nations is not the Augustus, but their
Creator, the Living God, and He will
in the end receive their homage
(43 Or xxi. 24 f.).
The Martyrs’ Song falls readily into
parallelisms after the manner of O.T.
poetry—a circumstance which, taken
with the general tone and the word-
ing, suggests a Jewish source.
6 e&n\Oav U
5. kal pera tavra eidov] A formula
which usually introduces a new and
important vision ; cf. iv. 1, note. The
Seven plague-laden Angels form the
most striking group since the Seven
Angels of the Temple (viii. I).
kal nvoiyn 6 vaos THs oKnyns TOU
paprupiov|] See xi. 19 yvolyn 6 vads
Tov Oeov o ev T@ ovpava, and cf. iii. 12,
Vil. 25, .¢X1V.. 15, 17, EW Ti eee
these references to the vads, the
writer, as it now appears, alludes not
to Solomon’s Temple or its successors,
but to the Tabernacle in the Wilder-
ness, the ‘Tent of Witness’ (Num. ix.
15, xvii. 7 (22) f, xviii. 2, NID OTR),
or ‘Tent of Meeting’ (Ex. xxvii. 21
et passim, IWi2 Dns), both of which
designations the Lxx. usually renders
by 7) oxnv7) rod paprupiov, and the Vg.,
following the Lxx., by tabernaculum
testimonit; 6 vaos THs OK. T. pB.
is suggested, as Westcott points out
(Hebrews, p. 234), by the phrase
wid 2O8 jDwD (Ex. xl 2, 6, 29)
which the Lxx. does not distinguish
from the shorter form. That the
writers of Hebrews and the Apoca-
lypse have chosen the Tabernacle
rather than the Temple as_ the
counterpart of the heavenly Presence-
Chamber is due to the feeling that the
Tabernacle was the archetype of the
later Temple, and was itself con-
structed on a Divinely imparted
plan: cf. Ex. xxv. 40 dpa rownoes
Kata Tov Tumov Tov Sedevypévov coe ev
T@® ope, quoted in Heb. viii. 5 with
the comment that the priests under
the Law consequently vmode/ypari nat
oxia Aatpevovtw Tay erovpaviwy.
6. Kai €fpdOov...€x rod vaov xrd.]
The Sanctuary is not opened here as
in xi. /.c. for the purpose of revealing
the Ark of the Covenant, but to allow
198 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XV. 6
Sf of \ \ \ - a
ayyeNol ol ExovTEs Tas EwTa TANYas EK TOU vaou,
2 / / \ \ \ /
évOedupuevot Nivoy Kabapov NayTpov Kal TrEpLECwopEVOL
\ / / > \ oa ’ =~
7 Tept Ta aotnOn Cwvas Xpve as. 7Kal EV EK. Toye neo
6 o« exovres] om oc NPQ 1 48 79 161 al | ex Tov vaou] ex Tov ovpayov 10 49 gt 96
om Q min® | evdedumevor] pr oc noay Q minP!3%° syr | \wov PQ 186 al?! vgele syrr (nisi
forte Awouy x.) arm anon*é Andr Ar] Awovy 14 18 (36) 92 97 g (linteamen) h (linte-
amina) \wovs & me arm‘ (Prim) \iov AC 38™% 48 go codd ap Andr yg#™fudem tollipss
hiat 130 | xa@apous & arm* (Prim) om me | Aayumpov] ANaumpous & me arm (Prim)
pr kat 32** ygclelipss4,6 arm! aeth Prim | zrepc] er: 28 79 om 1 12 31
I 7121679 90
the Seven Angels to issue in pro-
cession from the Presence-Chamber.
The angels of xiv. 15, 17f., also came
forth from the Sanctuary, but singly
and with less solemnity ; the curtain
was not drawn back to let them pass.
"Evdedupévoe Aivoy Kabapov apmpov.
All the Seven are clad alike in the
pure bright raiment of celestial
beings. Unfortunately the reading
is far from certain. WH. accept
A18on, urging that “the bold image
expressed by this well attested read-
ing is justified by Hz. xxviii. 13
mavta Aidov xpnoroyv éevdedeoa, where
evdédvoat is a various reading,” and
that “on the other hand Aor, as dis-
tinguished from Awody,...never de-
notes a fabric or garment made of flax
except according to Etym. Magn. and
possibly in Aesch. Suppl. 121.” Others
have seen in A/édov a reference to the
High Priest’s breast-plate, and some
support for such a phrase as évdvec0ar
diGov may be found in the imagery of
COAW NG) XViL pA Xk. TOs, 215 2 DUb
when all has been said, the metaphor
is intolerable even in the Apocalypse,
and we turn to look again at the
evidence for Ainon. The argument
which WH. adduce that the Apoca-
lypse elsewhere uses Bicowor for a
garment of linen (xviii. 12, 16, xix. 8
bis, 14), cuts both ways, for the fact
would tempt a corrector to change
Aivov, and if he remembered Ez. Z.c.,
what more obvious remedy than to
write © for N? Nor is the extreme
rarity of Aivov=)uwodtv conclusive, for
7 om ev x*
our writer is apt to use rare forms
and even forms for which no other
authority can be claimed. Of dAivoy,
however, in this sense there are traces
in Homer (J7. ix. 661, Od. xiii. 73,
118; cf. Eustathius: Aivov...ipacpua
Te €k Xivcv) as well as in Aeschylus
(Suppl. 120, 132); and the revival of
the old poetic use in a book such as
the Apocalypse need cause no sur-
prise. Aiva=6dixrva occurs in some
cursives of Me. i. 18, and in Petr.
£v., ad fin. On the whole therefore it
has seemed best to place Aivoy in the
text provisionally, until further light
comes.
The Seven Angels, then, are clad
in clear glistening white (cf. xix. 8
€566n atvtn wa repiBddrnrar Bicowov
Aaprpov Kxabapor, ib. 14 évdedupévor
Bvocowov evkov xKabapoy), a garb
characteristic of celestial beings (Mt.
Xxvill. 3, Me -xvin 5; eae
Their snow-white linen tunics are
girded high (rept ra or6n=mpés rois
pacrois 1. 13) with golden belts, the
symbols of royalty or of priestly
functions (/.c., note); they are e-
ToupytKa mvevpara (Heb. i. 14), and
they are vested for their liturgy.
7. Kat €v ek Tév Tecodpav (dev
edwxey xtr.] The Seven are now
entrusted with power to execute their
ministry. This is done by a symbolical
traditio instrumentorum, which is
fitly committed to one of the four
representatives of Nature (see iy. 6 ff.,
vy. 14, vi. If, notes). Control is
thus given to them over the forces of
XV. 8]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
199
/ / 7 = t \ / ty \
oapwv Cwwv edwxev Tois Erra ayyéhos ExTa piadas
xpurds yeuovoas TOU Ovuot Tov Beov Tov CwvTos
> \ Js
€l¢ TOUS AlWVAasS
— >’
TWV ALWYWY.
\ \
Skat éyeuicOn 6 vaos 8.
~~ > - / ~ 6 lo \ > - /
Kamvou €k Ths Oo€ns TOU Geov Kat eK TNS OuvamEews
> ~ \ > \ 2S / > ~ ? \ \ ”
avTou, Kal ovdels EdUVaTO ElaeAOEty Eis TOY VaoV axpL
~ tye \ \ > ec \ ? /
Te\coOwow ai éerra TAnyal TwY ETTAa ayyerwr.
7 om erra 2° & vg™ | om xpuoas arm? Prim | rwv aiwywy]+apyny & 12 28 46 me
syré”
8 o vaos]+rov Oeov arm | karvov] pr ex rov Q min® syrr | edvvaro AC 267 8
26 al™ ] nduvaro SPQ 1 al?! | axpe] axpes ov C | om era 2° Pr 10 12 17 18 38 49 72
gt 96 186
Nature, so far as may be necessary
for the purpose of giving effect to
the Divine will; cf. xiv. 18 6 €xov
efouciay émi rod tupos, and Ps, 1xxvil.
(Ixxviii.) 49 eamréoreidev eis avrovs.
amoatoAny de dyyeov TONpov. The
instruments given to the Angels of
the Last Plagues are iada xpvoai,
ef, v. 8, note, and for ypvoat compare
Weheon, xxv. 15, 1 Chr. xxviii. 17,
2 Chr. iv. 8, 1 Esdr. ii. 13. But
whereas the bowls carried by the
Elders in ¢. vy. were full of the incense
of the Saints’ prayers, these are full
of the wrath of God. Cf. Primasius :
“eaedem quippe phialae et suavitates
supplicationum et iram suppliciorum
continere dicuntur, cum a sanctis pro
regni Deiadventu funduntur”; ; headds
a reference to 2 Cor. ii. ast. xXpiarov
evwdia éopev TO Oe@ ev Tots oo opevors
kal ev Tois drroNhupévors, ols pev dont)
ex Oavarov els Odvarov, ois dé dopn ek
(wis eis Cwyv. In xiv. 8, 10 the Wrath
of God is a deadly wine which is
given men to drink, a cup (or7jpiov)
which sinners must drain; here the
metaphor i is changed, the cup becomes
an open incense bowl, pouring out its
burning contents upon the earth ; cf.
viii. 5, Where a similar me taphor
is used. Schoettgen notes that the
Targum on Isa. li. 17, 22, for DID NS
substitutes ‘OD nm’ or D)D Sep ni.
Tod ¢avros «rd. adds to the terror of
the thought; cf. Heb. x. 31 PoSepor
TO éumeceiv els xeipas Oeod (avros;
the gods of heathendom are dead or
neyer were alive, and their wrath has
no terrors for Christians; the Living
God is to be feared indeed. For 6
(av eis Tovs ai@vas Ta ai@vyway as a
title of the Eternal Father see iv. 9,
note, 10, x. 6.
8. Kal eyepicbn 6 vaos Kamrvod ék
rhs Sd€ns xtd.}| The terrors of the
imminent judgement are still further
emphasized by the smoke which is seen
to fill the Sanctuary; cf. Andreas:
dca S€ rod Kazrvod rd oBepoy Kai Kara-
mAnkrikov Kat KoAaoTikov THs Oeias
épyis pavOavonev. Smoke is an O.T.
symbol of the Divine Presence when
the aweful majesty of God is to be
insisted wpon ; cf. Exod. xix. 18 ro de
dpos TO Suwa examvilero drov dia 7d
katraBeBnxévac em’ avro Tov Oedv ev
mupl, Kat avéBavev 6 Kavos ws KaTrVvds
kapivov; Ps. xvii. (xviii) 9 aveBn
kamvos ev opyn avrov ; Isa. vi. 5 6 oikos
everAnoOn Kamvod, Ixv. 5 Kamvos Tov
@vpod pov. On this occasion the
smoke proceeds from (ex) the Divine
glory and power, i.e. from the personal
character and attributes of God and
His boundless resources, two grounds
of undying fear to His enemies.
kat ovdeis edvvato eloedOew els roy
vaéy xtd.| Both the Tabernacle and
the Temple supply an_ illustration
here ; for the first see Ex. xb 29 (35)
kai ovx ndvvacbn Maas eioedOeiv
els THY OKNVY TOU papTuplov, OTE Erre-
oxiatey éx’ adtiy 1 vepeAn, wat dd€ns
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVL 1
A of, / 4 3 -~ -~ y
i *Kat nxovea peyadns porns €k TOU vaov Neyouons
a € \ 5) / ¢€ / SeD / \ \
Tols éewTa ayyeNos ‘“YrayeTe kal exyeeTE Tas ETTA
= , n~ 6 ~ col a) cr > \ fn
2 diaras Tov Uvyou tov Ueov els THV YnV.
\
"Kal
5 ~ € ~ > / \ i Lise
annlev 0 mewTos Kai eFexeev THY Piadny avTOU EIS
XVI 1 pwns weyadns SP 1x al?! yg Prim Andr | ex tov vaov] ex Tou ovpavov 13
ygiemtollipss me arm ex T. oup. ex T. vaov aeth om Q min*? syr Ar | om kat 2° 1 7 12
28 36 130 alfere!0 yglips4 me arm? | kar exyeeTe] amexxeere A kar exxeere NCP 1 12
kau exxeare Q 186 al?! Andr Ar kat exere 130 | om exra P 1 28 49 79 g1 96 al kh me
aeth
gt 96 al me
Kupiov éemAnoOn 7 oxnvy, and for the
second 3 Regn. Vili. II Kai ovK ndvvayto
of iepets ornkewy AecToupyelv amo Tpoc-
w@mou THs vedéAns, ote emAnoey doéa
Kupiov roy oixov. The Divine judge-
ments are impenetrable until they
are past; when the last plague has
fulfilled its course, the smoke will
vanish, and the Vision of God be
seen. Bede: “si fumum abdita
iudiciorum Dei interpretaris arcana,
mortalibus haecimpenetrabilia manent
et clausa donec, finitis praesentis
saeculi plagis, advenit Dominus.”
XVI. i—21. THE POURING oUT
OF THE SEVEN Bow.s.
I. Kal NKkovoa peyadns povis ék Tod
vaov xtd.| A great voice from heaven
is usually that of an angel, cf. v. 2 edSov
ayyedov iaxupoy knpvocovta ev hava
peyaXn, Vii. 2 e(Sov addov ayyeov...Kat
éxpagev cb. jy X. 3 expakev [ayyedos
icxupos] p. w., and similarly xiv. 7, 9,
15, 18. But as this Voice comes
from the vads, which at the time, as
we have been told, no creature could
enter, the Speaker here must be
presumed to be God Himself; cf.
Mt. iii. 17, xvii. 5, Jo. xii. 28, 2 Pet. i.
17 f. The Voice is repeated after the
seventh Bowl, z. 17.
‘Ymayere kal exyéere, ‘Go your ways
(cf. Me. vi. 38, xiv. 13, xvi. 7, Jac. il.
16), pour out (for the form éexyéere see
W. Schm. p. 115; Blass would correct
exxeare, Gr. p. 41) the Seven Bowls
of the Wrath of God into (eés, as in
xiy. 19) the Earth. Permission to
2 0 mpwros]+ayyeros 12 28 33 36 79 87 me arm)? aeth | es] emt 1 28 49 79
proceed having been given (ef. xiy. 15,
18), the Seven advance one by one,
each in his own order (6 mp@res, 6
devrepos xTA., aS in viii. 7 ff).
The Seven Plagues that follow have
obvious affinities to (1) the Ten
Plagues of Egypt, (2) the visitations
which accompany the seven Trumpet-
blasts of cc. viii—xi., and especially to
the latter; the first, sixth, and ninth
of the Egyptian plagues, and the
second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh
of the Trumpet plagues are more or
less distinctly in view here. Yet the
Last Plagues have features peculiar
to themselves ; the fourth is entirely
new, the rest are more or less freshly
conceived. On the other hand the
differences are deeper and more sug-
gestive. While no personal suffering
is inflicted on Man by the first five of
the Egyptian plagues or by the first
four of the Trumpet-visitations, he is
attacked at the very outset of the
present cycle. Again, while the first
four Trumpet-plagues affect only a
third of the earth, the sea, the fresh
water supply, and the lights of heaven,
no such limitation appears in the
account of the Seven Plagues now
about to be described. They are not
tentative chastisements, but punitive
and final.
2. Kal amfAdev 0 mpdtos Kal e&éxeev
kth.] "AmdOev...cai is doubtless to
be repeated by the reader’s thought
in vv. 3, 4, 8, 10, 12, 17. The Seven
are not conceived as stepping for-
ce te Ee i te
XVI. 3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 201
\ -~ / TA \ \ \ >
THY viv: Kal éyeveTo EAKOS KaKOV Kal ToVNpOV €7l
, \ -
tous avOpwrovs Tos ExovTas TO ydpaypa TOU Onpiov
\ \ ~ ~ > / ’ -~
Kal TOUS 7 PpOOkKVUVOUYTaS TH ELKOVL GAUTOU.
‘
\ c
Skat 0 3
/ / \ / , al 3 \
devTEpos ELExEEV THY GiaAny avTOU Els THY Gadacoay'
\ / Ki e ~ \ > \ a
Kal éyéveTo aipa ws veKpov, kal Tava Vuyn Curis
2 Kakov Kat Trovnpoy] om Kkaxov A om kaxoy kat me arm aeth | em] es 1 28 49 79
91 96 al vg me | Tous rpooxuv.] om Tous 130
3, devrepos] + ayyedos Q min?! ygc" me
syrr arm!.? Andr Ar | om avrou 130 | atua ws vexpou] ws vexpos syré"¥4 | ws] woe
om 1 46 me ante ama pon 7 12 39| fwns AC 95 syr aeth] fwoa RPQ 1 7 28 36
37 38 39 91 96 130 186 al Arf g vg (vivens) syr*¥ me fwa arm**™4 om 6 8 14 al®?
Prim
ward, one by one, to discharge their
tasks, and then returning to their
places in the procession, but rather
as going off, each in his order, until
all have vanished. ‘Eééyeev: the
metaphor is not inappropriate, cf.
Lucian Calumn. 23 rov Ovpov €&éxeev.
The result of the first outpouring
is to produce a plague on man
similar to the sixth Egyptian plague ;
cf. Ex. ix. 10 éeyévero €Axn, pdrvxrides
ava{éovoa €v Tois avOperos, and see
Deut. xxviii. 27, 35 maragac oe Kipros
€Axet Alyurrig...watrdfac oe K. ev
EAxet trovnp@ (YI PNYI)...dore pe}
Sivacbai oe iabjvac; Job ii. 7 e&nAOev
dé 6 SiaBoros amo rod xupiov, kal
éracev Tov “IdB Exec trornpe (pra
Y}). The Egyptian 2x7, it is noted,
attacked even the magicians, the
antagonists of Moses (ov« 7dvvavro
oi appaxot aorjvar evavtiov Movon
dca ra é\xn); is the Seer mindful
of this when he represents the first
of the Last Plagues as breaking out
in sores on the Caesar-worshippers,
who were controlled by the magicians
of the temples of Rome and the
Augusti (cf. xiii. 13 ff, notes)? Kaxov
kat srovnpov, ‘bad and malignant’;
the lexicons take zovnpov as = érirovoy
‘painful’ (Suidas), but the passages
quoted above from the Lxx. lead us
to regard it as the equivalent of 1),
actively mischievous, ‘malignant’ in
the technical sense. Kal éyévero...
émi by...) (Ex. Lc).
3. Kal o devrepos e€€xeev...cis THY
@adaocav xtr.| The Second Bowl cor-
responds generally with the Second
Trumpet (viii. 8 f.), and both are sug-
gested by the first Egyptian plague
(Ex. vii. 14 ff.). In Egypt the Nile
alone is smitten ; in Patmos the Seer
naturally thinks first of the sea. The
Aegean, receiving the contents of the
second angel’s bowl, turns (as he had
often seen it turn at sunset) to a blood
red—eyévero aiua = OF 130, Ex. vii. 19
—he adds os vexpod, which brings up
the picture of a murdered man welter-
ing in his blood ; ef. Arethas: vexpod
dé, Tod eopaypévov. The fish in the
Nile died (Ex. vii. 21); a third of the
living things in the sea perished under
the Second Trumpet (¢. viii. 9); the
destruction wrought by the third
Bowl is complete—raca Wuyn (7s
(ROD viny-72, Gen. i. 21) amé@avev, ra
ev t7 Oadaoon, Where ra ev 7. 6. is in
apposition with 7m. ., as ra €yorra
Wuxas with roy xricpdrwy in viii. 9,
and defines it. No burning mountain
(viii. 8) is needed here, and no falling
star (viii. 10) in the next plague; the
deadly work is done by the direct
action of the wrath poured out by the
Angels of the Bowls (xvi. 1).
202
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVL 3
> / Nie? > / Nuene / /
4 dreBavey, Ta év TH OaXaoon. ‘*kal 0 TpiTOs E€ExeEEV
\ / 5) 5 > \ \ \ \ \
TyHVv Piadny avTOU Els TOUS TOTAaMOUS Kal Tas TYAS
i ~ J \ / <
5 TWY VOaTwWY*' Kal EyEVETO aipa.
\ of col
SKal KOUTA TOU
> / ~ € , / / > € \ Ne
ayyeXNou Tw VOaTwy NEYOVTOS Aixawos €l, 0 wy Kal O
5. € / e/ a y
6 nv, [6 | OOLOS, OTL TaVTa EkpLVas*
3 Ta AC] Twy 95 syrom SPQ min?! vg Prim Ar | ewe rns Oadacons &
6 ¢/ e/ Gi?
OTL aipalTa| aylwy
4 Tplros|+
ayyedos 1 35 36 38 49 79 87 g1 96 186 al vgiP*4 me syr arm! Andr | ets] ere & 18 31
186 super vg Prim | eyevero SCPQ 1 min?! yg Andr Ar] eyevovro A 36 95 130 Syrt
facta sunt Prim
5 Twy voarwr] pr Tov em: gs om T. v. 1 arm | o nv] os yy Q28
14 29 30 40 41 42 43 92 93 98 | 0 oovos NP 5 6 11 12 18 27 28 31 35 49 79 OI 94 96
186 alP!219] ogios ACQ min®te% nar 0 oovos I 34 36 Kat oov0s 95 OM o ogtos me aeth
6 apmara & 36 39] awa ACPQ minfereo™ me syrr arm Andr Ar
4. Kal 6 rpiros...eis Tovs ToTapovs
xtA.] As under the Third Trumpet,
the smiting of the fresh-water supply
follows that of the sea. But the result
is different ; in vili. 11 the third part
of the waters is turned into worm-
wood; here the whole supply is turned,
as in the case of the sea (v. 3), into
blood. On ai mnyat trav vddreyr cf.
Vili. 10, note. "Eyévero aipa, sc. Ta
vdata (of morapol Kal ai mya). The
smiting of the springs prevented any
such measures as the Egyptians took
for evading the effects of the plague
(Ex. vii. 24).
Why the waters are turned to blood
is now explained by two voices which
the Seer overhears (v. 5 ff.).
5. kal kovoa Tov dyyéAov Tar
voatov éyovtos KtA.| With rod ayy.
T. vOdT@V cf. Vil. I e(Oov Téooapas ayye-
Novs...KpaTovvTas Tous Téa oapas avenous,
ix. Il Tov ayyedov THs aBiaoou, XIV. 17
tryyedos...0 €xav €Eovaiay ert Tov Tupos.
See also Enoch lIxvi. 2 (ed. Charles,
p. 172): “these angels were over the
powers of the waters.” The Rabbinic
writers speak of an angel set over the
earth (pawn Sy mawen 4Ndn), and of
another who is prince of the sea ("wv
o» Sw); every element, every form of
created life, has its angel-counterpart
(Yalkut Ruben, f. 7.1 “dicunt sapi-
entes nostri: ‘Non est herba quae non
habeat angelum suum in supernis’.”
Similar ideas prevailed among the
Persians and find a place in Zoroas-
trianism: see reff. in note oni. 20. Cf.
Andreas : kavretOev Seixvutat Tots orot-
xelous émiteraxOa ayyeAous; and so
Arethas: od povoy epopa trav €bvav
kara Tov vopobérny Mavonp (Deut. xxxil.
8, LXX.) ai Oeiac Suvapers, GANG Kai TOV
Koopikav otoxeiov. The spirit of the
waters is so far from resenting the
plague that he bears witness to the
justice which inflicts it. His words
form a sort of antiphon to the canticle
in xy. 3 f.; they illustrate the divine
dtxatocvvn and ooorns proclaimed in
the Song. ‘O dcvos is doubtless to be
read, notwithstanding the omission of
the article by our best mss. ; 0 would
have easily dropt out before ocioc,
and on the other hand déovos (anar-
throus) cannot be taken as a predicate
after 6 dy kai 6 Av (Vg. gui es et qui
eras sanctus), a procedure which the
usage of the Apocalypse forbids, and
to treat it as in apposition with
dikavos creates an intolerable harsh-
ness. Standing where it does, 6 dows
is equivalent to a vocative (cf. R.V.,
“Thou Holy One,” and Blass, Gr.
p. 26f.). On o dv x. o my see i. 4,
note; on das as applied to God,
xv. 4, note.
6. 6Tt aiwata ayiwy Kal mpopyntrav
eێyeav xrd.| The construction is not
free from ambiguity; the two clauses
beginning with 6ére may be parallel,
XVI. 8] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 203
\ -~ ? / \ Fy 5) - N/ -
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of / > 7 Ness - 6 / / =
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(vel+-yap) vg? me syr aeth 7 rov Ovovagtnpiov NeyorTos] pr ek Q 1 pwvny ex T. 0.
Aeyoucay 36 me alterum ab altari dicentem vg" alterum dicens vg*™"*5 alterum
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Sixaiar] o dixaros adnfwar me
Wwacledem lipss 4, 6 syrs” arm! Prim Andr
as In XV. 4 dre povos...6Tt mravTa..., OF
the second 67. may be explanatory of
the first (cf. R.V. text, Blass, Gr.
p. 274); or again, the second orc may
begin a new sentence : “because they
poured out the blood of saints and
prophets Thou hast given them blood
also to drink” (R.V.™s-). On the
whole the last-named rendering
seems preferable; it gives meaning to
kai, Which as a mere copula is some-
what nerveless in such a context. The
Seer still has in view the condition of
Asia; as the first plague is directed
against the Caesar-worshippers, so the
second avenges the blood of those who
suffered for refusing to offer sacrifice
to the Augusti. Here, and perhaps
also in xviii. 24, ajuara, though read in
each place by only one uncial Ms.,
is probably original, representing the
Hebrew D947, as in 1 Regn. xxv. 33,
2 Regn. xvi. 7, Ps. v. 7, etc. ‘“Ayior
kat mpodnray, loyal Christians and
their leaders, the prophetic order ; for
the combination cf. xi. 18, xviii. 24,
and for mpodjra (here the Christian
prophets exclusively) see Mt. xxiii. 34,
Acts xi. 27, xiii. 1 ete., 1 Cor. xii. 28 f,
Eph. ii. 20, iii. 5, iv. 11. On zeiy (also
miv)=mew cf. WH.*, Notes, p. 177,
Blass, Gr. pp. 23, 36, W. Schm,
p. 53 f.
"Aoi eiow forms a terrible anti-
thesis to the a. eiow of iii. 4, and as
Alford remarks, the asyndeton adds
strength to the words. For aéwos ina
8 rerapros]+ayyedos & 1 6 28 35 36 130 186 al™
bad sense cf. Le. xii. 48 aéa rAnyay,
Rom. i. 32 déwor Gavarov, Heb. x. 29
aktwOnoerat Tywpias.
7. kal ykovca Tov Ovatactnpiov XeE-
yovros xtA.] A response comes to the
Angel of the Waters from the Altar
in Heaven, whether the Angel of the
Altar is meant (cf. xiv. 18) or the
Altar itself is personified ; cf. ix. 13
Hkovea pavny play €K TOY KepdTey TOU
O@vovactnpiov Tov xpvaov, and see note
there. The Altar or its Angel repre-
sents the sacrifices and prayers of the
Church (xiv. Z.c., note), and thus the
vraxon (Petr. Hv. 9) is ultimately that
of the Saints and Prophets.
Nai, Kupie 6 Oeds xrd. is taken al-
most verbally from the ‘Song of Moses
and of the Lamb,’ and indeed is an
epitome of it. The phrase adAnAuwai
kat Oixatac ai xpiceis cov, Which is
repeated in the émiixcoy on the Fall
of Babylon (xix. 2), seems to come
from Ps. xviii. (xix.) Io.
8 f. kat 6 réraptos &&éyeev...€éri
rov wAvov] The Fourth Bowl, like the
Fourth Trumpet, takes effect upon the
sun. But the effect is different and
nearly opposite ; instead of a plague
of darkness (viii. 12) there follows a
plague of excessive heat. The sun
receives power (€506n avra, cf. vii. 2,
Vili. 3, ix. 5, xiii. 7, 15) to scorch mankind
with fire (ev mupi, cf. xiv. 10), ie. the
temperature rises to fire-heat. For
xavuarife, used of the sun’s rays,
see Me. iv. 6, note, and for cadua Dan.
204
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVL 8
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TOU Onpiov: Kal éyeveTo 4 BaciWéla avToU éoKoTw-
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evn, Kal €uacwvTo Tas yAwooas avTwY EK TOU
g Kavware weyahw 18 28 79 | om peya arm! | cBacPnunoay]+a avOpwra Q
min*° syrr Ar | To ovoua] evwriov A | rnv eEovocay NAP Io 12 36 37 49 80 gi 96] om
tnvy CQ 1 alP! Ar | ov] ovxe C
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186 al vgclelipss4,6 me arm! Prim Andr Ar | ecxoticpern N° Q 28 29 | euaccwvro
Q min?! | ex] aro & 186
ili. 66 evdoyeire mip Kal Katya Tov
xuptov; ON kavpartiCew kavpa see Blass,
Gr. p. 91 f. ’Exavpatic@noay of av-
Opwro: contrast vii. 16 ovde px) méon
er avtovs o nAtos ovde may Kadpa.
The moral effect of the visitation
was doubly disastrous; men_ blas-
phemed God as the cause of their
sufferings, and they withheld from
Him the tribute of penitence which
He demanded. The amoropia of God
no less than His ypnororys (Rom. ii.
4, xi. 22) calls to repentance; but
like Pharaoh the sufferers were hard-
ened by His judgements. Andreas
has a pathetic illustration to offer
from his own experience: ws kal viv
opav €€eaTt toddovs Tols KukAooacw
nas ek PBapBapikoy yeipay appyrois
dewois dayaddovtas thy Geiay aitiacbat
aya0érnra, OTe Tas Toca’Tas KakwoeLs
T Nwetepa yevea Tetynpynxev. For the
phrase Bracdnpeivy ro dvoua Tod Oeod
(=Tov Oeov, vv. 11, 21) see Isa. lil. 5,
Jaci 7, Rom. i, 24; 5 Tim. ‘vis i.
Ov perevonoar is repeated at intervals
like a refrain, cf. ix. 20f., xvi. 11; on
dovva Sd€ay see xi. 13, note.
10f. kal 6 wéumtos é&éyeev...emt Tov
Opovov tov Onpiov xrr.) The Fifth
Plague touches the seat of the World-
power, and involves it in Egyptian
darkness. With @pévos rod O@npiov
compare ii. 13 mov 6 Opovos Tod carava,
and xiii. 2 €Swxev avr@ (sc. TO Onpiw) 6
Spakwv...rov Opovoy avrov. The com-
mentators quote Tac. hist. iv. 2 “no-
men sedemque Caesaris Domitianus
acceperat.” If a particular place is
in view, it is doubtless Rome, but the
point is that whilst earlier plagues
have seized on the subjects of the
Empire, the very seat of government
is now assailed ; the Empire itself, in
its heart and centre (7 BactAeia avrov),
is covered with a pall of darkness
which forebodes death ; for éoxorwpévn
see ix. 2, note. Meanwhile the effects
of the earlier plagues continue. The
pain (rovos = ddvvn as in Gen. XxXxiv. 25,
1 Regn. xv. 23, Bar. ii. 25, cf. c. xxi. 4)
caused by the scorching heat of the
Fourth Plague, and the malignant sores
of the first, was such that men chewed
their tongues in agony. Macao@ar,
a word used in Aristophanes and by
later Greek writers, occurs in the
Greek Bible only here and in Job
xxx. 4 pitas EvNov €wacevro vo Aipov
peyddov; in Sir. xix. 9 paojoe, the
reading of cod. A, is probably a scribe’s
error. With éuac@vro ras yAoooas
atrav cf. Bpvypos ray ddovrwy used as
an indication of intolerable pain in
Mt. viii. 12 ete.
As in the case of the Fourth Plague
a
12]
i éroipac Oh ni"
‘38
oe
“judgement produced no moral
ge, but drove men to worse sin;
asphemed, they did not repent.
é 3 Tov ovpavod, as in Dan. ii. 44
; AN), ef. Bevan ad loc.; the
se recalls the pride of the rulers
jd Babylon and their vain resis-
e to the God of Israel. For the
€k in €k rey Tovar, € €k TOV EAKOY,
ill. 13 oval...ek ray howrav povav
and on éAxos see v. 2, note. On
E v. €K TOV épyov avTov compare
of, notes; without the addition
OV XEipav the phrase is indefinite,
y include both the idolatries
immoralities of heathendom.
+ kal 6 éxros é&éyeev...emi Tov
dv...Evpparny| It is significant
» Euphrates is named in con-
on with both the Sixth Trumpet
ne Sixth Bowl, see ix. 14, note.
th Trumpet loosed the angels
ere detained at the river, and
| When released set in motion an
mous host (ib. 16). The Sixth
drains the bed of the river,
i thus opens the way for the
fance of the ‘ Kings from the East,’
_ avant-coureurs of the forces
ki king to the last war (in/ra, v. 14).
oth cases a barrier which checks
a time the progress of events is at
removed, while in the present
mce the mention of the East
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
a 7 bd -~ af > lad
€VOHNOAVY EK TWY Eepywv AUTWYV.
000s Tawv Baciéwy
205
Ba \ / \ \ - > lol ’
you, “Kal €BNarpnunoay tov Yeov Tov ovpavov €k Il
¥ / - \ ~ e col > ~ \ ’
/ TOVWY avUTwWY KaL EK TWY EAKOY AUTWV, Kal OU
12
€ ef
Kal O €KTOS I2
bat \ / > ~ > \ \ \ \
Keev THv ciarnv avTov emt Toy ToTayoy TOV
? ? e/ ’ ~
v [Tov] Evdpatny: Kal €EnpavOn To vdwp avTov,
-~ > \
TWV ATO
t Tov Geov] To ovoua Tov Oeov gt syré” | ex Twy Tovwy] pr Kac 130 | OM Kat Ex Tw
v auTwyv & | eAkwy] epywy me om ex Twr Epywr aurwy &
6 9 79 87 91 96 186 al vgcledemiipss4,6 me arme**? anon*’s Prim Andr Ar | avrou
rary 6 7 13 14 27 32 38 42 92 97 | rov moramov Tov ueyav] Tov meyay TroTamoy
| rov Evgparny AC 1 14 18 23 34 35 47 51 79 80 87 95 121] om Toy NPQ 267 13
4 32 36 130 al? Ar | rwv Bacitewy] Tw Bacirec (regi) g Prim rou Bacidews
I2 0 exros]+aryyedos 28
points to events expected to arise
on the eastern frontier of the Empire.
Kat e€npdvén ro ddwp avrov. More
than one O.T. miracle and more than
one prophecy may be in view. The
drying of the Red Sea (Ex. xiv. 21
eroingev tiv Oadkaooay Enpav), and of
the Jordan (Jos. iii. 17 dcéBawvov dca
Enpas) had suggested such prophecies
as Isa. xi. 15 épnuwoes Kupios ri Oa-
Aacoay Aiy’mtov Kat eémiBadret THY
Xelpa avrod emi Tov ToTapoy Kat Tratagéet
€nra capayyas: aore dtarropever Oat
ktX., Jer. xxviii. (li.) 36 épnudow Ty
Gadaaray a’rns Kat Enpave thy myny
atrijs, Zech. x. 11 dvekedoovra ev Oa-
Aaoon orevn...kat EnpavOnoerat Twavra
Ta Ban rotapov, and were probably
in the Apocalyptist’s thoughts. It is
possible that his mind runs also on
the story told by Herodotus (i.
of the capture of Babylon by Cyrus,
who marched into the city across the
drained bed of the Euphrates; a new
Babylon is to be surprised, and the
drying up of the river marks the
removal of the last obstacle to its fall.
"Iva éroypacdy 1 630s Trav Bacwéov
Tay aro avaroAns nAiov. Prim.: “veni-
enti regi ab oriente sole”; ef. Com-
modian, carm. apol. 9. 5 f.: “siceatur
fluvius Euphrates denique totus, | utvia
paretur regi cum gentibus illis.” The
expected invasion of the Empire by
I9I) >
206
> > /
3 avaTtoAns Alou.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVI. 12
2 \ £5. 5) ~ / co
SKal Eloy EK TOU GTOMATOS TOU
, \ ~ / ~ / \ co
dpakovTos Kal €K TOU OTOMATOS TOU Onpiov Kat ek TOU
12 avato\wy A I 6 28 38 49 79 gI 96 186 syrs¥
13 edov C minP'] cdov AQ 7
14 36 92 130 186 ed007 N| om ex Tov grouaros Tov Spaxovros xa Cg 27 29 aeth om
€K. T. OT. T. Opak. K. €K T. OT. TOU Onpiov R* om ek T. aT. Tov Onptov 36
the Parthian satraps (or according to
the reading of Primasius, the Par-
thian king) was at least present to the
writer’s thoughts. Until Parthia was
reduced by Trajan and his successors,
the Arsacidae not only offered a
stubborn resistance to the Reman
advance but from time to time caused
serious alarm, which was increased by
the popular legend of Nero’s impend-
ing return at the head of a Parthian
host; ef. Orac. Sibyll. iv. 137 sqq.
es b€ Svow Tore veixos eyeipopevor
modepowo | HEec Kal “Pons Oo vyas,
péya éyxos aeipas, | Evpnrny SiaBas
rodAais dua pupidderow; Vv. 363 n&e ©
€xk TepaT@v yains pntpoKrovos aynp |
...08 mwagav yatay ka@edet kal mavra
kpatnoet. The legend supplies at least
in part the imagery under which the
Seer imagines the gathering of the
powers from East and West for the
coming struggle.
For éroiwatew thy odov see Isa. xl.
3 €romudaoate THy Oddy Kupiov (Me. i. 3,
Le. i. 76, iii. 4), and for dé dvarodjs
nAiov cf. vii. 2, note.
13. kat eldov ek Tod oTopatos ToD
Spakovros xtA.] The Dragon is doubt-
less the Spaxwy wuppods peyas of xii. 3,
identified with Satan (7b. 9), the Great
Adversary who is behind the whole
movement about to be described.
Similarly the Wild Beast is the Beast
of xiii. 1—called 76 Onpiov ro mparoy
in xiii. 12, but thenceforward simply
ro @, (xiii. 14 ff., xiv. 9, 11, XV. 2, Xvi. 2,
10), ie. the brute force of the World-
power represented by the Roman
Empire. Of the False Prophet we
have not heard before under that
name; but his association here and in
xix. 20, xx. Io, with the first Wild
Beast points to the second Beast of
xiii. 11, and the identification is com-
pleted by the description in xix. 20
6 Toujoas TA ONEia EvOrrLoY AUTOD KTA.,
compared with xiii. 14 mAava rovs
KaToikovvtas emi THs yns Sua TA onpela
& €660n avT@ moujoat everrvoy Tov Onpiov.
The Wevdorpopyrns, then, is the false
spiritual power which made common
cause with the temporal power in doing
Satan’s work; cf. xiii. 11 ff., notes.
Professor Ramsay (Letters to the
Seven Churches, pp. 97, 101 ff.) holds
that the Second Beast and the False
Prophet are to be distinguished, and
that the former is “the Province of
Asia in its double aspect of civil and re-
ligious administration,” and the latter
“some definite person who exercised
most influence in some part of Asia
and was the leading spirit in per-
forming the miracles and signs...as
real as the prophetess of Thyatira.”
He suggests the name of Apollonius
of Tyana. But (1) the book itself
identifies the False Prophet with the
Second Beast; (2) an individual could
scarcely be placed in the same cate-
gory with the Dragon and the Beast.
On the other hand it is not impossible
that such a person as Apollonius was
in the mind of the Seer when he
described the pagan priesthood and
its influence as 6 Wevdorpodyrns 3 it
was through such men that their power
over the people of Asia was secured.
See Introduction, p. xei. f
Vevdorpopyrns, 4 LXx. rendering of
N’1) in Zech. xiii. 2, and frequently
in Jeremiah, is used in the N.T. of
pretenders to inspiration, or persons
Satanically inspired, whether before
or after Christ (Mt. vii. 15, Me. xiii
22, note, Le. vi. 26, 2 Pet. ii. 1, 1 Jo.
iv. 1; ef. Didache xi. 9). The nearest
ee
XVI. 14]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
207
/ - / / / > /
oToumaTos TOU \evoorpodytov mvevwaTa Tpla aka-
Oapta". ws Badtpayou’ “eioiy yap TvevuaTa Samoviwy 14 1C
pra", pax yap TEU lu
13, ws Barpaxo] ws (woet B*) Barpaxous R* 18 36 38 49°" 97 Ar opoa Batpaxots
1** (om 1*)
parallel to the Apocalyptic use of the
term is found in Acts xiii. 6 avépa rwa
payor Yevdorpopyrny ‘Iovdaiov, & dvopa
Bapinoois. ‘O wevdorp., like 6 avri-
xptoros (1 Jo. ii. 22, iv. 3, 2 Jo. 7),
covers a whole class—magic-vendors,
religious impostors, fanatics, whether
deceivers or deceived, regarded as
persons who falsely interpret the
Mind of God. True religion has no
worse enemies, and Satan no better
allies.
Ivevipara rpia axadapra, ws Barpaxor
Three unclean spirits came forth out
of the mouths of the three evil powers,
one from each. The mouth as the
organ of speech, the chief source of
human influence, is frequently in the
Apoe. the instrument of good or evil;
Muerto (asx, 15, 21), ix. 17 f£, x1. 5,
xii. 15. The metaphor is specially
appropriate here in view of the double
sense of mvedyua (cf. 2 Th. ii. 8 ro
mvevpate Tov oTdmaros avrov); the
three hostile powers breathed forth
evil influences. On mvetpa axa@aprov
see Me. i. 23 ff. note, iii. 11, v. 2 ff,
Acts y. 16, viii. 7. Christ expelled
unclean spirits, but His enemies send
them forth, the False Prophet not
less than the Dragon or the Beast;
cf. Zech. xiii. 2 rods evdorpopyras
kai TO mvedpua TO axadaprov. ‘Qs Ba-
tpaxo: to the Seer the spirits took
the form of frogs—a reference perhaps
to the Egyptian plague (Ex. viii. 5
(1) ff., Ps. Lxxvii. (Ixxviii.) 45, civ. (ev.)
30, Sap. xix. 10), with a side glance
at the law of clean and unclean
animals (Ley. xi. 1off.). Cf Andreas:
Barpaxous...dia ro ides avrav xai
BopBopades cai axaaprov. Philo ex-
plains the frogs of Egypt as ‘idle
fancies’: (de sacr. Abelis et Caini 69
tais ayixors dokas, Néyw d€ Barpaxors,
14 datporwy 1 28 36 38 49 79 186 al
meabeis Ayov Kai \odov Epyjpoy kai
Kevov mpayydrwy arotreAoveas); to St
John they are worse, the symbols of
impure impulses. Artemidorus comes
nearer to our writer: ii. 15 Barpayo
é€ avdpas yorntas Kai Bwpoddxous mpo-
onpaivovor. The ceaseless, aimless,
BpexexexeE xoaé xoaé of the frog
often referred to by ancient commen-
tators (cf. Aug. in Ps. lxxvii. § 27
“rana est loquacissima vanitas”)
seems to be beside the mark in
this context. On eldov...cvevpara...
ws Barpayo: see Benson, Apocalypse,
p- 145 f.
I4. elow yap mvevpata Saiporior
xt\.] A parenthesis which justifies
axa@apta, os Barpayo: ‘unclean, for
they are daemon-spirits’; cf. 1 Tim.
iv. I mpooéxortes tvevpact mAavots Kal
ddackarias dayoviev. The sequence
is resumed at zo.tvta onpeta, Which is
to be taken with wvevuara rpia, ‘I saw
three spirits issuing forth...working
signs. Sypetov is characteristically
though by no means exclusively Johan-
nine, while répas is used in this group
of writings but once and évvayis=
‘miracle’ not at all. The false prophet
of the O.T. offered onpeia in proof of
his mission (Deut. xiii. 1 (2)), and the
Church was warned to expect such
tokens from latter-day impostors (Me.
xiii. 22, 2 Th. ii. 9). From the
magicians who withstood Moses be-
fore Pharaoh down to such products
of the first century as Simon Magus
and Apollonius, pretenders to spirit-
ual powers had claimed to work
signs, which the belief of the age
attributed to superhuman influence,
though the wonders themselves were
due to such causes as sleight of
hand and yentriloquism: cf. xiii. 13 f.,
notes.
208
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVI. 14.
_ = ra if \ \ ~
TOLUVTAa OHMEla, & EKTropEevEeTaL emt TOUS PBaciNels
~ / e/ ~ \ \
Ths olkoupevns OANS, TUVayayely avTOUS Els TOV
lo e / A / _ a ~
TONEMOV THS uEepas THs peyadns Tov Oeov Tou
14 a exmopeverat] a exmopevovrat Q 7 26 36 39 et om a N™* 130 vg2mtl ex-
mopevetOar S* 1* (a exrropeverOar 1**) 43 79 80 81 95 186 om me aeth | em] es B®
38 | rns orkounerns] pr Ts yns Kae 1** | om odns syr8” | cwayew 130 | ets Tov to)e-
uov] om SAQ minP!s2° Ar om roy 1 36 43 130 186 al arm Ar | rns nuepas]+exewns Q
r 130 186 al?! syrs~ Prim Ar
“A exmopevetar emt Tovs Bacudeis KTA.
While the Kings from the East,
represented by the Parthian enemies
of Rome, are ready to move westwards
as soon as the obstacle to their
progress is removed, the other rulers
of the world are roused to action by
impulses from without—the unclean
spirits of the Beast and the False
Prophet, the lust of power, and the
bitterness of a false religion con-
tending with the true. And behind
these forces which make for war, the
Apocalyptist discovers another which
comes directly from the Dragon, who
breathes forth the very spirit of
antagonism to God and His Christ.
There have been times when nations
have been seized by a passion for war
which the historian can but imper-
fectly explain. It is such an epoch
that the Seer foresees, but one which,
unlike any that has come before it,
will inyolve the whole world in war.
‘H olkoupévn oAn (cf. iii. 10, xii. 9) is
perhaps wider than the simple 7
oixkouvpevn (Le. ii. 1, Acts xvii. 6, xix.
27, xxiv. 5)—not the Empire only,
but the world, so far as the concep-
tion could be grasped at the end of
the first century.
ouvayayeiv avtovs eis Tov méoAEpov
rhs mepas xtdA.} The Greek com-
mentators interpret this of an inter-
necine struggle between the Kings;
ef. Arethas : mpos Tov karadAAndov ovy-
Kpotjoat moAewov—a remark which
he justifies by quoting Mc. xiii. 8
eyepOnoerar yap €bvos em €Ovos kat
Baowrela emi Bacrdveiav. On the other
hand ovvayayeivy points to Ps. ii. 2
mapéotnoav of Bacideis THS yHs Kat
of apyovtes cvvnxOnoay emi TO avTo
Kata Tov Kupiov Kal Kata TOU ypioToU
avrov, and ths nuépas...Tov Jeov leads
to the same conclusion; the war is
directed against Heaven, and it will
culminate in the final triumph of
God. But if so, is this the battle
which is described in xvii. 14 and in
xix. 19? Probably it is, for the Sixth —
Bowl does not open the campaign, —
but merely marshals the forces and
places them on the battlefield. The
Seer sees the whole process fore-
shortened, and he expresses it in the
terms of his own age; the expected
Parthian invasion takes shape in his
mind as the first scene in the drama ;
a general arming of the nations follows,
and the end, which is not yet, will be
the breaking of the Day of God.
On ris nuépas THs peyaAns See Vi. 17,
note ; éxeivns, if genuine, points back
to the O.T. prophecies, e.g. Joel ii. 11
peyadn uepa Tov Kupiov, peyadn Kal
emupavis opodpa, iii. 4 mpw ede
nuepay Kupiov tiv peyaAny kal ém-
pavn; 7 Nuépa éexeivn is a Pauline
synonym for the Parousia (2 Th. i. Io,
2 Tim. i. 12, 18, iv. 8), which is also
called [7] jépa [rot] Kupiov [Inood
Xpicrov] (1 Cor. i. 8, 2 Cor. i. 14, Phil.
i. 6, ii. 16, 1 Th. v.12; 2 Dhaai
Tov Geov nuepa occurs in 2 Pet. iii. 12.
Tod mavroxparopos (i. 8, note) asserts
the sovereignty of God, which ‘that
day’ will manifest; or if the writer’s
mind reverted to the original, he may
have thought of the hosts (NIN2%)
which would be ranged on the side of
righteousness and truth (ef. xix. 14).
i]
=
XVI. 16]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
209
Vi sh c / /
TavToKpatopos. *idou Epyomat ws kNéETTHS* akaplos 15
c ‘ - A / ~ e/ \
Oo Ypnyopwv Kal THpwy Ta iwaTia avTOU, iva pay
A ~ \ / \ > /
yupvos mepiraty Kat BETwWoW THY aoxXHMOTUVHY
auTou.
16 \ / > \ ’ \ te \
Kal Ouyyyayev avTous els TOY ToOTrOY Tov 16
15 dou] pr sic enim dixit dominus arm!:* | epxouac] epxerar &* (epxouat &) 38 47
syré” Prim | mepurarec 130 | BXerovew 130 186
16 cuvnyayev| cuvnyayov & syr
ouvater vg? syr8¥ arm}3 | om rov 1° & 14 92 syr | rorov] rorauov A | om Tov 2° 14
g2 | tov kad. EBp. Ap M.] twv wiwv 130
15. idov épyouar ws Kents KTA.|
A Voice breaks the thread of the
Seer’s report: whose voice it is there
is no need to explain ; cf. iii. 3, note.
Its special appositeness in this context
arises from the fact that the Seer has
seen the gathering of the forces for
the war of the Great Day begin.
Makdptos 6 ypnyopov«rX., one of seven
paxapiopoi in the Apocalypse ; see i. 3,
Rivets six. ©, Xx. 6, xxii. 7,14. On
yenyopety see iii, 2, note, and on
Type, i. 3, note ; the whole saying is
based on iii. 3, 18, where see notes.
Tiv doxnuoovyny is euphemistically
written for thy aicyvyny (ili. 18); the
former word is repeatedly used in
Lev. xviii, xx. for 7), which is ren-
dered by aloxvvn in Ez. xvi. 36, 38,
XXii, 10, xxiii. 10 (B), 18 (B), 29. With
Typeiv Ta ipatia avrov cf. - Ps.-Clem.
‘2 Cor. 8 rnpnoare thy capxa ayyny
kal thy obpayida Gomidov, iva tiv (wry
dmroaBwpev.
16. kat ouryyayev avtods eis... Ap
Mayedov] The Seer resumes _ his
narrative. They (the daemon-spirits)
fulfilled their mission ; they (not ‘he,’
as A.V.) gathered the kings together to
the great war, as they were sent to do.
The Palestinian writer recognizes the
battlefield—one familiar to a Galilean
and a student of Hebrew history. * Ap
Mayedav is doubtless 1731) 00: the
form Mayedev occurs in Jud. i. 27 (A)
and 2 Chron. xxxy. 22, and Mayede in
Jud. Zc. (B); ef. Cheyne in Enc. Bibl.
col. 3010. Megiddo, Lejjun, “which lay
on the route of caravans and military
expeditions from the Philistine littoral
. Ss. Rk.
and from Egypt” (tb. 3011 ; cf. G. A.
Smith, Hist. Geography, p. 391), was
the scene of a series of disasters ;
there Barak and Deborah overthrew
the hosts of the Canaanite king Jabin
(Jud. y. 19 rote éemodéunoav Bacireis
Xavaar, ey Oavaayx emi Vdari Meyedda);
there Ahaziah died of Jehu’s arrows
(2 Kings ix. 27) and Pharaoh Necho
overthrew Josiah (2 Kings xxiii. 29 f.,
2 Chr. xxxv. 22; cf. Herod. ii. 159).
The last of these events burnt itself
into the memory of the Jewish people,
and the mourning for Josiah in the
valley of Megiddo was long afterwards
quoted as a typical instance of national
grief (Zech. xii. 11). Thus Megiddo
fitly symbolizes the world-wide dis-
tress of the nations at the overthrow
. of their kings in the final war.
But why*Ap Mayedav? The “water
of Megiddo,” i.e. probably the Kishon,
mentioned as the scene of Sisera’s
defeat, flows through the plain of
Esdraelon; Josiah met his death in
the plain (€v r@ medio M.= "1 NYPIE,
2 Chr., Zech., Ui. cc.; cf. G. A. Smith,
op. cit. p. 385); no instance is quoted
of 7120 13 elsewhere. But not to
mention that Megiddo itself lay at
the base of the hills which terminate
in Carmel, the form Har Magedon
may have been purposely used to
bring the final conflict into connexion
with Ez. xxxix. 2, 4 (cuvaEo ce...Kai
KaraSak@ oe emi ra dpn ta ‘Iopana),
which is evidently before the writer's
mind in xx. 8 ff. On the proposal to
write *Ap M.=""9 W, ie. the city of
Megiddo, see WH, Votes, p. 313, and
£
{
or
210 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XVI. 16
ee aA £
17 KaAoupevov EBpaiari “Ap Mayedwv. “Kal 6 €Bdouos
> / \ / > > > \ \ 2/ \ 9&5
éLéxeey Thy piadny avToU émt Tov aepa* kat eEHA-
bev wry peyadn €k TOU vaouv amo Tov Opovou
18
/ / \ > / > \ \
18 N€youca I evyover. Kal €yevOYTO aoTpaTal Kal
if \ \ , , a
~wvai kai Boovrat, kal wEeimpos eyeveTo pEyas, olos
5) / c »/ / \ lo -
ovK éyéveTo ac’ ov avOpwros éyeveTo emt THS YS;
16 Ap Mayedwy SA 1 7 35 36 38 47 49 79 87 91 95 186 al™*™ Andr Ar]
Mayeddwv (sive -dwv) Q (14) (92) vg™ syre” anon*’s Prim 17 0 eBdopuos]+ ayyedos
Ne* 1 28 35 36 49 79 130 186 al vgcledemlips4, 6 me syré” arm*°S aeth Prim Andr Ar |
emt] ets 1 14 28 31 49 79 91 92 96 186 al in aerem vg in aere Prim | om peyady A I
12 46 | ex] aro Q min?! Ar | vaov]+ Tov ovpayov Q 130 al?! Ar rou ovpayou 1 12 28 36
47 79 arm* | om azo Tov Opovov & 186* 18 acrpama: Kk. pwvat xk. Bpovrar (S&) A
(Q) 2 13 28 31 40 79 95 130 al vg arm Prim] aorp. x. Bpovra x. pwvar 6 7 8 14 186
alPla5 syrr Ar dwvat x. Bpovrat x. acrp. 1 al%*™ | om xac dwyar 12 arm* anon*“é | om
eyevero 1° Q minfre?5 ygft arm Prim Ar | avOpwmos eyevero A 38 me arm aeth] (ot)
avOpwrrot eyevovro (&) (Q) (x) (7) (8) 12 14 17 36 79 92 (95) (130) (186) al”! vg syrr arm
anon*"s | om emt rns yys 7 14 anon*"s
to the parallels which they produce in
support of “Ap M. add* Ap Sip (Field,
Hexapla, ii p. 167). Syr.e™ has simply
aaXse. The fancy of Gunkel that
the reference is not to Megiddo but
to an old myth, though accepted by
Bousset and by Cheyne (nc. Bibl.
d.c.), does not merit serious considera-
tion. On ’E§paiori see ix. 11, note.
17. Kat 6 €Bdomos e&éyeev...emt Tov
dépa xtA.| The air which all men
breathe (Sap. vii. 3 Tov kowvov dépa),
the ‘workshop’ of the physical dis-
turbances which affect human health
and life, is smitten by the pouring out
of the Seventh Bowl—a plague of
wider significance than the smiting
of the earth (v. 2), or sea (v. 3), or
fresh waters (v. 4), or even the sun
(e. 8). The seventh angel’s action
is followed by a Great Voice which
proceeds out of (ex) the Sanctuary,
and from (azo) the Throne (iv. 2, note),
and proclaims that the end has been
reached. Téyovey, ‘it is done,’ ‘it has
come to pass’; cf. xxi. 6 Kal eimév poe
Téyovay, 8c. ovTou of Xoyor; here the
sing. refers to the whole series of
plagues now completed, or to the de-
cree which set it in motion ; ef. Le. xiv.
22 kupte, yéyover 0 ereraéas. The Voice
is specially appropriate in this con-
nexion, since these plagues are “the
last” (xv. 1); there remain no further
manifestations of this kind.
18. kali eyevovro dorparat xrA.| The
usual accompaniments of a great
visitation ; cf. viii. 5, xi. 19, notes ; for
ceopos peyas, see Le. xxi. 11, Apoc.
vi. 12, xi. 13. Writing in a century
remarkable forthe numberand severity
of its earthquakes, and to men whose
country was specially subject to them,
St John is careful to distinguish
this final shock from even the great-
est hitherto known; it was olos ovk
éyévero ad’ ov avOpwros eyevero: Cf.
Me. xiii. 19 Oris ofa od yéeyovev
TowavTn dr apxijs KTivews...ews TOU VOV
(see note there). The striking phrase
is heightened by the pleonastic rAc
xovros (Jac. iii. 4, 2 Cor. i. 10, Heb. ii.
3) o. obrw péyas. Never had the earth
been shaken by such throes as these ;
cf. Hage. ii. 6 ére Gmak eyo oelow Tov
ovpavov kat Thy yiv Kal THY Oadacoay
kat tHv énpdv, with the comment in
Heb. xii. 27. :
|
XVI. 21]
TNNLKOUTOS TELT MOS OUTW pEYyas.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
201
19 \ ’ / c
Kat e€yeveTo 1 19
/ e / , / ‘ ‘ a / -
mois 1 peyadn Els Tpla pmepy, Kat at ToAELS TwY
> ~ TA
€Ovav €7TTEO AY.
kal BaBurwv i peyadn éurijobn
, ~ -~ - > - \ / - of
€VWTLOV TOU Geou, douvat auT" TO TOTHPLOV TOU OLVOU
Tou @upot THs
Opyns auvTou.
20
\ ~ ~
Kal Taoa yvyoos 20
épuyev, kal dpn ovx evpeOnoav. *kal yadaCa pean 21
18 om rnXKouTos ceiomos OvTwW weyas ME OM ovTw arm
1g at roNXes] » rods K*
syr | erecay N** AQ 7 8 28 38 42 49 96** 97 186] execov 1 6 14 al? ewecey R®* Byr |
dovvac] pr tov & 28 79 | ro rornpiov] om ro & 95
opyns 14 92 arm | om avrou N me
19. Kai éyévero 1 TOALS 7) weyadn els
tpia pepyn xtA.] In xi. 13 a tenth part
of the city falls; here the whole is
torn asunder, great fissures dividing
it henceforth into three parts; cf.
Zech. xiv. 4 oxtcOnoerat To Spos...
xaos peya opodpa. In the former case
it was Jerusalem that suffered (xi. 8,
note); now it seems to be Babylon,
ie. Rome (xiv. 8, note). But Rome is
not alone in her distress; the effects
of the earthquake are felt throughout
the Empire and beyond it; everywhere
the cities of the heathen (rav ێvar,
ef. xi. 2) are shaken to their fall;
this is no local visitation (Mc. xiii. 8
xara rorovs), but world-wide.
kat BaSvAav 1) peyadn euvnoOn évad~
mov tT. Oeod xtd.] The capital had
seemed hitherto to have been over-
looked in the meting out of Divine
rewards and punishments, but her
hour has come at last; cf. Andreas:
as €x AnOns Sit paxpoOuyias cfs pynuny
édovea ; Bede : “impius in memoriam
Deo veniet, qui nune dicit in corde
suo Oblitus est Deus.” The mills of
God, if they grind slowly, are never
stopped except by human repentance ;
cf. Jer. xxxvil. (XXX.) 24 ov py dzo-
etpadp7 opy? Ovpov Kupiou €ws roujep.
MrnoOjva, prnoénoec Pa, passive, oc-
cur in Ezekiel (iii. 20 o8 py pynoOoow
ai Stxacoovvat avrov, XViil. 22, 24, XXXiil.
16 (A)), and the construction is imi-
tated in Acts x. 31 ai EAenuootvar cov
enya Oncay evertoy Tod Geod ; in Sirach,
| rou owov] om rou & | om rns
20 OM xa 1° x | ovy evpednoay] pr xa 28 79
middle and passive are used in con-
secutive lines (xvi. 17: py eltrns Ort
*AmoO Kupiouv xpuSnoopa pr €& dYous
tis pou pynoOnoera; €v Aa@ mrEion
ov py pynodo). Dr Gwynn observes
that both the Syriac versions have
hasadhed, “a rare use of this form
in passive sense,” corresponding to the
rare é€uvjo6n (passive). With éurvjc én...
dotvva, compare xi. 18 FAGev...6 Kaipds...
dovvat Tov pu Gov, XVL 9 ov peTevonoay
Sodva avta@ doar.
It is interesting to find Arethas
writing in the tenth century: BaSv-
Ava ov THY ‘Pwouny éyw THY Tadaay...
ov Tov Gmavta Koopoy...Acimerat otvy
érépay vtovoeiy BaSvA@va...cai ris
attn ; ovK GAAn 7) 7) Kwvorartivov. Each
age has its Babylon which seems to
call for Divine intervention.
20. Kal waca vnoos Eduyev xri.]}
The Seer resumes from rv. 18 his ac-
count of the effects produced by the
Seventh Bowl. The words recall vi.
14 wav Spos Kai vnoos éx trav Torey
alrav exunénoay, Where see note. Ovy
evpeOnaay (=IN¥'D2 sb, ef. 1 Regn.
xiii, 22, Ps. xxxvi. (xxxvii.) 36, Jer.
xlviii. (xli.) 8); compare ce. vy. 4,
xii. 8, xiv. 5, xviii. 21 ff Fora parallel
to the whole verse see ¢c. xx. II €puyey
} yf) Kat 6 ovpavos, Kai Toros ovx evpebn
avrots.
21. xat yaANala peyadn ws raXartiaia
cxaraBaivec KTA. | In the seventh
Egyptian plague there fell a hail rodAy
I4—2
212
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[Re Valeon
/ lf > lo co \ \
ws TadavTiaia KaTaPaiver €K TOU ovpavou émi Tous
avOpwrrous* Kal éBrachnunoay ol avOpwrrot tov Beoy
€K THS WANYNS THS yaraCns, OTL peyadn é€oriv 7
mAnyn avTns cpodpa.
21 kataBawver] eyevero syr | 7 mAnyn auTns] Om aurys Q arm? 7 Any avTov 12
29 9 TA. avTn 7 14 28 31 38 all?
apodpa, Arts Tovavtn ov yeyovev ev Ai-
ylmr@(Ex.ix. 24). Soin the great battle
of the Bethhorons a hailstorm decided
the issue (Jos. x. 11 Kupcos eméppiev
avrois Aidous yadans ex Tov ovpavod...
kat €yévovto mAelous of amobavovtes bia
tovs Aidous Ths x. 7) ous améxteway of
viol “lopajA payaipa). Thus a great
hail became the symbol of Divine
wrath against the foes of Israel; cf.
Isa. xxvii 2 (Sod ioyupov Kat oKAnpov
0 Ovpos Kuplov, os xadala Karadepo-
perm ; Ez. xxxvili. 22 xpwod avrov...
Alors xadatns; Sap. v. 22 é&« mer-
poBorov Ovpot mAnpes pipnoovrat
xarala. A yadala peyddn followed the
Seventh Trumpet (xi. 19), but that
which came with the outpouring of
the Seventh Bowl was os radavriaia,
grando ingens talenti ponderis
(Prim.), each stone about the weight of
a talent. Tadavroy in the Lxx. almost
invariably represents 133, a round
weight ranging from 108 lbs. or less
to 130 (B.D.B, p. 505). <A stone
weight found at Jerusalem in 1891,
supposed to be a talent, weighed about
646,000 grains (Pal. Eapl. Fund State-
ment, 1892, p. 289 f., cited in Hastings,
D.B. iv. p. 906). Josephus (antt. iii.
6, 7) speaks of the golden candlestick
as weighing pvas éxarov, and adds:
"EBpaior pev kaovor xiyyapes (D733),
eis d€ thy “EAAnrixyy petaBadddpevoy
yorrav onuaiver radavroy, which gives
631,150 grains (light standard). The
talent was afterwards regarded as=
125 librae =631,665 grains (Enc. Bibl.
col. 4444). Striking a mean between
these estimates we get a talent of
636,271 grains. Tadavriaios, though
ar. Ney. in the Greek Bible, has good
support in the later Greek; cf. eg.
Polybius ix. 41. 8 joav Bedooracers
ALGoBoros, GY O pev Ets TadXavriaios ;
Josephus, B. J. vy. 6. 3 tadavriaion pev
yap hoav ai Baddopeva rérpar; a comic
author quoted by Pollux (ix. 53)
ventured to speak of voorjpara tadav-
Tlata.
A hail such as this was clearly a
visitation on man; the weight of a
single stone was sufficient to kill any-
one on whom it fell. Even the Egyptian
hailstorm killed the herdsmen in the
open country; cf. Diod. Sic. xix. 45
xardlns arictov TO péyeOos, pvaaiar yap
émumtov, €ote & ore Kat peiCous, aoTe
moAAas pev oikioy oupmimrew dia TO
Badpos, ovK ddtyous b€ kal Tdv avOperrav
ardAdvoba. But the moral effect was
no better than under the fourth and
fifth plagues (v. 9 f.); once more there
comes the terrible refrain ¢8racg7- ©
Enoav of avOpwmo tov Oedv. Even
Pharaoh had shewn signs of repentance
under the hail (Ex. ix. 27), though he
relapsed into impenitence as soon as
it had ceased ; but the age of the last
plague blasphemed while it suffered.
Cf. Andreas: xara tov Bapad €corrat,
paddov b€ xal rovtTov oKAnporepou evye
exeivou Togas Tais Oenddrois mAnyais
pHakacoopevov kal THY oiketav op“odo-
yodvtos aveBetay, avtot Kal ev TO pagTi-
yovr Ga Braodnpovou.
peyarn eotiy 1) mAnyn adrhs opodpal
For the position of ogddpa cf. Gen.
xiii. 13, Deut. xxx, 14, Judes
1 Regn. xii. 18 (B), Ps. exviii. (cxix.)
138, Mt. xix. 25, xxvil. 54, Acts vr 7,
and see B.D.B. s.v. INI).
my it.-2]
"Kat nAOev eis éx Tav éerta SayyéAwy Tov 1 XVIL
ate, \ ‘ \
€XOVTWY Tas ETTA
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
213
/ > / > > ~
(puadas, Kat €Nadnoev pET’ EMov
Aéywv Aeipo, delEw vor TO Kpiua THs Topyns THs
meyaAns THs KaOnuévyns eri VdaTwv TOMA”, *pHEO Hs 2
> / c ~ lal la \ > / ¢
ETOPVEVTaV OL Baoireis TNS YNS, Kat éuebvc Ono av ol
~ \ ~ ~ af ~ / -
KQTOLKOUVTES THY YNV EK TOU OlVOU THS TOpPVELas aUTIS.
XVII 1 ddev] c&nOev A | om ex N 28 95 | eAad. per euou Neywv]+ por I 28 79 130
al aeth edad. por Aeywv Hipp dixit mihi Prim | deEw] pr car 130 | vdarwy ro\Awy RAP
1 12 28 33 95 al] rw vdarwy rwv 7. Q min?! Ar
vay &
XVII. i—6. Tue Vision oF
BaBYLON SEATED ON THE BuEAstT.
I. kat AOev els ex TaY éEmta ayye-
Nov krdr.] Aéye pou (writes Hippolytus,
de Antichr. 36), paxapte “Iwavyn, aro-
oro\e Kai padnra Tov Kupiov, Ti ides
kal jKovoas mepit BaSvAa@vos, and the
reader of the Apocalypse who has
reached this chapter reciprocates the
desire. Twice already he has been
told that Babylon is doomed (xiv. 8,
xvi. 19), but the Seer has given no
clue to the meaning of the name, and
no description of the city or its down-
fall. These are to form the subject
of a new revelation (xvii—xviii.)
which St John now receives under
the guidance of an Angel, one of the
Seven who had been charged with
the Plague-bowls (rév eyovrav=ol
wiyops ch Xv. I, 6, xxi. 9). For
é\adnoev per euov see i. 12, and for
deiE@ oor, iv. 1; the phrase as a whole
is repeated in xxi. 9.
TO Kpiwa Tis mopyns xtr.] Cf. Jer.
XXViil. (li.) 9 hyyexev els ovpavoy
To Kpima aurns (Sc. THs BaSvAdvos).
St John has heard the sentence
pronounced, and is now to see it
carried into effect. On ris ropyns
see xiv. 8, note; cf. Primasius:
“meretricem yocans, quia relicto
Creatore daemonibus se prostituit ”—
one reason, doubtless, for the use of
the name, but not that which the
Apocalyptist has chiefly in view, as
BaBvieva,
2 emopvevoay] eroinaay Top-
the next verse will shew. Tys xa6n-
pévns emi vdarwy modAoy is borrowed
from Jer. xxviii. (li) 12f. moumoec
Kupwos @ eAdAnoev emi rods Karotkouvras
KaTaokyvourtas (kaTaoKy-
vovoa, Q) ed’ wtdacr moAddois; the
significance of the phrase as applied
to the New Babylon appears below,
v.15. For xa6jo06ar=xarotkeiv, Kata-
oxnvovy, see xiy. 6, note.
2. ped ns emopvevoay oi Bacireis
ms yhs krd.] Again the imagery
comes from the O.T.; see note on
c. xiv. 8. The clause is repeated in
C. XVill. 3; of Baoweis tHs yns Or THS
oikouperns is an Apocalyptic phrase
for human rulers in general, as con-
trasted with the Iavroxparap (i. 5, vi.
15, XVi. 14, xxi. 24); or,as here and in
xvii. 18, xviii. 3, 9, xix. 19, for the
rulers of territories which had been
absorbed into the Empire or were
allied to it, and promoted its ends. The
tropveia of which these kings were guilty
consisted in purchasing the favour of
Rome by accepting her suzerainty
and with it her vices and idolatries.
’EuedbvoOnaay (cf. Jo. ii. 10 Gray pebv-
cOdow), answers tO memorixev in Xi.
8; if Rome was the temptress, the
nations and their rulers had shewn
themselves ready to comply. Few such
kings remained within the Empire;
but St John is speaking of the past.
He could remember e.g. the princes
of the Herod family.
214 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
\ / / > af /
3 *kat amnveryKev pe Els Eonuov év TvEUuaTL.
[XVII. 3
Kal €LOoV
~ / \ / / id
yuvaika KaOnuévny ér Onpiov Koxkwvov, yéuovTa bve-
3 0M ev 2 19 26 29 30 33 40 al | ecdov RP min?!) Sov Q 7 130 186 cba A | Koxxwwov]
koyxwov Q (item v. 4) | yeuovra R*AP] yeuov Q 1 6 28 31 35 36 130186 al syrs”
Hipp Andr Ar
3. Kal dmnveyxey pe eis Epnuov év
mvevpatt] The angel -guide not only
invites (devpo), but carries the Seer
away, transporting him to the scene
of the vision. The verb is used of the
ministry of angels at the moment of
death (Le. xvi. 22 éyévero S€ aroOaveiv
TOY TTwyoY Kal amevexORvat avrov
UmO TOY ayyéAwy eis Tov KOATOV
*ABpaay), or during an ecstasy (as
here and in xxi. 10): for the latter ef.
Bel 36 émedaBero 6 ayyehos Kupiov
Ths Kopupns avrov cat Bacracas Tis
kouns Ths Kepadfs avrov 2Onkev avrov
els BaSvAova ; Ew. sec. Hebr. (ap.
Orig. in Ioann. t. ii. 6) & dpre eae He
7 BITNp Lov TO dytov mvevpa ev ped TOV
Tpix@v ov, kal amrnveyke BE eis TO Gpos
TO péya GaBep ; and St Paul’s nprayy
eis Tov mapdadeov (2 Cor. xii. 4). The
Desert into which the Seer is trans-
ported is not the retirement and
solitude of the inner life (xii. 6, 14,
notes), for he would not have found
the vision of Babylon there, but the
desolation of a life without God (Pri-
masius: “desertum ponit divinitatis
absentiam, cuius praesentia paradisus
est”). Or possibly it anticipates the
time when the busy suburbs and
neighbourhood of the city will be
left without inhabitant; cf. Isa. xiy.
23 Ojow thy BaBvrwviay épnuov. Or
els épnuov may have been suggested
by the heading to Isa. xxii NW
Oye 22, which the Lxx. render
simply TO Opapa ths épnuov. For the
vision of the New Babylon the Seer
is carried into a desert; for the vision
of the New Jerusalem he ascends a
mountain (xxi. Io, note).
The movement took place év mvev-
par. i.e. in the sphere of the Seer’s
spirit, impelled by the Spirit of God:
cf. i. 10, iv. 2, notes. St John does not
share St Paul’s doubt Eire ey Topare ouK
oida, et elre exros (2. a xepis) Tov ow@partos
ovK oda (2 Cor. xii. 2). Probably he
has in view the frequent ecstasies of
Ezekiel ; ef. e.g. Ez. iti. 14f TO mvedpa
enpev ‘He kal dvedaBév Pé, Kal emopevOny
ev opi TOU TvevpaTos pov...Kal elopr dov
els THY aixnarooiay HETEwpos, Vii. 3
dvéhaBev pe mvevpa. skal nyayev BE els
‘Tepovoahnp év opdcet Jeor, xi 24
mvevpa avehaBév BE kal iPyayev BE eis
yiv XadOalov...€v opdce ev mvevpare
beod.
kal eidov yuvatka kaOnuévny ém Onpiov
koxxvov] The Great Harlot appears
riding on a monster which, notwith-
standing the absence of the article
(cf. dpvio in xiii. 11), is doubtless to be
identified with the Wild Beast from
the Sea (xiii. 1, 14; ef. xix. 20); ie. the
World-power regarded as an enemy
of Christ and the Church, and ruling
by brute force. On this the Harlot-
city reposes; it gives her a proud
preeminence, and carries her tovictory.
The colour of the Beast is now seen
to be scarlet, or perhaps crimson.
Koxkwos, dyed with the colouring
matter derived from the koxkos, a
parasite of the dex coccifera, repre-
sents in the Lxx. nydin or ‘2¥, or
ov nydin, nydim 2 (see the lex.
cons $.vv. ) The colour was much
used for textile materials; cf. Num.
iv. 8 émBadotow én aitny (sc. THY
TpameCay THY mpoKeyséevny) iwariov KOK=
xivov, 2 Regn. i. 24 Ouyarépes “Iopamn...
kAavoate Tov evdidvoKovTa Dyas KOKKLva,
Jer. iy. 30 caf Troujoets ay mepiBady
KOKKivov Kal Koounon Koo po xpvs'@ ;
Mt. xxvii. 28 yAapuvda Koxxivny trepie-
@nxav avt@; with it were blended the
dark blue known as vaxivOwoy (Isa.
XVII. 4]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
215
pata BNarHnutas, Exor|Ta| keaNas érra kal Kepata
O€ka.
$kal 1) yun nv mepdeBAnuern TopPupovy Kal 4
3 exovra NP] exwv A 7 28 30 81 94 exor Q 1 130 186 al”! | om Keg. erra xa I |
xepara dexa] his accessit v. 18 ap P 38 (ex Andr comm)
186 al Andr Ar
iii. 23; cf. Apoc. ix. 17, note), and the
red-blue known as op vpa (Ex. xxxix.
13 (1), 2 Chr. ii. 7 (6)), while the white of
the Bvaaos often completed the make-
up (2 Chr. iii. 14, Apoc. xviii. 16).
A thread or cord dyed with the
koxkos Was attached to an object with
the view of arresting the eye (Gen.
Xxxviii. 28, Jos. ii. 18). Thus the
epithet conveys the idea of splendour
and distinction. The colour it des-
cribes enters into the clothing of the
woman herself (7. 4), while the Beast
she rides is completely dyed with it.
There is probably no reference here to
the blood of the martyrs, or to the
fires in which they perished; in either
case muppds would have been more
appropriate (cf. vi. 4, xii. 3); rather
it is the ostentatious magnificence of
the Empire which is represented by
the colour of the Beast (cf. Juv. iii
283f. “cavet hunc, quem coccina laena |
vitari iubet et comitum longissimus
ordo”); its name (Andreas: w@oTnTos
Kal aypioTnTos Kat ovixns yvouns...
yropicpa) is enough to indicate its
persecuting policy.
yénovra dvoparaBXaodnpias rr. |The
Seer personifies the Beast and writes
yeporra...€xovra accordingly; yepyoy,
éxov, are obviously corrections. Teyeuw
governs a gen. elsewhere in the Apoc.
(iv. 6, 8, v. 8, xv. 7, xxi. 9), in the
rest of the N.T. (Mt. xxiii. 27, Le. xi.
39, Rom. iii. 14, ef. Mt. xxiii. 25 yepovow
eé apmayjs) and in the Lxx.; on the
acc. here see WM., p. 287, and for the
construction in v. 4, see below. For
ovopata Bdao®. cf. xiii. 1, note; there
they stand on the Beast’s seven heads,
here they cover his body. The Empire
reeked with the blasphemous worship
of the Emperors; not its heads only
4 Toppupay 1 6 12 28 36
but the whole body politic did this
dishonour to the Living God. It is
a first charge against Babylon that
she is supported by a system such as
this. “Eyovra xepadas énra cai xépata
d€xa, as in xiii. 1; for the interpretation
see vv. 9 f., 12, notes.
4. Kal 1) yur my mepBeBdrnuerm trop-
dupovy wat Koxkwov xrA.] In Babylon’s
clothing the scarlet or crimson is
relieved by purple. The colours were
so near to each other that the yAauvs
xoxxivn Of Mt. xxvii. is called ropdiipa
or iparwv moppupotvy in Me. xv. 17,
20, Jo. xix. 2, 5; here they blend, but
are distinct, as in Ex. xxvi. I rowujoes
Sexa avXaias éex...roppvpas Kal Koxkivov
KexAwopevov. On ropdupa, “the colour
of clotted blood,” see Mayor on Juv.
i. 27. Andreas regards it as sym-
bolizing the imperial power of Rome
(xoxxivoy S€ kai roppipay mepiBEeSrAnrac
@s THs Hyemovias THs KaTa TaYT@Y TUp-
Boda) but mixed with crimson perhaps
it rather points like the latter (v. 3,
note) to the luxurious living of the
metropolis (cf. Le. xvi. 19) than to its
being the seat of empire. St John
shares the old Roman dislike of rich
attire: cf. Juv. xiv. 187 ff “pere
grina ignotaque nobis | ad scelus
atque nefas, quaecumque est, purpura
ducit.”
The whole passage was used by the
Carthaginian Fathers of the third
century as a persuasive against the
love of dress; cf. Tert. de cult. fem.
ii. 12 “quam maledicta sunt sine
quibus non potuit maledicta et prosti-
tuta describi” ; Cyprian de hab. virg.
12 “fugiant castae virgines et pudicae
incestarum cultus, habitus impudi-
carum, lupanarum insignia, ornamenta
meretricum.”
216
/ /
KOKKWoV, Kal Kexpvowpevn xpvolw Kat NiOw Tiysiw Kal
of / cal lo
papyapitals, ExovTa TOTNHPLOV YpUToUV ev TH ELL
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVII. 4
\
\
sees / ) / \ \ 2 0 -
avTns yéemov BoEeNvypaTwy Kal Ta axkaVapTa Tys
4 0m xa 3° PQ min?!490 syrew (hab RA 1 7 18 23 31 36 38 43 al g Vg me syr arm
Cypr anon*s Prim al) | xpucww AQ 130 al® Ar] xpusw XP 1 28 36 38 49 79 91 95 96
186 al Hipp | Acdous rucous syrr | om exouga,..77s mopyecas aurns P | yenov] yeuwy X*
7 30 32 94 al”
Kal Kexpuowpévy xpvoia xtr.) Not
content with costly and splendid
clothing, Babylon wears all her jewel-
lery and even gilds her person (cf.
EX. XXVi. 37 xputdcets avrovs xpuaig);
she is tmaurata auro—a meretricious
display which proclaims her vile trade ;
ef. Juv. vi. 122 f. (quoted in note on
x. 5). The commentators compare
Ez. xxviii. 12, where it is said of
the King of Tyre wav \idov xpnorov
evdédecar...kat xpuvaiov, but the
Apocalyptist more probably reminds
himself of the finery of the temple
prostitutes of Asia Minor, or recalls the
reports which reached the provinces
of the gilded vice of the capital.
Ai6w tTipio (192% J2N) cai papyapiras
depends by zeugma upon kexpyce-
pevn, from which the reader must
mentally supply some such participle
aS Kexoounpervn (XXi. 2, 19). AlOos is
collective, cf. xvili. 12, 16; Alo Timi
=mavti X. tr. (xxi. 19). On papyaptrat
see xxi. 21, note.
€xovea ToTnpioy Xpvoory ev TH xELpt
avrns xtv.]| Adapted from Jer. xxviii.
(li.) 7 morjpiov xpvooty BaBvdwy ev
xetpt Kupiov, peOdoxov macav thy yi.
From one point of view a great centre
of heathenism and vice is a cup in the
Hand of God, the instrument of His
righteous wrath: from another the
cup is in the hand of Babylon herself,
for it is she that prepares and ad-
ministers it (xviii. 6 ré rornpio o
exépacev). The cup is of gold—another
sign of luxury (cf. Juv. x. 26f. “illa
(se. aconita) time cum pocula sumes |
gemmata et lato Setinum ardebit in
auro”)—but it is full of abomina-
tions, as the Beast’s scarlet body is
covered with “names of blasphemy”;
its contents contrast strangely with
its external beauty; cf. Mt. xxiii. 25
kabapifere TO EEwOev Tod moTnpiov Kat
THs mapowidos, erabev d€ yeuovow €&
dprrayijs kat axpacias (Le. ro 8€ érwbev
dpav yewer apmayys Kal sovnpias).
BééAvypa, a rare word in the N.T.
(Me. xiii. 14= Mt. xxiv. 15,—a quota-
tion from Daniel,—Le. xvi. 15, Apoc.
xvii. 4f., xxi. 27) is frequent in every
part of the Lxx., where it usually
represents either /2Y or PPM (eg.
Lev. xi. 10ff., Dan. ix. 27), or HIYA
(so with few exceptions in Deut., 3, 4
Regn., Prov.), in the sense of cere-
monial or moral impurity, or an object
of idolatrous worship or an idolatrous
rite (cf. 3 Regn. xi.6=5 rH “Aorapry
BderAvypari Sidaviorv, 4 Regn. xxiii. 13
TS Modxod BS. vidv "Aupov). Both
meanings suit the present context;
the BdeAvypara which filled the cup
of Rome may include both the cults
and the vices of Roman life. Kat ra
dxa@apra Tis Topveias avtis lays special
emphasis on the impurities of Rome’s
traffic with the nations, the imperial
and commercial relations in which she
played the mépvn (xiv. 8, xvii. 1, notes).
A striking parallel to a part of this
picture is to be found in Cebes, éab.:
opas...dpdvov twa Kéipevov...ep ov
KdOnrat yury, metacpevn TO e€tder Kal
mOavn pawopéern, Kat ev TH xeEtpt moTN-
ploy Tt; Opa, adda Tis eotly adn; Env.
*Amatn kaXeira, pnoiv, 7 mavras Tos
avOperous mAaveoa...mori¢e: TH éauThis
duvapet...rodro O€ ti eati To moTov;
man, én, Kat ayvora.
XVII. 6]
Topvelas avTis*
yeypaupevoyv Muarnpiov:
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
217
\ ’ \ \ / > _ /
SKal ETL TO METWTOV aUTHS OVvopa 5
\ c / €
BaBuAwy 7 peyadn, 7
/ - -~ cad =~ ~
MNTNP TY Topvey Kal Twy BOEAVYHaTwY TIS YiIS.
6
4 Wopve.as] mopwias & rovnpias 130 | aurns
\ 5) \ - / ’ = 4
Kal €0a THY ryuvaika peOvovcay €k TOU aiuaTos 6
2°A 167 28 31" 35 363847 49 79 87 g1
95 96 al vg aeth Andr anon**] rns ys Q 130 al® Hipp Ar totius terrae Cypr Prim
(cf me) aurns kac rns yns 8 om arm***?
moprwr]) fornicationum (quasi ropywwy) vg
anon*ӎ Prim al
5 ovoua]+auTns 130 | om 7 peyadn me |
6 eda RA] ecdov P 186
al?! idov Q (7) 14 92 130 | ex Tov atwaros (1°)] Tov amaros R**PQ 26 8 g 14 29
130 alP'415 Hipp Ar rw aware &* 38
5. Kal éri ro pérwroy aris ovoua
yeypaupevov] A name written on the
forehead may be either that of the
person who bears it (cf. xix. 16, where
however the name is written émi ro
iuariov Kal émt Tov unpov), or that of
one to whom the bearer stands in
a near relation (cf. xiv. 1, xxii. 4).
Here the name and style are those
of the woman herself, and there is
probably an allusion to a custom
observed by the Roman xépyva; cf.
Seneca rhet. i. 2. 7 “stetisti puella
in lupanari...nomen tuum pependit
a fronte” [but the meaning is doubt-
ful]; Juv. vi. 122 f. “[Messalina ]papillis |
constitit auratis, titulum mentita
Lyciscae.” Cf. Arethas: réd dé eri rd
pér@mov yeypapOa dvoua, To amnpv-
Opracpéevws dndoi rpagcew Ta araicta.
pvotipiov: BaSvrdv 1 peyadn, 7
pytmp xtd.] The legend borne by
the titudus on the Harlot’s forehead.
Mvortypiov, Which stands in apposition
with BaSvAdy xrX., is used nearly as in
1. 20 TO pvoTnpioy Tay éxra aorépwr...
oi émta dorepes GyyeXot...eloiv, Where
see note. The Woman on the Beast
represents, is the symbol of, Babylon
the Great, while Babylon itself is a
mystical name for the city which is
now the mistress of the world. Her
gaily attired, jewelled, gilded person,
and her cup of abominations, proclaim
her to be the Mother-Harlot of the
Earth. All the zépva of all the sub-
ject races are her children; all the
yices and superstitions of the provinces
were suckled at her breasts. The
untporodts of the Empire is the source
and fountain-head of its impurities,
the mother of harlots, even as the
Church is the mother of Christ and
His Saints (xii. Cf. Andreas :
5; 17).
n 8e uitnp [87 oi] TO THS Vuxexiis
Tropveias elvat tavtny didacKadov Tais
apxouévais moAdecot. The maternal
character of Rome was recognized by
the provincials themselves as late as
the end of the fourth century, but
from a different point of view; cf.
Libanius, ep. 247 ots mapeAndare
Tapa THs uNTpos, oUTw yap €v ToLUYTES
kaXeire THY ‘Paunp.
6. «at ei8a thy yuvaixa pebvovcay
€k Tow aiuatos krA.] As the Seer con-
templates the Woman, he sees that
she is drunken, not with wine (Isa.
li. 2 pe@vouca ovK aro otvov), but with
blood. The dreadful conception is
familiar to Roman writers; ef. Cic.
Phil. ii. 29 “gustaras civilem sangui-
nem vel potius exsorbueras”; Plin.
HN. xiv. 22. 28 “[Antonius] ebrius
sanguine civium”; Suet. 7%}. 59 “fasti-
dit vinum, quia iam sitit iste cruorem.”
Babylon is drunken with the blood of
the citizens of the City of God, the
Saints and the Witnesses of Jesus;
cf. xvi. 6 alua ayiwv Kai mpodnrav
e£€yeay, XVili. 24 €v avy alua mpopynrav
kai ayiwy evpeOn. On paprus in this
book see ii. 13, note. The distinction
suggested by the repeated é« rot
aiuaros is apparent only, for the saints
whose blood was shed were by that
218
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVIL 6
- ¢ / Ns ~ e/ ~ / -
TWYV aAYylLWV Kal EK TOU ALMATOS TWY MapTupwvV ’Inoov*
\ > / > \ > \ land /
Kal éCavpaca LOWY QAUTHV Gatua Meyda.
> / € af \ / /
7 7Kai eirev por 0 ayyedos Ata Ti eavpacas :
> > - \ / = x \ ~
eyo Epw TOC TO (ua TnPLOV THS YUValKOS Kat TOU
a / 7. =~ \ c \
Onpiov Tov BaaraCovtos avTHy, TOU EXoVTOS Tas ETTEA
8 Kepadas Kal Ta O€Ka Kepara.
8d Onpiov 6 eides iV
\ > af \ / > / 5 - > /
kal ovK €or, Kal péeANe avaBaivew ék Tis dBvecoV
6 0M Twy aywy Kat ex Tov aiuaros 130 | om Ka 2° Q 2 8 9 29 al” | om ex 2°3 I
31 96 al | waprupwy A | Incou] pr Tov 95 Iesu Christi Prim om 1 36 130 | om efav-
baca,..ueya me
130+0 arm | 7v] 7 A
very circumstance also witnesses to
the Faith; but the repetition serves to
enhance the guilt of Rome. She had
not sinned in ignorance, for testimony
had been borne to Christ by more
than one generation of saintly sufferers
in the presence of high officials of the
Empire. For eiSa see WH.?, Notes,
p.6172:
kai €Oavipaca idav avriy Oadpa peya]
The Seer had been invited to see the
downfall of Babylon; the angel had
offered to shew him her sentence ex-
ecuted. He expected to see a city in
ruins. But instead of this there had
risen before him on the floor of the
desert the picture of a woman gilded,
jewelled, splendidly attired, mounted
on a scarlet monster, drunk with
blood. It was a complete surprise.
Who was this woman? what was the
meaning of the Beast? The Seer
had lost his clue; he was bewildered
by a vision so widely different from
that for which he looked. An in-
terpreter is needed, and he is at
hand in the person of the angel
who had undertaken to act as guide ;
see v. 7.
7—18. THE INTERPRETATION OF
THE VISION OF BABYLON AND THE
Breast.
7. Kal eimév pow 6 ayyedos Ata Ti
eGavpacas; xtd.] The Angel has read
St John’s amazement in his face or it
7 Tov exovrTos] pr Kat 1 38 79
8 evdes NP min?] des AQ 7
has been betrayed by an exclamation;
and he proceeds to explain to the
Seer the symbolism of the Woman
and the Beast. The two belong to
the same pvorjpiov; hence ro p. THs
yuvatkos Kat Tov Onpiov, not TO p. THS
yu. kat TO p. Tod 6. Tod Bacrafovros
avrnv: the Harlot-city is a burden
which the Beast—the Empire—has to
support; cf. 2 Esdr. xxiii 15 émvyepi-
Covres emi Tovs dvous...mav Bagraypa.
Tas émra xed. xai ra Séxa xépara: the
articles point back to xvii. 3, and
ultimately to xii. 3.
8. ro Onpiov 6 eides Hv Kal ovK EoTiv
xtA.] The interpreter begins with
the Beast, for if the Beast is rightly
understood, it will not take many
words to explain the Woman. 7Hyv
kal ovx éorw: cf. Gen. xlii. 36 "loonp
ovk éorw, Supedy ovk eorw (1328);
there is perhaps an intentional anti-
thesis to i. 4 6 Av Kat 6 dv. The de-
scription seems at first to contradict
c. xiii, where the Beast is said to have
recovered from his deadly wound
(vv. 3, 14 9} wAny} Tov Oavarov avrov
eGeparrevon...€xe THY MANYyHY THs pa-
xaipns xat @{ncev). Here the Beast
is represented as having died of his
wound (ovx Zorw), and gone down to
the abyss (cf. ix. 1 ff, xi. 7), though he
is about to return to life (uéAAe ava-
Baivew éx tas GBvocou=Kai mapeorat),
before he meets his final doom (eis
XVII. 9) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 219
\ ? > / t / \ / c
Kal eis amwAeay vrayew: Kal GOavparbycovra oi
~ ’ \ = - ze ’ / \
KaTOLKOUVTES él TIS YS, WY OU YEeypanTa TO
od ’ \ \ / a = > \ -
dvoua emi TO isdiov THs Cwns aro KataBorns
/ / \ / e/ ti \ ’ od
Koopuou, BAErovtTwy TO Onpiov OTL HY Kai OUK EOTLY
Kal rape 9WO ) Us 0 € {
perT a. woe 0 vous 0 Exywy godiav. 9
8 urayer NPQ min®reo™= yg"it me syr aeth Hipp] vraye A 12 80 Ir'™* syrs*
Prim Ar | @avyacOnoovrac AP syrr] Gavpacovrac RQ min°™ vid Andr Ar Gauyacouew
Hipp | o xarocxouvres] pr xavres arm Prim | em rns -yns] thy y7 Q min*te* vg Hipp
Prim“ | ov yeyparrat] oux eyeypamrat A ovx eyeyparro g | To ovona] Ta ovouara NP
r al*t™ yg syré” arm? aeth Prim Andr Ar | emi ro SiS\cov NAP 1 6 31 36 49 gi 186
al Ar] em: rou :8diov Q 2 7 14 38 al” ev BiBtiw 79 Hipp ev Tw SiSiw gs | Beror-
res 1 36 43 49 91 96.al™4 Hipp videntes yg Prim | or qv ro 6. Q min® Ar | ca
(+madw &*) wapecra &* APQ 6 7 14 186 alfere* Hipp Prim Ar] xa: (or¢) raperrw Re*
I I1 12 16 36 47 79 1309 syrr et cecidit me om vg" aeth: © xacwep ecrw Q woe
0 vous 0 exw gogiay cum antecedentibus coniungunt Q (om wie) 14 29 93 94 97 98
al’ | o exwv] Tw exovTt Byrr
am@\eav vrayev, cf. xix. 20). On
this apparent inconsistency see below,
v. 10f., notes.
kai OavpacOnoorvrar oi Katotxoivres
krd.] Cf. xiii. 3 xal €Oavpac6n orn 9) yA
éricw Tov Onpiov, and see note there.
The Seer had wondered (v. 7) with the
amazement of a horrible surprise ;
the world will wonder and admire.
*Qv od yéypantat TO Gvopa xrd. recalls
xiii. 8 of ov yéypamtat TO Gvoua avrod
év TO BiBrio THs (ws Tov apviov Tov
éogaypévov dd KaraBodjjs Koopov,
omitting the reference to the Lamb
(see note ad loc.).
BXerdvtwyv To Onpiov xrr.] The ad-
miration of mankind for the Beast is
due to his vitality, his recuperative
power, his power to reassert his
authority when they had believed him
to be dying or dead. An Empire
which could endure the strain upon
its resources and the shock to its
prestige and authority sustained by
Rome during the period between the
death of Nero and the accession of
Vespasian might well earn the respect-
ful homage of a world which makes
success the gauge of strength and
right. The Church alone was not
deceived, but could foresee the end
BXerovrwy is probably not a_ gen.
absolute, but follows the case of dv by
attraction. Japeora, ventura est;
the Beast, like the Lamb, has a future
Parousia; cf. 2 Th. ii. 8 f. doxaAupén-
€ » r > ‘ c ,
oeTat O avopuos,...0OU EOTIY Tapovoia
kar’ evepyecavy tov garava. But the
Lamb descends from Heaven, the
Beast rises from the Abyss; the
Lamb comes to celebrate His triumph,
the Beast to receive his final doom.
The travesty is complete, and it is to
the disadvantage of the Beast.
ade 0 vovs 0 Exar copiay} Cf.
xiii. 18 d8e 7 codia eoriv: 6 Exwy vour
xrA., Where see note. What is to fol-
low will put to the proof the spiritual
discernment of the hearer or reader.
The formula ade 6 vois is a call to vigi-
lance and close attention, like o éyer
ovs dxovoara (ii. 7, etc.); but whereas
6 €ywv «rd. follows the words which
challenge consideration, dd «rA. pre-
cedes them. As Arethas points out,
the wisdom which is demanded is a
higher gift than ordinary intelligence:
TvevpaTixay Gyrav Tay épunvevopevov
mvevpatixns godias Kat ov Koopixns
xpela, nai, mpos To vonoat Ta Neyoueva.
The interpretation now begins, but
(as the reader has been warned) it is
220
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVIL 9
Ripe \ \ € Net/: 2 / e/ ¢ a /
al €TTa Kkeparat ETMTA OPN ELTLY, OTOUV HY YyuUYH KaOn-
10 Tal €7 avTwv.
\ ~ if f
kal Baoirels Eta Eiow: ol TEVTE
of e fe: af G af of ‘O: Ar ck
évrecnay, 0 Els EoTLV, 0 aAXOs oUTw HAOEV, Kal OTaV
g a erra kep.] om at 186 Hipp kai €. xed. 95 | Om era 2° 14 92 me | er] erarw
14 92
Io Bacihas erra evow] ewra Bac. eco. S me Bac. ecow emra Q min”
Ar | erecov 2 7 13 14 120 al” Ar | om 0 ets eoriv arm | 0 ets] pr kat 1 ald yglips4 me
o de evs 96 aeth Hipp Prim | ear] pr ove me | ovrw] orov 130
itself an enigma, for which more than
one solution may be found. In the
notes which follow an attempt is made
to offer the explanation which on the
whole seems to be the best.
ai émra kebadal éxra dpn eiaiv| No
reasonable doubt can be entertained
as to the meaning of these words. The
Seven hills of Rome were a common-
place with the Latin poets; cf. e.g.
Vergil, Aen. vi. 782 “illa inclyta
Roma | imperium terris, animos ae-
quabit Olympo, | septemque una sibi
muro circumdabit arces”; Horace,
carm. saec. 7 “di quibus septem pla-
cuere colles”; Propertius, iii. 10 “sep-
tem urbs alta iugis, quae toti praesidet
orbi”; Ovid, trist. i. 5. 69 “sed quae
de septem totum circumspicit orbem |
montibus, imperii Roma deumque
locus”; Martial, iv. 64 “hine septem
dominos videre montes | et totam licet
aestimare Romam”; Cicero, ad Attic.
vi. 5 €& doreos émtadipov. The epithet
érradogos is freely applied to Rome
in the later Sibyllines (ii. 18, xiii. 45,
xiv. 108).
drov 1 yur) KaOnra em” airay] Of.
v. 1 THs KaOnuérns emi vddrwv modAdOr,
0. 3 KaOnpevny ert Onpiov. Rome sits
mystically on the waters (v. 15) and
on the Beast, ie. the subject races
and the Empire, which support her ;
geographically, as the seven heads of
the Beast which carries her suggest,
she is seated on the seven hills that
rise from the banks of the Tiber.
10. kat Baowdeis Extra cicw] But
the heads of the Beast have a further
significance: they are ‘kings’ (cf. xiii.
3, note). In Dan. vii. 17 the four
kings (2b) symbolized by the Four
Beasts are interpreted both by the
uxx. and Th. as réooapes Bacrdeia,
and this interpretation is supported
by wv. 23, 24, where the fourth Beast
is said to be the fourth Kingdom
(10519 or mni3b09). But in the present
passage, where there is but one @npiov,
and the kings are his heads, no such
ambiguity can arise; if the Beast is
the Roman Empire, his seven heads
are Emperors.
oi mevre Emecay, o els €aTwv, 6 GAAos
ovme dOev xrr.] “Emecay, not simply
dz €Oavor, for at death, notwithstanding
his apotheosis, each of the five had in
fact fallen from his exalted position ;
for this use of mimrew cf. ii. 5. The
vision seems to be dated in the reign
of the sixth Emperor (but see below
on v. 11). Putting aside the name of
Julius Caesar, who though he claimed
the “praenomen Imperatoris” (Suet.
Jul. 76) was a Dictator rather than
an Imperator in the later sense, the
Roman Emperors of the first cen-
tury are Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula,
Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius,
Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Nerva,
Trajan. It is, however, more than
doubtful whether a writer living under
the Flavian Emperors would reckon
Galba, Otho, or Vitellius among the
Augusti. If we eliminate these names,
the vision belongs to the reign of
Vespasian (A.D. 69—79), and probably,
as 6 GAXos ovrw FAGev suggests, to
the last years of that reign, when
the accession of Titus was already
in sight. Titus certainly fulfilled the
XVIL 12]
ft ’ dS A -
EAOn ONiyov avTov Cét pEivat,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
221
bai \ \ / 4
kat TO Onptov 0 Hy 11
\ 7 \ > \ ou / ; -~
Kal OUK EOTIV, Kal avTOS OyOo0s éoTLY, Kal EK THY
, 3» \ ? > / 7 /
ETTa ETT, Kal Els ATTWAELAY UTayel.
12 \ 1 o7
Kal Ta O€Ka 12
11 Kat oux egrw] om Kat 95 Hipp | ovx}+ er: arm*|om xac 3° N me! autos AP 1 al™t™*
vg syré’ Prim Andr Ar] ovros SQ min?'4* | oydoos pr o N 32 41 42
prediction drav €\6n xrX., for he died
Sept. 13, 81, “imperii felix brevitate,”
as Ausonius (De ord. xii. imp. 11)
cynically remarks.
11. Kal ro @npiov 6 Hv Kat ovK Earty,
kai avros dydoos xrA.] On 6 Ay kal
ovk €orw see v. 8, note. The eighth
in the series of Emperors indicated
in the last note is Domitian. But in
what sense could he be described as
the Beast 6 fv Kai ovx« éorw, or be
said to be ‘of the seven’ (cf. Acts
xxi. 8)? The ‘mystery’ reaches its
climax here, and is not resolved by
placing a full stop after ovx éarw, as
WH. have done. A more promising
key may be found in the circumstances
of the age to which the Apocalypse
belongs. ‘One of the seven’ had left
a reputation which even in the last
years of the century made his name a
terror. Nero was the very impersona-
tion of the Beast, the head (xiii. 9)
which seemed to gather into itself all
the worst qualities of the body politic.
Nero was gone for the time (ov €orw),
but he would return as an eighth, the
topstone to the heptad, a reincarna-
tion of the Beast, a Nero redivivus
though not in the sense which popular
rumour attached to the phrase (xiii
3). Even pagan writers recognized
the resemblance between Domitian
and Nero; ef. Juv. iv. 37 f. “cum iam
semianimum laceraret Flavius or-
bem | ultimus, et calvo_ serviret
Roma Neroni”; Mayor (i. p. 223
compares Pliny, pan. 53, where Do-
mitian is “{Neroni] simillimus,” and
Ausonius, /.c. 12 [Titum]...secutus
frater, quem ‘calvum’ dixit sua Roma
‘Neronem. In Mart. xi. 33 Nero is
supposed by some to stand for Do-
mitian.- With St John, living under
| om xac 4° me
Domitian and unable to refer to him
by name, Domitian takes Nero’s place
and style, as John the Baptist, who
came in the spirit and power of Elijah,
is called Elijah by our Lord (Mt. xi.
14, Me. ix. 13). As late as the be-
ginning of the third century the name
of Nero stuck to Domitian at least
in Christian circles ; to Tertullian he
is not only “portio Neronis de ecru-
delitate” (apol. 5), but a ‘sub-Nero’
(De pall. 4).
One question remains. How can
the date which appears to be assigned
to this vision by the writer himself be
reconciled with the traditional date
of the Apocalypse? It may of course
be that the Apocalyptist incorporates
at this point an older Christian pro-
phecey, or reedits his own earlier work.
But it is equally possible that in the
vision of the Woman and the Beast he
purposely transfers himself in thought
to the time of Vespasian (0 eis éorw),
interpreting past events under the
form of a prophecy after the manner
of apocalyptic writers. Either of
these solutions may account for the
change of standpoint which is per-
ceptible when the reader compares
xvii. 8, 1of. with xiii. 3, 8; see note
on xvii. 8 Cf Introduction, ¢. iv..
esp. p. lil
Els ama@Xe.ray vraye received a
dramatic fulfilment. Domitian was
assassinated (Sept. 18, 96), after a
terrible struggle with his murderers.
The tyrant’s end was a symbol of
the end to which the Beast which
he personated was hastening.
12. kali ta d€xa xépara G cides 8€xa
Baoeis elow xtr.] Cf. Dan. vii. 24 cal
ra Séxa xépata avrov (sc. rod reraprou
@npiov) Sexa Bacireis dvagrHncorrat,
222
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVIL x2
ec 3 Lae 2 of 4
Képata a €ides deka Baoirels Elow, o'TiWes BacirElav
y . ’ \ , co 7. e/
o’mw ~XaBov, ddXa éEovaiay ws Baoirels play wpay
13 AauBavovew peta Tov Onpiov.
e: / /
SouTol play yv@pnv
12 eves SAP min?'] ides Q 7 130 186 | Baciders] Bacthercae 130 | ovrrw] ove A vg |
ada] add PQ min?! Hipp Andr Ar
where if the Fourth Beast be Alex-
ander’s Empire, the ten horns must
be explained either as the kingdoms
which arose out of it, or the successive
kings of one of the kingdoms of the
Diadochi, probably the Seleucidae ;
see Driver, Daniel, p. to1 ff. The
Apocalyptic Beast from the sea has
also ten horns, which are crowned
(xiii. I €yov Képara Séka...kal emt Tov
Kepatwy avtov déxa dtadnpara), i.€., as
the writer himself now interprets, ten
kings. These have been taken to
represent (1) the Parthian satraps,
who according to Mommsen were
practically independent rulers; or
(2) the subordinate potentates of Asia
Minor, or (3) unknown future allies of
the Roman Empire ; or (4) the seven
Emperors already referred to, plus
the three who held rule between Nero
and Vespasian. The last suggestion is
excluded not only by the contrast of
xépata With xedadai, but by the plain
statement that not one of the ten
had yet begun his reign; and the
same objection holds against (1) and
(2), notwithstanding Bousset’s plea
that Baowvelav ovr@ €AaBov was true
of the Parthian satraps regarded from
the Roman point of view. Far nearer
to the Apocalyptist’s words is the
comment of Irenaeus (vy. 26. 1): “de
novissimo tempore, et de his qui sunt
in eo decem regibus, in quos dividetur
quod nunc regnat imperium, signi-
ficavit Ioannes”; cf. Arethas: déxa
Bactreis etvat gdaow ex THs “Popaiev
apxns avaotnoopevous ev Tois €axarous
xaipois. The ‘ten kings’ belong to a
period which in St John’s time was
still remote; they belong, as the
sequel will shew, to the last days of
the Roman Empire, and represent the
forces which arising out of the Empire
itself, like horns from a beast’s head,
and carrying on many of the worst
traditions of the Empire, would turn
their arms against Rome and bring
about her downfall. It is unnecessary
to press the number in this case; it
has been suggested by the reference
to Daniel (/.c.), and it is a well-known
symbol of completeness (Zne. Bibl.
5437) which leaves the exact figure
uncertain (cf. ii. 10, note). With the
indefinite oirwes...édaBov ef. 1. 7, ii. 24,
ix. 4, xx. 4, and see Blass, Gr. p. 173,
adda e€ovoiay os Baowreis xrr.} The
new potentates, though not Emperors,
will in some sense succeed to the
position of the Caesars, possessing
quasi-imperial powers, which they
will exert in concert with the Beast
and to the detriment of Rome. With
os Bacreis cf. 1. 10 ws cadmeyyos, iv.
6 ws Oadacaa, ix. 7 ws orépavot, xiii. 3
ws eohaypeévny, XIV. 3 os @dnY Kany,
XVi. 21 ws TaXavriaia; in such con-
texts os compares without identifying;
the ten Baorrets are not Bacrdeis in the
same sense as the seven, but resemble
them. Cf Arethas: os B., dia ro
aveSpagtov kai oxi@des ths Bacidelas
avrov dnoiv; the remark of Bede,
“tamquam reges dixit, quia velut in
somnis regnant qui Christi regno
adversantur,” true as it is, misses the
Apocalyptist’s point. With piay dpav
compare Dan. iv. 16 (19), LXX., dpav piay
arroGavpacas, Apoc. XVili. 10, 16, 19 pua
pa. Great leaders and even dynasties
and empires have a relatively brief
existence, as compared with the world-
power of the Beast, though for the
time they share his authority (ef.
xan: 2):
13. ovrot play yvopuny Exovew KTH. |
as
VII. 14]
he ‘ten kings’ are of one mind: cf.
. 17. Tvepn, ‘purpose,’ as in Acts
XK. 3 €yevero yrapns tov vroorpépew
1@ Makxedovias, 1 Cor. i. 10 Fre dé
TNPTIOpEvoL EV TH a’T@ vol Kai ev
avry yvopy. The unanimity of the
en appears in their support of the
Seast, ie. in their worldly policy and
ostile attitude towards Christ. The
er entertains no illusions on this
dint ; he does not anticipate that the
se of new and unknown forces will
ng any immediate improvement;
Beast will remain, and the new
owers will be his allies. With the
d uncontracted form d.ddacw, ef. re
éaow (em-, rept-) in Mt. y. 15, xxiii. 4,
¢, xv. 17; the contracted present
@ occurs in c. iii. 9; see W. Schm.,
. 118, 121 f. Avvayis and é£ovcia
combined, as in xiii. 2; the Beast
y both on the actual fighting
ver of his allies and on the moral
ce which belongs to their position.
| ovToe peTa Tod dpviov modey-
kt\.] The allies of the Beast
be enemies of the Lamb. As
i. 13 ff, the Seer sees the kings
ring for battle. That is one
n fact—rodeujoovow, and an-
is the victory of the Lamb—
+; He will conquer the hostile
ditions of the future as surely as in
e past He has overcome the solid
ance of a great empire. The
produces his reason for this
nce: “for the Lamb is Lord
ds and King of kings.” The
phrase, so familiar to us in
an hymns, goes back to Deut.
7 5 yap Kipios 6 beds judy, otros
¢ TOY Oedy Kal xipios Tay Kupioy
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
223
NKovew, Kal Thy dvvauw Kal efovtlav a’tav Te
npiw OwWoacw. “ovTo. pEeTa TOU dpviov ToEUOOUVTLW 14
ai TO dpviov vuKjoeE avTous, br KUpLos KUpiwy érTiv
cat Baoie’s Baciiéwv, Kal of pet avtov KAnTol
13 Ty duvauwv]om ryy 14 92 | Kat efovoray AQ min® Ar] om arm xac rqv e&. &P
29 35 36 49 al Hipp | avrwv] eavrwy 1 syr®” | didoacw] dwoouse 13 79 80 diadw-
vow 33 Hipp tradent vg*lefdemtollipss Prim dabunt anon™’
(D987 258), and is heard again in
the post-exilic Psalms (cxxxy. (exxxyi.)
3 efoporoyeiobe rH Kupio Trav Kupiov)
and during the Maccabean struggle
(Dan. ii. 47 em’ ddnOeias eat 6 beds
vpav Bers trav Oedy Kai Kipios Trav
Baoéov (pron 8); cf. 2 Mace.
c
xiii. 4 6 S€ Bacirets trav Baoiéwv
efnyepev Tov Ovpoy Tod Avridyou ; for
examples of the use of the title in
ancient Egypt see Diod. Sic. i. 47 § 4
extyeypapéa & éx adttod Bacwreds
Baovtéwy ’Oorvpavdvas eipi, ib. 55 § 7
Baoirevs Baoikéwy kai dSeamérns deo-
tTot@y Secowars (Sesostris)). In the
N.T. St Paul (1 Tim. vi. 15) uses 6
Baoieds tov BaciXevorvTwy in reference
to the Father. The Apocalypse, in its
usual manner, transfers such titles to
the Son; He is (i. 5) the dpyy rap
Baot\ewv rhs yjs; He is (here and
Xix. 16) xUpios xupioy and Bacireds
Baovéwr. The words haye a special
appropriateness if written in the time
of Domitian; cf. Suet. Domit. 13;
“adclamari etiam in amphitheatro
epuli die libenter andiit ‘domino et
dominae feliciter’...pari arrogantia
cum procuratorum suorum nomine
formalem dictaret epistolam sic coe-
pit; ‘dominus et deus noster hoc
fieri iubet’”; see Mart. y. 8 “ edictum
domini deique nostri.” If the Roman
Emperor, a Nero or a Domitian, could
be styled princeps, imperator, do-
minus, the Head of the Church was
more—princeps regum, rex requm,
dominus dominorum ; crowned heads
were His subjects and would one day
be put under His feet.
‘ © > > - ‘ ‘ > ‘
Kal Ol eT auToU KAnTol Kai exXexrot
224 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
We \ \ y
15 Kal €KANEKTOL KQL TLOTOL.
[XVIL 14
Skal Névyer wor Ta VoaTa a
io ei GC / ‘0 \ NG eos. 3 \ \
El0Es, OV 4 TOPYNn KaUNHTAaL, Aaol Kal OxXAOL EloLY Kal
16 €0yn Kal yAwooa. ~
\ \ we / \ee \
Kal Ta OEKA K€9paTa a ELOES Kal
14 Kat exAekTot Kat moro] K. WioToL K. EKAEKTOL 35, 79 87 Kal MioTor 8 OTL EKAEKTOL
K. WloTol I
15 om Kae Neyer wor aeth"** | Neyer] exrev Vg me syrr anon™s Prim | ra
vdara] tavra N&* 130 Tavra Ta vd. K* | evdes NAP] cdes Q 130 | ov] ed wy syrs”
Prim | 7 wopyn] om 7 S*** | Aaow] pr ka &
cal motoi] Se. wkxnoovow (as R.V.,
Benson), not eioiv (as A.V.). The
Saints will share the victory of the
Lamb, as they have shared His con-
flict. Oi per avrod suggests a contrast
with (of) pera rod Onpiov (v. 12 f.); cf.
xiv. I,4 per’ avrov éxarov Teco epakovTa
Téooapes xeuades.. dko\ov-
Oovvtes TS dpvi~ Orrov av vraye. They
are known by ‘three notes ; they are
KAnTOL, €kNEKTOL, TLOTOL. The first two
are contrasted in Mt. xxii. 14 modXot
yap eiow kAntot odliyo de ékdexTol ;
kAnros stands often in good company
(Rom. i. 1—where see note in SH.,
1 Cor. i. 2 KAnros adyos, Rom. viii.
28 rots Kata mpobeow KAnTOoIs ovow,
Jude I rots €v Oe@ rmarpi jyarnpevos
kal Inoov Xpior@ retnpynpevors KANTOoIs),
yet it falls short of éxAexrés; to have
been chosen by God is more than to
have been called by Him. In order
of time éxAoyy precedes kAjaus, “the
calling being the outward expression
of the antecedent choosing” (Hort on
1 Pet. i. 1), but in the order of moral
significance this is reversed, and kAnros
is followed by exAexrés. Yet neither of
these qualifications exhausts St John’s
description of those who have part in
the victory of the Lamb; though on
God’s side no failure is to be feared
(Rom. viii. 29 f. ods mpoéyva, kat rpodpt-
cev...ous S€ mpowpicer, TovTovs Kal
exd\ewev, Kal OUs ekdAecer, TOUTOUS Kal
i ed0£acev), On man’s
part there is no such security (2 Pet.
i. 10 orovdacate BeBaiay vudy thy
kAjow Kat é€xkoynv roeicOa); the
climax is only reached: when the
‘called’ and ‘chosen’ are found
‘faithful.’ For moros cf. ii. 10, 13.
© €
Sis ol
EOLKALM@OEY...KA
16 evdes NAP] cdes Q 7 26 130
15. Kat Aéyer por Ta Vdara a eides
kth.] A new point is reached in the
interpretation of the vision; cf. v. 8
To Onpiov 6 eides, V. 12 Ta Sێxa Kepara
aeides. Ata first glance the point to
which attention is now called seems
to break the thread of the angel’s
teaching ; but in fact it forms a con-
necting link between vv. 14 and 16.
Rome’s greatest danger lay in the
multitudes which were under her sway,
and out of which would arise the ‘ten
kings’ who were to bring about her
downfall.
The waters on which the Harlot had
been seen to dwell (v. 1) represented
the teeming and mixed populations
of the Empire. Cf. Isa. viii. 7 Kujpuos
avayet ed tpas TO Vdwp Tov moTapmod TO
ioxvpoyv kal TO rod, Tov Baoiéa Ta
’Acoupioy Kat tTHy Sofav avrov; Jer.
xxix. (xlvli.) 2 (60d védara avaBaiver
amo Boppa, Kat €orar eis xYeuudppow
katrakAvgovra xtA. The Harlot-city
sat on the brink of a seething flood
(contrast Ps. xxviii. (xxix.) 10)—the
polyglott races of the Empire, her
support and strength at present, but
if they rose, as at some future time
they might rise, the instrument of
certain and swift destruction. For
the phrase Aaoi xrd. see V. 9, Vii. 9,
x. II, xi. 9, xiii 7, xiv. 65 J6resus
ultimately on Dan. iii. 4, 20;/ivenm
Vs 19) Vi 21, vie
16. Kai re Séxa képata a eides Kab
To Onpiov xrd.] The fall of the City
is to come from the new powers de-
stined to proceed from the Horns
and from the Beast himself, who will
turn against the Harlot he has long
maintained. Sudden changes from
evr. 37]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 225
TO Onpiov, ovuToL muoncovew THY mopyny, Kal ripmyseo-
pevny ToOmMmooucw aura Kae YUH, kal Tas oapKas
auTis payovTa, Kal avTHY KaTaxavoovow [| év| Tupi.
76 yap Oeds EOwKey Els Tas Kapdlas av’TaY ToMmoat 17
\ / > ~ \ ~
THV YyvwuNny avTOU, Kal TrOMoaL piay Yyvw~nY Kal
16 Kat 2°] ere vege bss. Ar | om Kar To Onpiov vee arm anon*s | om ovrot arm Prim |
epnuwperny Q 1 49 79.97 186 | om Kae yuprny Q* 1 2 3 al® | yuurqv]+ romncovew avtny
Q** min® arm Ar Prim | xataxavoovow] kavoovow 1 12 36 38 | ev rupt A min? Hipp
Ar]om ev SPQ 35 87 al¥4@ 17 aurwr 1°] avrou &* (-rwy R°*) | om Trav yrwuny avrov Kai
moinoat 18 39 aeth | avrov] avrwy R°* | om Kat Tonoa pay yywunv A 79 80g vg anon*“
fierce love to bitter hatred, familiar
enough in private history (cf. eg.
2 Sam. xiii. 15), find their parallel in
the history of nations, and the Seer
foresees that the downfall of Rome
will come in this way. Already with-
in his memory the capital had been
twice in one year (A.D. 69) the scene
of carnage and plunder; and although
the Flavian Emperors inaugurated
a peace which had lasted more than
thirty years, there were ominous signs
of fresh trouble ; Domitian had no
obvious heir, and his life was menaced
by conspiracies ; at any moment Nome
might be sacked again. But St John
looks beyond the end of Domitian’s
reign to a future which he does not
attempt to fix. He has a _ pre-
vision of forces within the Empire
taking shape under the leadership
of men who, without the Imperial
purple, would possess Imperial powers,
and would use them for the destruction
of Rome. His forecast was verified by
the long series of disasters sustained at
the hands of Alaric, Genseric, Ricimer,
Totila, the representatives of the
hordes which overran the West in
the 5th and 6th centuries; not to
mention later sieges by less barbarous
foes. No reader of the Decline and
Fall can be at a loss for materials
which will at once illustrate and
justify the general trend of St John’s
prophecy.
With his description cf. Hos. ii. 3
(5) exdvo@ adriy yupryy...cai Onow
Ss. R.
avrny &pnjov ; Ez. xxiii. 29 Tomrovew
ev got ev picer...kat €on yuurt)...kal 7
Topveia gov é€moingev taita. The
phrase Tpnpe@pevny Tmonoovorw finds a
parallel in ¢. xii. 15 iva avrny rora-
popopnroy momon. Tas sapkas avrijs
ayovrat: for the metaphor cf. Ps.
XXV1. (XXVii.) 2 €v TO eyyifew en’ eye
kakouytus Tov dayely Tas aapKas pov.
Mic. iii. 3 xaresbayov tas oapKas Tov
Aaod pov. The pl. capes denotes, as
in classical Greek, portions of flesh,
or the muscles that compose the flesh ;
contrast the use of the sing. in Jo, vi.
53 ff., where the whole nature of man
is intended.
Kal avryy Karaxavoovow ev rupi:
the legal punishment of certain gross
sins (Lev. xx. 14, xxi. 9, Jos. vii. 15).
Compare Jeremiah’s threat, xii.
(XXXiv.) 22 emuotpéyw avrods (the forces
of Nebuchadnezzar) eis rpv yjv ravrny,
kal modennoovow €m avTny Kat Anp-
-kal KaTakavoougw avTiy
év up Kal Tas woAes “lovda, cai daow
auras €pnous amo KarotKovvTwv.
> ‘
Wovra avrny..
17. 0 yap Beds eSwxer eis ras xkapdias
avrov xtA.| The angel anticipates the
objection that the success of such a
coalition against Rome is incredible ;
the ten kings will surely fall out
among themselves. They will not fall
out, for their unanimity is of God, Who
has chosen them as instruments of
His Will; and it will continue until
His words (i.e. those of the prophets
speaking in His Name, cf. xix.
XX1. 5, XXil. 6) shall be fulfilled. For
T5
VT.
226
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[ Vala:
_~ ~~ ~~ »/
Sovvat Thy Bacirelavy avTov TW Onpiw, axype TeNETOH-
y Pod - 8 Noe Wi > af
18 coyvTa ol Aoyot Tov Oeov. “Kal y yun Hy Eides Eorw
/ / of \ ~
n WoAt ¥ pmeyardn 7 EXOUT a Baciréiav eri Tey
Baoi€wy THs yns.
\ ~ 5 af Yi ,
I *Mera tava eidov adXov ayyedov KaTaBaivovTa
> lod lon of / / \ ¢€ ma
€k TOU OUVpavov, ExovTa EEovolav peyadny, Kal 4 yn
17 avTwy 2°] avrw A avrov Q 14 92 130 | redecOnoovrat NAP 1 10 12 37 46 49 79 QI
96 130 186 al Hipp] rereoOwow Q 7 8 14 29 31 38 a8 Ar
18 evdes SP min?!) wes AQ
7 130 | om eorw syré” Prim | 7 exovca] om 7 & go g4 95 | Baciecav] pr qv P | Baar-
New] om arm!4 Baciecwy & arm*3 | rns yns] pr exc Q** pr rw ere 16 39 auTns 130
XVIII 1 pera ravra] pr cae t 7 186 al*t™ vo syrsw arm4 aeth Prim al | edov SAP
min?!] cov Q (7) 14 33 36 92 130 186 | om addov x 14 g2 armex°?
ddovar eis (3 {02) see 1 Th. iv. 8,
Heb. viii. 10 (Jer. xxxviii. = xxxi. 33);
for pia yvoun cf. v. 13. Thy yvouny
avtov, His purpose, His royal decree,
a sense which the word often bears
in 1 and 2 Esdras and Daniel, where
reference is made to the edicts of the
Persian kings. TedeoOnoovra, cf.
es *xyill. 31, xxi. 37, Acts xii, 20,
APOC! X77.
18. kal 1) yur) Hv cides €or 7 mOALS
7 peyadn xtd.] Lastly, the Harlot
herself receives interpretation. The
words leave no doubt that Rome is
meant, even if doubt could have re-
mained after v. 9. Babylon is the
Imperial City of the world, the seat of
the one great Empire which was left
(n €xovoa Bacidelay kri.). Cf. Tert. adv.
Marc. iii. 13 (cited in note to xiv. 8),
adv. Jud. 9; Aug. de civ. Dei xvi. 17
“ante conditam Romam veluti alteram
in Occidente Babyloniam,” xviii. 2
“ipsa Roma quasi secunda Babylonia
est.” Even ina series of non-Christian
inscriptions (Audollent, Defixionwm
tabellae, inscrr. 160, 161) véa BaBudwy
seems to occur as a synonym for Rome.
But Rome does not, of course, ex-
haust St John’s conception of Babylon.
His vision sounds a note of warning
which may well be taken to heart by
any great metropolis which prostitutes
its wealth and influence to base or
self-seeking ends. The city of the
Caesars was the contemporary repre-
sentative of Babylon ; other ages may
witness the rise and fall of other
mistresses of the world not less mag-
nificent and depraved.
XVIII. 1—24. Tux Doom or
BABYLON.
I. pera tatta xth.| The Vision of
Babylon on the Beast is followed by
(1) the descent of an angel who repeats
and enhances the sentence of xiy. 8
(wv. I—3); (2) a voice from heaven,
which passes into a succession of
dirges chaunted over the doomed city
(vv. 4—19); (3) a call to Heaven and to
the Church to rejoice (v. 20); (4) the
fall of Babylon, symbolically executed,
and its effects described (vv. 21—24).
ciSov ah) ov cyyehov kataBaivoyrakra. |
The Angel of the Doom is not the
angel who acted as the Seer’s guide
(xvii. I, 7,15). He comes down from
heaven expressly charged with this
mission (cf. x. 1, xx. 1); he possesses
great authority (xiii. 2), to enable him
to enforce his sentence; so recently
has he come from the Presence that
in passing he flings a broad belt of
light across the dark Harth—a phrase
used of the Vision of God in Hz. xliii.
2 f. (id0d d0€a Beod “Iopand npxero
kaTa THY OOdY THY mpos avaTodds...Kal
1 yn e€€Aaumev (TMNT) ds héyyos amd
ths So&éns kuxdoGev). For ex, ‘by reason
of” see viii. 13, xvi. 10 f., notes.
_—_=_” hh
XVIII. 3] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 227
epwtiabny €k TNS d0€ns auTOU. *kal ExpaEev [ev] loyupa 2
~ / of af \ cf / \
povi Neyo "Erecev erecev BaBudwv 1 peyadn, Kal
EVEVETO KaTOLKNTNpLOY Saimoviwy Kal cbuAaKy TavTOs
mvevuatos axabaptov Kal duAaxky SrravTos dpvéou
axadaptou Kal pemonpévous 367 ex [TOU olvou| Tov 3
2 exexpatey A | om ev SQ min?! Hipp Prim‘ Ar (hab AP 9 36 37 42 49 79 91
96 130 189 vgcleamfudemlipss6,6) | igyupa gwvn]+meyadyn 1 2 Hipp+Kar wey. 36 forti-
tudine vg*'***! anon*’s | om Aeywr P | erecey semel XQ al®° me aeth"* Prim Ar ter P |
BaBvdwr] pr 7 Q 14 92 Ar | datuovwy P min?! Hipp Andr Ar | axa@aprov 1°]+ Kat
pemtonuevov AP x 12 16 31 36 38 48 79 vg*!* arm Hipp Ar | om «at g@udaky mavTos
opveov axad, P 1 7 12 14 31 36 38 48 79 g2 vgt!* syré” Hipp Ar | opveov] @npiov A
spiritus arm | kat wepionuevou] K. Meutacuevou (Vel -upevov) 51 130 et inquinatae anon*s
om 7 14 92 vgemm 3 Tov owou Tov Gumou THs mopvecas NQ min?! ygeledem lipss4 syy
Hipp anon*s Ar] rou @. rou owov tys 7. P 1 35 36 37 47 49 79 87 91 96 186 me arm
Tov owov Tyns 7. Tov 8. C om Tov owov A yge™ ftollipss5,6 om rou @uywouv 130 syr=” Prim
OM 77s Topvetas 33
2. Kal expagev ev ioyvpa ory
Aéyov xrd.] A strong voice (cf. Ps.
XXVili. (XxXix.) 4 hav7 Kupiouv év ioxrs,
Heb. y. 7 pera xpavyns icxupas), like
the voice of the spheres which, in-
audible to the ear, appeals to the
universal conscience (Ps. xix. 3 f.);
for the cry itself see c. xiv. 8, note.
"Erecey is still anticipatory, for the
actual fall is not yet; but in the Seer’s
thought the purpose of God has been
accomplished already.
kal eyévero Katouxntnpioy xrd.| So
Isaiah writes of Babylon (xiii. 21 f.
dvaravoovra éket Onpia...kat avarrav-
govrat eket ceipnves dacpovra
€ket OpxnoovTat Kal OvoKévTaupot €KEt Ka-
TOLKNTOVGLY kal VoTooTOLNTOVTW exi-
vot €v Tois olkots avToy), and of Edom in
the very similar passage xxxiv. 14 f.
Cf. Jer. xxvii. (1.) 39 Karoixnoovow
ivddApata €v tais vyioos Kal KarotKy-
govow ev avtn Ovyarépes cecpyvey (of
Babylon); Zeph. ii. 14 veunoovra
€v péo@ aris moiuma Kai mavra ra
Onpia ris yis, Kat xapadéovres Kal exivor
€v Tots atvapacw avtis KkoiracOnoovrat
(of Nineveh); Baruch iy. 35 xarocxn-
Onoerac vo Satpoviwy roy mAElova
xpovoy (of the cities of the Exile).
The O.T. prophets fill the ruins of
\
Kal
cities hostile to Judah with satyrs
(Ove) and the lilith; the N.T.
Apocalyptist, while he takes over
both the conception and the word
Saovia, thinks doubtless of the
demon-powers represented by the
idols of paganism (cf. ix. 20, xvi. 14)
which will haunt the wrecked tem-
ples of Rome, the scene of their old
magnificence. The resonant xaroc-
Kntypioy may be purposely chosen ;
contrast with karo. Samoviov St
Paul’s xarotx. rod Geod (Eph. ii. 22).
PuAakn, refugium (Prim.), custodia
(Vg.), is here perhaps rather a watch-
tower or stronghold (as in Hab. ii. 1
emt ths dvAakns pov aryncoua, Bar.
lil. 34 of S€ dorepes €AapWay ev rais
vAaxais avrov), than a prison or cage
(xx. 7); the evil -spirits, watching
over fallen Rome like night-birds
or harpies that wait for their prey,
build their eyries in the broken
towers which rise from the ashes of
the city. Meyionuevov: Prim. Vg.,
odibilis.
3. OTL €K TOU olvov Tod Buvpod rijs
mopveias avtns xtd.] Cf. xiv. 10, xvi.
19, notes; and on the accumulation
of genitives see Blass, Gr. p. go.
Ilérrwxay has overwhelming external
I5—2
5—2
§C
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVIIL 3
=~ = y, 5 c i , \ /
Oujsou TS TWOPVELAS AUTHS TETWKaAY TaYTAa TA é0vn,
€ ~ vod - la 5) / €
Kal ol BaciWels TIS yNS MET AUTHS ETTOpVEVTAY, Kal OL
of ~ a ~ / - / =
Europol THS YyNs EK THS OuVaMEWS TOU OTPNVOUS avTHS
> /
4 emNouTHOay.
\ af J
4kat nkovoa aAAnv
\ fn
peovnv €K TOU
> ~ / / / ~
ovpavou Néyouaav "EEENMaTE, 0 AaOs pov, EE avTNS,
3 merwxay (P) (1) 8 31 32 37 (38) 39 47 (48) (49) 50 90 93 (97) 98 186 al vg syr
arm Hipp anon®’s Ar] werrwxay (vel -kaow) (S) AC(Q) 7 14 92 alplul0 me arme*¢? aeth
memrwke 130 memorixe(v) 18 36 37 79 SyI®™ | orpyvov C 47 O4
4 adm porn]
addns pwns C om addns me arm’? | efeMare (-Gere P 1 32 49 QI 95 96 130 186)]
e£eXOe CQ minP4* Cypr (eri) Ar
support, but can scarcely be more
than an early and widespread error,
due perhaps to the proximity of
érecev (v. 2); both the general sense
and the prophetic «sus loguendi
(ef. Jer. xxviii. (li.) 7, 39, XXxii. (XXv.)
14 f.) require mrémoxar.
Two classes would be more especi-
ally affected by the fate of Babylon.
The ruling class had “committed
fornication with her,” i.e. were deeply
and often guiltily involved in the sins
of Rome; cf. xvii. 2, note The mer-
cantile class would suffer yet more
severely by the fall of the city, and
the rest of the chapter is largely
occupied with the effect of the event
on commerce and trade. The writer
has in view the graphic description of
the collapse of the trade of Tyre given
by Ezekiel (xxvi—xxviii.); cf. also
Isaiah’s reference to Babylon (xlvii.
15). Allusions to trade in the N.T.
are fairly frequent (cf. Mt. xiii. 45,
Ss KRW,» LA) JaACs AV. 13), but ab
is only in this passage that we catch
sight of the vast traffic which carried
the produce of the East and of Egypt to
Italy, and found its centre in Rome.
The merchants of the world had
grown rich (émAovrnoay, cf. ili. 17,
note) by reason of (cf. ex ths dd&ns,
v. 1) the might of her wanton luxury.
Srphvos in 4 Regn. xix. 28 is the self-
satisfied, complacent, arrogance (}]NY,
cf. Gwynn, Apocalypse, p. 80) of Senna-
cherib, while in Isa. lxi. 6 Symm. uses
otpnuiacete for NA; ef. 2 Timowy
II, where xataorpnuay tov xptoTov
means apparently ‘to grow restive
under the restrictions imposed by
Christian discipline.’ In the present
context orpnriav (vv. 7, 9) is probably,
as Hesychius says, 6:4 tov mdovtov
vBpitew, and orpnvos is little more
than ‘insolent luxury’ (deliciae, Prim.,
Vg.). It was by ministering to the
heartiess luxury of the capital that
the traders of the Empire made their
money. On the extravagant expen-
diture of the Roman Emperors and
aristocracy see Dill, Roman Society
Jrom Nero to M. Aurelius, pp. 20,
32f., 55 £, 66th, 120i em game
4. nxovoa aAnv peri €x Tod ov-
pavov Néyovoay krd.] The Angel’s ery
is followed by another voice which
comes from heayen itself (x. 4, 8, xi.
12, xlv. 2, 13), Whether the Voice of
God, as 6 Aads pov at first sight sug-
gests (cf. xvi. 1), or that of one of the
angels of the Presence, as the charac-
ter of the whole utterance that follows
renders more probable. "EgeA@are «rh.
is modelled on several passages in the
Prophets which relate to Babylon,
e.g. Isa. xlviii. 20 €eAOe €k BaBudwvos
pevyav ard tov XadOaiov ; Jer, XXVii.
(1.) 8 admaddorpidOnTre €k péoou BaBv-
Aadvos Kal amd ys Xaddalov Kul €€€d Gare;
Xxvili. (li.) 6 evyere €k pecov BafBv-
Advos, Kat dvaga@eTe ExaoTos THY Yuxny
avrov ; ib. 45 €&NOere ex péoou avtis
Nads pov (the last cited words, however,
a 7
XVIII. 6] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 2
tN
ie)
/ ~ / > ~ \ ,
iva py) TUVKOLVwYNONTE Tals auapTials aUTHS, Kal EK
col ~ - c/ \ / / /
Tov TAnyev auTis iva uy NaBnte* FoT¢ exoAAnOnoay 5
- cd / yf lo , cd \ /
aUTHS al auapTiat aypl TOU OUpaVOU, Kat EuYHLovEvoEV
\ \ / a / ~ € \
6 Oeos Ta adiKnuaTa avTHS. CamodoTe avTH ws Kal 6
> \ > / \ / \ } -~ : \ \
auTn arédwKey, Kal OirAWOaTE [ra] irAN\a KaTa Ta
4 OM cuvKOWwYONTE Tas apapTias auTHS Kac me | cuyKoWwrnonTe PQ | cm ex
Tw mrAnywv avtns P 130 186 rns mAnyns g syré™ | AaBnre] BAaBnre 79 130 186
laedamini anon™ — 5 exo\\nOnoav] pervenerunt vg Cypr Prim adscenderunt anon*"s |
axpt] ews P Hipp | eurnuovevoev]+aurns 28 29 35 43 49 87 93 al | 7a adixnuara
aurns cum seqq coniungunt min?! 6 aredwkev]+ uuu 1 31 91 96 186 al vgclelpss
arm anon’ Aral | om xa: 2° & | durAwoare]+aurnP 17 31 gt 130 186 syrr arm | ra
durda] om 7a APQ 1 7 31 38 130 186 al**™ Andr Ar
are not in codd. BRAQ*). Cf. also
Isa. lil, 11 amootnre, amoornre, €&€d-
Gare €xeiOev, kai dxabaprov pr anode,
€€€Oare €x pecov aitis. But the cry
efehOe, €féAOere, rings through the
Hebrew history; we hear it in the
Call of Abram (Gen. xii. 1), in the
rescue of Lot (Gen. xix. 12 ff.), in
the Exodus, in the call to depart
from the neighbourhood of the tents
of Dathan and Abiram (Num. xvi. 26).
In this context the sauve qui peut is
to be regarded partly as a feature
borrowed from the O.T. models cited
above, partly as a warning to Chris-
tians at Rome and elsewhere to shun
entanglement in the sin and punish-
ment of the new Babylon; ef. 2 Cor. vi.
14 pu yiverOe Erepotvyotvres amiarots,
Eph. Va it #7) oVyKOW@veEiTeE Tots epyots
Tois axapmots Tov oKoTous, I Tim. V.
22 pndé Kowever duaptias addorpiacs.
There is no occasion to look for any
single fulfilment in history, such as
an actual exodus of members of the
Roman Church: such a precept is
sufficiently obeyed by aloofness of
spirit maintained in the very heart
of the world’s traffic. As Augustine
writes (de civ. Dei, xviii. 18): “quod
praeceptum propheticum ita spiritua-
liter intellegitur ut de huius saeculi
civitate...fidei passibus quae per di-
lectionem operatur in Deum vivum
proficiendo fugiamus.”
5. Ore exod\AnAnaar...dxpi Tod ovpa-
vov] A reminiscence of Jer. xxviii.
(li.) 9 Ore tyyiKcey eis ovpavoy TO Kpipa
alris, eéfpev €ws tav dorpev; this
conception is already in Hom. Od. xv.
329 UBpis re Bin te otdypeov ovpavov
net. "ExodAnOnoav axpe t. ovp., Vg.
pervenerunt usque ad caelum ; joined
one another till they reached heaven,
till the ever-growing mass rose sky-
high; for a somewhat similar use of
coda Oa cf. Deut. xxviii. 60 Kal Kod-
AnOnoovrat (API) ev cot [sc. macat ai
odvvat Aiyirrov}, Bar. i. 20 exodAnn
eis Nas Ta Kaka kal 7 apa, Le. x. 11 rov
Koveoprov Tov KoAAnOévra nuiv, Acts ix.
26 coda Oa rais pabnrais ; the exact
construction occurs in Zech. xiv. 5,
eveo\AnOnoerac apay&
Tao od.
Kai €uvnudvevoer 0 beds ta adixrpara
atrns: cf. xvi. 19 BaBvAdy 7 peyadn
euvnabn évariov row Ocov. For prnpuo-
veve followed by the acc. see Blass,
Gr. p. 104.
6. amddore atrp ws kal avry
aréSwxev xtrX.]| The command is
addressed of course not to the
‘people of God, but to the minis-
ters of Divine justice, the yet un-
trained and unknown forces which
the Seer saw gathering for the work
of destruction : cf. xvii. 16 ff. Several
O.T. denunciations of Babylon are in
view, eg. Ps. cxxxvi. (exxxvii.) 8
dvydtnp BaSvAdvos, paxapios 6s dyra-
modwoet cot TO avraToboua cov 6 avTa-
ae -
Ope@v ews
230
/ lo
Epya autns:
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVIII. 6
/ *e
éV TW TOTNPLW Ww ExepacEY KEpaTaTE
é é “
qt vol e/ / \ \
7 ath durAovv’ Tbra éOo€acev avTHy Kal éoTpnviacer,
TOTOUTOV OOTE AUTH Bacano poy Kat qevOos.
v4 2
OTL €V
TH Kapoic aaa ever OTL Kana Bacittooa, Kal
8 yrpa oUK éiul Kal mévOos ov py iow: *dia TovUTO év
6 mornpww]+aurns 8Q 7 8 14 29 38 alP'42° me | aur] avrny Q
Sc 1 8 14 al?! Hipp Andr Ar | dove] xepacare 1 | om Kau 7revOos 1*
7 avTny | eavryy
Io 12 37 49 Ot
96 186 | om o7e 1° 186 | om ore 2° 1 al”*™ yg Hipp Cypranon™’ al | caOnuar] kabiw Q
14 92 Kadws 28 29 30 43 50 90 93 98 alP® equ Kabws g4 | Baciiucoa] BaciAevovea C |
16w] evdw XC
médoxas nuiv; Jer. xxvii. (L) 29
avramddote avTn Kara Ta épya auras:
KaTa TavTa Oca eToingev Tomoarte avTy.
The principle of a Divine lex talionis
runs through the O.T., and asserts
itself even in the Sermon on _ the
Mount (Mt. vii. 2 ev & perp perpeire
petpnOnoera vpiv). ven for durAdcarte
ta oum\a@ there is abundant support ;
see the legislation of Ex. xxii. 4, 7, 9,
and cf. Isa, xl 2 éedé£aro ex yeupds
Kupiov éimAa@ ta dpaprnpata avrijs ;
Jer. xvi. 18 @dvtarodecw dimdas
(B**NAQ) ras kakias aitév. The same
thought, that good and evil return
upon the doer with interest which may
reach a hundredfold, finds a place
in Greek poetry; cf. Aesch. Ag. 537
dumha & e€ricay Lprapidae Odapapria.
On the vindictive spirit sometimes
displayed by Christians under persecu-
tion, and its relation to such passages
as this, see vi. 10, note.
Aumdody burda, Vg. duplicare du-
plicia, to pay double, is perhaps
unique, but it follows the analogy
of kavpati¢erOar Kkadma (xvi. 9), Suda
being the acc. of content. ’Ey ra
motnpio kth.: ef. xiv. 8, 10, notes, and
XVii. 4, XVili. 3.
7. doa eddgacev avtiy Kai eaotpyvi-
acev ktA.| Let her share of misery be
proportionate to her arrogant. self-
glorification Cf. Isa. iii, 16 ff. a
av vWobnoar ai bvyatépes Sewy...Kat
Tamewwoe. 6 Oeds apyovoas bvyarépas
Seawv «th. The general principle is
affirmed continually, e.g. Proy. xxix.
23 UBpis avdpa ramewoi; Le. i. 51
dueckopmicey vrepnpavovs dcavoia Kap-
dias avray...touvtotvvtas e€améorethev
kevous, 7D. XiV. Il mas 6 ver éavTov
rarewwOnoera; here the humiliating
loss of wealth and place is aggravated
by acute suffering (Sacavicpos, cf. ix. 5,
note) and sorrow ; the ease of luxury
is exchanged for pain, and its light-
hearted laugh for the gloom of
bereavement; cf. Le. vi. 25 ovai, of
yedartes viv, Ore mevOnoere ; Jac. iv. 9
6 yéAws vpav els wévOos perarpamnra.
The same sharp contrast is seen in
the parable of Le. xvi. 19 ff.: dv@paros
dé tis Hv mAovotos, Kal evediOVoKETO Top-
upav kai Biaoov evppatvopevos kal
mHEpay Aapmpas... kal é€vy TO Gdn...
dmdpxov ev Bawavo.s xr.
ére €v TH Kapdia auriis heyet «rh.]
After Isa. xlvii. 7 ff. eras Eis rov
aidva eoouat opera (1733, cf. ». 6
M}D91012 NYA3)...00 Kabid yrhpa, a pas-
sage applied to Rome also in Orae.
Sibyll. vy. 167 ff. at at mavr’ axabapre
moAt Aatiwidos ains | ...xnpn Kabedn
imep oxOas | Kal morapnos TiBepis oe
ktavoerat «tA. A similar boast is
ascribed to Tyre by Ezekiel (xxvii. 3).
Cf. Andreas: 60s yap Trois év evOuuia
héyerv, €f Hi) Gcios avrois mpooeort
poBos Ov a) carevOG eis Tov aidva.
8. dud Toiro év mia nuépa néovew
ai rAnyai avrijs xtA.| The elation and
self-confidence induced by luxury
would be the direct cause (dre...d:a
XVIIL 9]
a“ e / / ¢ \ i 6 /
pid yuepa iEovow at mAnyal a’THs, PCavatos
/ ’ /
mévOos Kal Ayuos, Kal ev Trupt KaTakavOnoeT ac’
\ / \ € ’ /
isyupos Kipios 6 Oeos 6 Kpivas avrny.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 231
Kal
of
OTt
‘ /
9kat KNav- 9
\ / > > > \ c ~ - _
covow Kali KoWovTa ér’ avtyy ol Baorets THS YN:
8 nuepa] wpa 14 92 aeth Cypr Prim | ac mAnya] o Bacariouo arm | Gavarov
mevOos K. Aiwov Q Pavaros revOos x. X. 2 6 8 g 29 30% 35 38 al™ | Kupios o Geos] o Geos
kuptos &* o Geos A g5 vg aeth"** xupios syr®™ +0 mavroxpatwp 79 | kpwww N°" 1 6 31 79
al Ar
g KAaveoveww CPQ 130 186 alfere*? Ar] KNavoovrac RA 1 36 al™*™ Hipp
+aurnv P x 79 alpevevld syrs™ aeth | ew aurny] ex avry A 1 36 38 79 95 97 al om 14
g2 Prim | o Saoiers] pr ravres 130
rovro) of sudden and utter ruin. The
writer still has in mind Isaiah Le. ;
the prophet proceeds viv d€ dxove
ravra, Tpupepa, 1) Kabnueérn, 1) memovia
.. mee eLeyns emi o€ [ta dvo raira ev
Npepa pid, arexvia kal ynpeial...xai née
émt o€ amw@aAeta...Bd0vvos...radaiT@pia.
*Ev pa jpépa adds to the pathos of
the downfall ; cf. Seneca, ep. 91 “una
nox fuit inter urbem maximam et
nullam”; ef. Lucret. iii. g11 “omnia
ademit | una dies infesta tibi tot prae-
mia vitae.” The ‘plagues’ of Babylon,
when they come, will make a dire
antithesis to her present condition ;
death, mourning, dearth will reign
where life at its gayest and fullest has
long prevailed. Fire will complete
the work of destruction: cf. xvii. 16,
note. Incredible as all this may seem,
the Seer is assured that it will be
realized ; Babylon had already been
doomed, and the Judge who pro-
nounced the sentence (6 xpivas, qui
tudicavit, Prim.) is strong to execute
it; ef. Jer. xxvii. (1) 34 6 Autpovpevos
avrous loxupos...xpliow Kpwei mpos Tovs
avriWixous avtrov. Kupios 6 eds is the
oT. myn. ‘778, or the like.
Of. kai KAavoovow Kai Kéyorrat én’
avrjy xtA.] The Voice now describes
the effects of the great catastrophe, in
the form of a series of dirges chaunted
over the dead city by the kings (9Q—10),
merchants (11—17), and shipowners
(17—19) of the world. The whole pas-
sage seems to have been suggested by
Ezekiel’s dirge over Tyre (Ez. xxvii.).
The Ophvos is begun by the kings
of the earth, ie. the subordinate and
allied princes who had flourished
under the protection of Rome: for
oi B. ths yns see 1. 5, Vi. 15, and for
their relation to the Empire, xvii. 2,
18, xviii. 3, notes. As in Ezekiel
Tyre is bewailed by the “princes of
the sea” (Ez. xxvi. 16f. cara8noovra
a7 0 Tov Opovwy avtay ravtes of Apyovtes
€x tov €Ovav tis Gadacons...xat Anp-
Wovra éri o€ Opnvoy xri.), so St John
represents the vassals of the Empire
as assembling themselves to deplore
the fate of Rome. With a touch of
grim humour he paints them as
standing at a safe distance from the
conflagration, and contenting them-
selves with idle lamentations. Rome’s
subjects and allies have shared her
favours and her luxury (oi yer’ avris
mopvevoavtes Kal otpnuacartes), but
cannot help her in the time of need,
and are careful not to be drawn into
her doom. Their ovai ovai is sincere
enough, for in Rome they have lost a
protectress, but it avails nothing to the
doomed city.
KAavoovow is for the Attic «Aav-
gorrat, as in Le. vi. 21, Jo. xvi. 20;
cf. axovaw JO. V. 25, apwacw Jo. x. 28,
yetaow Le. lc. (W.Schm. p. 107). For
the combinations «A. cai xéyorra cf.
Le. Vill. 52 €xAacoy 8€ mavres Kai €xor-
TOYTO aurny ; similarly, Xxiil. 27 €xor-
rorro Kai €Opnvovy avrov. For rvpwots
see 1 Pet. iv. 12, and ef. 2 Pet. iii. 12
ovpavot mupovpevor AvOncovrac; for
232 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [X VIII. 9
e Sitar / \ 7 /
Ol PET AVTNS TOPVEVTAaYTES Kal OTPHVLATAYTES, OTav
/ \ \ Cal / > ~ Io ? A
10 BA€rrwow Tov KaTvoV THs TupwoEws avUTHS, *a7TO
parcpobev éoTnkoTes Oia TOV poBov Tov Bacamo pou
QUuTnNS, Aeyovres Oval ovai, 4) mons 4 peyaAn Bapv-
wr, a ToAs 1) ioyupa, OTL mee wpa nrAGev 7 Kpiors
II OOv. “kal ol Eumopot a ys KAalovow Kal qrevOou-
OlVv ér QuTHY, OTL TOV yOmMov avToV OUOELS dyopate
an Tae - , \ , /
12 OUKETL, YOMOovV Xpugou Kal apyupou Kal AiPou TLULOU
g Brerwow (-rovew 186)] wow & | rupwoews] rrwoews R* (zrup. R°-*)
semel 36 40 ter 35 87 syr®” | BaBu\wr] pr 7 35 49 87 | wea wpa] pr ev 1 38 al Ar pia
wpavy A gs | om 7\Oev A IL Tys yns]+oou & | kAavoovra x. wevOnoovoi Q min®
vg (syr) syr’* Hipp Ar | ew avrny] er autn 6 7 45 49 gt al™ vd Ar er aurns 35 87 92
ev aurn A ew avrous Q ep (e)avrous 36 186 ev eavros I 7Q ere got arm | ovkeTs CUM
seqq coniungunt ACQ gs al™ Ar om arm
IO ovac
I2 xXpucov kK. apyupou kK. ALGou
Titov] Xpucouv kK. apyupovy Kk. ArBous Tiscous CP xpucov k. apyupou Kk. MOwy Timiwy SyT
Prim
amo paxpodey, Mc. y. 6, note. ‘H ods
7 ioxupa, ‘that seemed s0 strong’: con-
trast Isa. xxvi. I i60d mods ioyupa, Kal
cwrnptov Onoe TO Tetyos Kal Tepiteryos
.-.roAets GyUpas KaTaBadeis KTA. Mia
apa, cf. v. 8 ev ya nuépa; the thought
recurs in vz. 16, 19.
II. Kal of €urropoe THs yjs KAalovow
xtA.] ‘The kings of the earth’ are
succeeded by the ‘merchants of the
earth,’ who take up the dirge, weeping
and mourning for their dead mistress ;
for x\aiew Kat revOeiv ef. ‘Me.’ xvi. Io,
Le. vi. 25, Jac. iv. 9, and below, v. 15.
The second lamentation over Babylon
is even more frankly self-interested
than the first; the merchants mourn
because they have lost their market,
and there is no longer any demand
for their shiploads of costly wares.
Touos may be used of a load on the
back of horse or camel or ass (cf. Ex.
XXiil. 5 TO Uro(Uylov...wemtTwkos UT TOY
youov avrov), but the more usual sense
‘ship’s burden,’ ‘cargo’ (cf. Acts xxi. 3
TO tAotov Av amopopritopevoy Tov
yopov) is in better keeping with the
present context. Merchandize came
to Rome by sea direct from such
ports as Seleucia, Ephesus, Smyrna,
Corinth, Alexandria, Carthage, which
tapped the resources of the Hast and
of Africa, and on the West from Mar-
seilles and Spain. How vast the traffic
was appears from hints dropped by
contemporary writers, e.g. Pliny ALN.
xii. 41 “minima computatione millies
centena millia sestertium annis omni-
bus India et Seres peninsulaque illa
imperio nostro adimunt” ; Galen, antid.
1.4 Tois...€v ‘Poun kaToukovow...€is nv Ta
mavraxyobev Hee Kaka dia mavros €rovs.
Aristides, cited by Wetstein : doa yap
map éxacto.s dverat kal KatacKevagerat
ovK éorw ws ovK evtavéa (at Rome) det
kal Tmepiocevet...mavta éevtavda ovup-
mimret, é€uropiat, vavTidla, yewpyiat,
perahhov kaBapova, Téxvat omocat eial
Te Kal yeyernyrat.. .ore © ay BN evraia
iSoe tis, ovK €oTe TOY yevopnevov 7) Vy-
vouévev. Such words reveal the extent
of the loss which the commerce of the
world might be expected to suffer from
a sudden collapse of its chief market.
12. yopov Xpvcov kal apyvpou kab
Aidov Tiyztov KrA.| A list of the imports
which flowed into the port of Rome—
(1) precious metals, marbles and gems,
VIII. 13]
tile materials for costly clothing,
) choice woods, articles of vertu,
smetics, (4) food stuffs, (5) live stock,
om sheep and cattle to slaves and
hei human ministers to the wants
the vices of the rich.
y a few of these articles of
WI e call for separate haa
kov, ‘“Seric fabric,’ ie. silk, i
. in Biblical Greek, for WY in
OY. XXxi. 22 is rendered by Biacos,
L wD i in Ez. xvi. 10, 13 by rptyar-
but onpixds is freely used by
sek writers after the Macedonian
quest, when silk found its way to
West; how abundant the material
at Rome in the first century
ears from a statement of Josephus
J. vii. 5. 4) that at the triumph of
pe sian and Titus 76 orpariwrikor..
is SmrA@v Hoav ev eo Oreo onpiKais
pavopévo. Sapvas. The form
> (Prim. sic?) which is attested
by all the uncials, has some
al support; see Ww H.? Notes,
W. Schm. p. 46; van Herwerden
98 giptxapiov from OIA, iii. 3513
1 siricarius from CL, vi. 9674,
3. EvAov Ovivoy (lignum citreum,
. thyinum, Vg.), wood of the
nown to the Greeks as vor, Ava,
fa and to the Romans as citrus,
ably the Thuia articulata of
y. This wood, which was im-
from North Africa, where it
eely in the neighbourhood of
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
to
= - \ , \ / \
1 MapyaplTwv Kal Buaocivou Kael Topd@upas Kal
ea re \ ~ / fee ‘ -
WpLKOU Kal KOKKivou, Kal Tay EvXov Ovivoy Kat wav
oe - > / \ ~ - > /
Kevos €NeayTivoy Kal Wav OKEVOS EK EvNou TLpLL@-
; \ a ‘ / \ / \
ov Kat yaXkou Kal oLOnpou Kal pPapuapou, id od an
T2 papyapirwv & 35 87 95 syr Prim] papyapiras CP papyapiras A papyapirou Q
in?! ygeleamdemiips peth Hipp Andr Ar | Bucowou] Bvocwwv & Brooou 1 36 49 79 91
5 130 186 al | roppupas SCP 7 35 95 Hipp] ropPupov Q 1 6 8 14 29 186 alP44? Ar
m A | cipixov NACPQ 7 32 130 186 al] onpixov min?!¥4 gupxov 34 35 36 94 | om
¥ 1° 130 | Evdov] oxevos A EvAwov P | om ex C 18 | EvAov] \cdov A vg aeth™ | riuow
XaAKov Kk. otdnpov k. wapuapoy syr®¥ | om Ka papuapou & 1
the Atlas, was much prized for its
veining, which in the best specimens
simulated the eyes of the peacock’s
tail (Mart. xiv. 85), or the stripes of
the tiger and spots of the panther
(Plin. H. N. xiii. 96), or the seeds of
the parsley; the colour also varied
in different specimens ; hence ray &.
Avivev. At Rome citrus wood was
much sought after for dining tables:
“Seneca, Dio Ixi. 10, § 3,...had 300
tables of citrus wood with ivory feet”
(Mayor on Juy. i 137); but it was
also used for veneering, and for small
works of art, which were made out of
the hard roots of the tree (Theophrast.
Hi. P.v. 5 é« ravrns (sc. tis pitns) ra
omovdaTata Toitae Tay épywr).
’EXedbavtivoy (LXX. = 1) ; ; Ivory was
used by the Hebrews for boxes (Cant.
vy. 14), beds (Am. vi. 4), and even in
building (3 Regn. xxii. 39 ofkov é\e-
avrivor, cf. Ps. xliv. (xlv.) 9, Cant. vii.
4, Am. iii. 15). It is mentioned by
Ezekiel (xxvii. 15) among the imports
of Tyre. By wealthy Romans under
the Empire it was largely used in the
decoration of furniture such as beds,
couches, tables: thus Juvenal com-
plains (xi. 120 ff.): “cenandi nulla
voluptas | ...latos nisi sustinet orbes |
grande ebur et magno = sublimis
pardus hiatu | dentibus ex illis quos
mittit porta Syenes”—people cannot
enjoy their supper unless their table
rests on a leopard carved in ivory.
234
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XVII
, \ s/ / \ / \
KLUVAUWMOV Kal auwpuov Kal Oumauata Kal MupoV Kal
\ S) Ns \ / \ a
AiPavoy Kat oivov Kal ENatov Kal GEuldadw Kal otTOV
\ / \ / es. A Be a \
K@l KTHVH Kal mTpopara, Kal lL7T7TWY Kal pedwy Kal
13 Kuvapwpor (kwap. Q* 1 6 14 38 al™ Hipp Ar)] xwvapwuov &(Q) min?> (Hipp) |
om Kat apwwov K°-* Q 1 alPl ygcledem me syrew Prim Ar | Ouyiaparos Q 14 92 Ovpiapya-
Twv 94 Vg | om Kau pupoy C | om kar owvoy Q mint? | zpo8ara]+ Kae rpayous Hipp |
‘WTous Q5 130 Syrr | om Kar pedwy me | pedwy (pacdwy 2 6 7 31 38 186 al® Ar pediww
14 43 92)] pedas syr
13. xwvvapopor (}1D3?), according
to Herodotus (iii. 111) a word of
Phoenician origin, is among the
ingredients of the ‘holy anointing
oil’? (Ex. xxx. 24ff.), and is named
with other spices in Prov. vii. 17,
Cant. iv. 14, Sir. xxiv. 15. Probably
it was not the Ceylon spice now known
by that name, but the product of the
Cinnamon cassia from South China
(Enc. Bibl. 828 f.). In Roman life it
supplied one of the cosmetics of the
banquet; Plaut. Cure. 1. 2. 6, “tu mihi
stacte, tu cinnamomum,” Lucan, x.
165, “multumque madenti | infudere
comae quod nondum evanuit aura |
cinnamon.” *Apepor, amomum (Theo-
phbasty.7. Pix. 7. 2,0P lin, 7 NG xii,
28)is another Eastern perfume familiar
to Roman writers: ef. Ovid, Cydipp.
Xxi. 266 “spissaque de nitidis tergit
amoma comis”; Martial, viii. 77 “si
sapis, Assyrio semper tibi crinis
amomo | splendeat.” As to its place of
origin, Theophrastus (ix. 7)can only say:
of pev €k Mnoelas oi b€ €€ “Ivdav ; Enc.
Bibl. 145 suggests that it came from
the cissus vitigena, a native of Ar-
menia. On @upidwara see y. 8, note,
on pupov, Me. xiv. 3, note; on Xi-
Bavos, ¢. Vili. 3, note. Zewidadis (here
only in N.T., but frequent in txx.=
npb), the fine flour imported for the
use of the wealthy: Plin. HN. xiii.
21 “similago ex triticu fit laudatis-
simo.” The wheat supply of Rome
(ciros) came largely from Egypt and
was brought in large cornships from
Alexandria; see Blass on Acts
XXVil. 6.
Kal immav kal pedov kal c@parar,
sc. yopuor, though it is not easy to see
why the construction should at this
point revert to that of yopoy ypucod
xrX., to return almost immediately to
the accusative in kai Wuyds avOpdmev.
Mr Anderson Scott suggests that “we
should see here additional items which
distinguish Rome from her O.T. re-
presentative, Tyre”; but Tyre, too,
had dealings in horses and human flesh
(Ez. xxvii. 13f.). It would seem as if
the writer merely wished to relieve the
monotony of the long sentence and per-
haps at the same time to throw greater
solemnity into the last clause. ‘Péd7
according to Isid. etym. xx. 12, is a
“genus vehiculi quattuor rotarum,”
and according to Quintilian (i. 5. 5)
came from Gaul; it became fashion-
able at Rome, and in the third
century, according to Lampridius,
Senators acquired the privilege of
plating their rhedae with silver.
Sopatwyv, mancipiorum, slaves, a use
which is familiar to the Lxx. (Gen.
XXXV1. 6 g@para Tod olkov, Tob. x. 10
oodpata kal xtyvn, Bel 32 dv0 oadpara
kat dvo mpoBara, 2 Macc. viii. 11 er
ayopacpov “lovdaiay caparewv), who, as
the papyri shew (Deissmann, Bib/e
Studies, page 160), found it in the Hgyp-
tian Greek of the Delta. It was repu-
diated by the Atticists (e.g. Pollux iii.
78 odpara Se amas ovK Gy etmos adda
dotAa owpara), but established itself in
the later language ; the slave merchant
was known as a c@paréumopos (Hus-
tath. in Od. i.), and as late as the end
of the fourth century Epiphanius
could write: 1 ovvyneva rods Sovdous
XVIIL. 15]
/ \ \ ) 0 /
cwuaTwv, Kal Wuxas avOpwrov.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 23
we
\ « /
"4kal 1) OTWpPa Tou 14
-~ - ~ > ~ ? \ ~ 4
THs emiOuuias THs Wuyxis amndOev aro cov, Kai
/ \ \ \ ‘ \ > / > \ -
mavTa Ta Nimapa kat Ta NauTpa aTwAETO ATO TOU,
\ / ’ \ ’ \ ‘ /
Kal OUKETL OU ju) aUTa EvpHTOoVTW.
c
"Ol EuTropot 15
/ ¢ / , > > ~ , \ /
TOUTWY, OL WAOUTHTaYTES aT auUTHS, aro prakpobev
/ \ \ / a - a
oTNGovTa ola TOV (poBov Tou Bacavic wou QUTHS
13 gwhara syrr | Yuxwy 14 g2 arm?
min?! ygeledem lips Hipp Andr Ar | 7 er:@ussa syrs* Prim | rns yuxns]+cou Q 35 87
14 7 omwpa] om 7 C| om gov 1° Q
‘
alP! ygeledemlipss syrr Hipp Andr Ar | ra AXaumpa]om 7a NC | azwiero] arwrovro & 7
8 10 11 16 35 37 39 49 87 91 96 amn\Oev 1 79 130 186 syrs™ |
eupnoovgw] evpns Q**
min?430 Hipp Ar evpyoes 1 37 49 91 96 (186 -ons) arm* Prim +oure Yuxyas avGpwrwv
Tov Aovrou Eutropevon 6 IL 31 47
o@parta elwbe kadeiv. Yuxai avOparrav
(Prim. strangely, diversi generis
animalia) is from Ez. xxvii. 13
7 “EdXas, cat 1 ovumaca, kai Ta
Wapateivovta, ovTot éveropevovTd cot
év Wuyxais dvOpdravy (DIN W523),
Though in itself this old Hebrew
phrase means little more than ‘human
live stock,’ it serves to draw attention
to the serious side of the Roman slave
trade. The world of St John’s day
ministered in a thousand ways to the
follies and vices of its Babylon, but
the climax was reached in the sacrifice
of human life which recruited the
huge familiae of the rich, filled the
lupanaria, and ministered to the
brutal pleasures of the amphitheatre.
14. Kal 9 omw@pa cov Tis emOupias
xrA.] ‘And the ripe fruit of the
desire of thy soul is gone from thee,
and all thy rich and bright things
have perished from thee.’ ’Orepa is
the autumn fruit, ripe for ingathering ;
see Jer. xlvii. (xl) 10, 12 cuvayayere
oivov Kal dm@pav Kai €Aaov xr. ; and cf.
Jude 12 devdpa POworwpwa axapra,
‘trees in late autumn when the fruit
is past.’ Just when the fruit of the la-
bour of many generations seemed ready
to fall into the mouth, it had vanished
like a dream; the long desired consum-
mation never came. The first cov may
be taken with 9 orepa(Prim. pomorum
tuorum concupiscentia animae), or
with rhs Wuyns (Vg. poma desiderii
animae tuae); its position in the
latter case is not necessarily emphatic
(WM. p. 193; Blass, Gr. p. 288).
For Aurapés, nitidus, in the wider
sense see Isa. XxX. 23 6 dpros Tov
yerparos Ths yns gov €orat TAnTpOVH
kat Aurapos (j!Dt’) ; 2 Esdr. xix. 35
€v TH yn TH WAaresa Kal Aurapa (7312017)
7 €Owxas évamiov avtav. Of the two
adjectives to be distinguished here,
ra Aurapa is perhaps the rich and
dainty food, ra Nampa the gay attire
and costly furniture, which were the
fruits of Roman conquests and policy.
The Seer sees them all gone, and gone
for ever; another summer, another
ingathering, is not to be hoped for;
never again will be found (ov yy...
evpnoovew, “nicht mehr wird man
finden”) in the city on the Tiber the
extravagant luxury, the inhuman self-
ishness, of the age of the Caesars.
15. of €uropor rovtwy, of mAouT?-
gavtes ax’ avris xtd.} The writer
comes back to the merchants’ dirge
from which he had turned aside in
vr. 11 in order to describe the nature
of their traffic with Rome. ‘The
merchants,’ he resumes, ‘who deal in
these wares (oi €um. rovrwy, comp. F.
23 of €uropoi gov) and have gotten
their wealth from Rome (ef. ce. 3 é«
ms Suvduews Tov orpyvous aurns
ém\ournear) Will do as the kings did;
236 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XVIII. 15
16 kNatovtes Kat revOovvtes, “déyovtes Oval oval, 7
Tons 7 peyadn, 7 meptBeBrAnuevn Bvaowoyv Kai
Top pupouv Kal KOKKWoY, Kal Keypvewmery [év] xpuoiw
kat AiOw Tipiw Kal wapyapitn, STL ma wpa rpnuwOn
c a ~ \ C5 i \ cal
17 0 ToToUTOS TAOUTOS. “Kal Tas KUBEpYNnTNS Kal Tas
15 kAaovres] pr kac Q min® et flebunt syr 16 Aeyorres] pr kat P min?! g yg
syre" aeth Hipp Prim Ar om Xey. 1 12 16 39 186 | ovac semel Q min™ ter 35 87 |
7 wepBeBAnuevn] om m A | koxx. x. topp. K. Buoc. A | Bvscwor] Bvecov Q min
bysso vg"lelPs* | ropdupay P 18 35 36 40 47 87 94 | Kae xexp.] Om Kat I 79 152 186
me syré” (cum xexpucwpueva) | ev xpvow (-cw & 1 14 36 186 al)] om ev APQ min”
vg anon*”s Prim Ar | Acdovs riwwors syrr | wapyapirais Q minfereomn ye syrrvid arm? Hipp
Andr Ar | epnuw6n 1 79 186 | 0 rocouros] om o P gs
they will stand at a safe distance from
the city (v. 10), and pay their tribute
of respect in similar terms.’
16. déyovres Oval oval kth.] The
second dirge begins as the first did
(%. 10), and ends similarly (ére ud
dpa xr.) But there is an apposite
change in the description of the city;
while to the kings Rome is simply
7) ioxvpd, the merchants naturally
measure her by her opulence and
splendour. For 14 mepiBeSrnpérn...xal
kexpuo@pern see xvii. 4, note;
Bicowov, which finds no place in
the earlier description, has perhaps
been suggested by v. 12; it comes in
here merely as an article used in the
attire of the very rich (cf. Le. xvi. 19),
and clearly has not the symbolical
significance which it bears in xix. 8, 14.
Ore pa Spa ypnuaén 6 TocodTos
mottos] This corresponds to 6ére
mia opa AGev 7 Kpiots cov in the
dirge of the kings. *"Hpnuwéy might
be more properly used to describe
the condition of the city itself, as in
xvii. 16 and below, v. 19; ef. Mt. xii.
25 maoca Baowreia pepicbeica kal?
cauTfs epnuovra. But the merchants
still think of the wealth of Rome;
it is Rome’s money they miss and
deplore, not the city and its people.
17. Kal ras kuBepynrns Kat mas 6 érh
tomov méwv xtd.] One other class
finds its interests gravely affected by
the fall of Rome—the shipmasters and.
seafaring people in general; and from
these there comes a third dirge.
Compare Ezekiel’s lamentation over
Tyre, xxvii. 28 f. mpds ray xpavynv
THs pevijs cov of KuBeprnrai cov Pose
poBnOncovra, Kal KxataBnoovrar amo
T@v TAOlwy mavTes vi KwmnAaTaL Kal ot
ériBara, Kat of mpwpeis THs Oadduons
kth. If Rome was not like Tyre a
seaport, and had no: direct business on
the sea, the sea-going population of
the shores of the Mediterranean were
not less interested in her fate than
they had once been in that of Tyre,
Ostia was doubtless the destination of
most of the merchant vessels of the
Empire; cf. Florus i: 4 “Ostiam
coloniam posuit, iam tum videlicet
praesagiens animo futurum ut totius
mundi opes et commeatus illo yeluti
maritimae urbishospitioexciperentur.”
KuBepyara (Ez. =D°>3n) are ship-
masters, in contrast with vavcAnpor on
the one hand and vaira: on the other;
cf. Acts xxvii. 11 r@ KuBepyijrn Kal TO
vavkAnp@ wadXov éreibero, Where Blass
cites Plut. mor. 807 B vatras pév
exhéyerat KuSepvirns Kal KuBepyyrny_
vaixdnpos. It is not quite so clear whd
is meant by o eri rorov miéov. The
rendering of Prim. omnis super mare
navigans gives some colour to Nestle’s
XVIII. 19]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 23
2.35 \ / / \ - Ve \ /
O €7L TOTTOY TAEWY KAL VaUTAaL KL OO OL THY Gartacoay
> / ? \ 50 / 18
epyaCovTa, amo uaxpobey Extnoav
Kae expafav 16
/ \ \ - / > on /
BX€rrovtTes TOV KaTTVOV TIS TupwarEews auTNS NEVyOVTES
/ © / ~ / ~ / co \ of ~ ’ \
Tis Opoia TH TONE TH MEYaAAN; Kat €BaNov Nouv ee 19
\ \ > - : Ld F ‘
Tas KepaXas QUTWV Kal expafav KNa@lovTES Kal TeV-
~ / > \ ’ / < / © / :
Oovvres, NEyoutes Quai ovai, mo 1) peyadn, ev
ios / e 4 \
y €mAOUTHTAY TayTEs ol ExovTES Ta
wolta €v 7
Bardoon €k THS TyLLOTNTOS avTHS, OTE jue wpa
17 0 emt (+7ov Q) Torov mdewr] (0)
al! ext tTwy mrowv o oud\os 1 Hipp
emt TwY mow mew P (6) 12
36 49 (79)
| Tnv @adaccay] ev tn Baracon vgc'® syrs¥
18 expagav] expagfov RQ 1 130 186 al?! expavyafoy g 13 27 exkAavoay auTny syré™ |
Aerovres] opwryres I | Katrvov] rorov A ro vg | omoos 130 | Tn mo\a]+r7aurn C g ve
Pp | 8 3 9 VE
Prim
19 €Badov &(C)Q min"reoms syrr Hipp Andr Ar] e8ad\ov P 29 186 ereSador
A (95) | ras Kepadas] rns kedadns & | avtwv] eavtwy C | expatay AC 35 Hipp] expagor
SPQ min?! Ar + gw weyadyn arm Prim | om kAaovres kat TevOouvres A 1
| Neyorres]
pr cat PQ min® ygo™'lips5,6 syy arm aeth Prim Ar | ovac semel & 26 29 36 37 40 41
42 95 130 ter 36 87 | ra moa] om Ta 1 35
ingenious correction révroy (116/TON
for To TON, an easy change; see Text.
Criticism of N.T, p. 168); but it is
perhaps unnecessary to depart from
the well-attested rérov. ‘He who
sails for (any) part’ is the merchant-
man who goes with his goods, or the
chance passenger (vector); if the exact
phrase does not occur elsewhere, it is
approached in Me. xiii, 8 €corra
gwemrpol Kara tomous, Acts xxvii. 2
peAXNOvTL weiv oa as Kara Tv “Agiav
torous, Strab. 30 B ev KoAT@..
bv of mréortes Kal yp@pevor Tois TéroLs
*ApraSpev Atuéva ™pomayopevovory. Kati
boot THY Oad\aooay épyagorray, ‘ and all
who make their living by the sea,’ not
only sea captains and their crews, but
the whole @adarroupyoy «ai vauricdy
€@vos (Philostr. vit. Apoll. iv. 32); the
phrase epyater bat my éadaooav—the
correlative of épy. ry ynv (Gen. iil. 5)
—is abundantly illustrated by Wet-
stein, ad loc.; on the construction ef.
WM., p. 279.
I8f. ris opoia rH TONE TH peyadn;]
In Isa. xlvii. 10 Babylon boasts ’Eye
79 87" al
eiut, wai ov« tori érépa, While in
Ez. xxvii. 32 the exact phrase here
used occurs in the Heb. though not in
“AYD 1D TPP AAPL, Kal
€Badov yotv emi tas Kedadas avray
comes from the preceding verse in
Ezekiel (xai émi@joovew émi thy Kepa-
Any avTov yhy Kat orodév otpwoortat);
the exact words used by the Apoca-
lyptist occur in Jos. vii. 6 (Lxx.). For
xovs=5Y see Gen. ii. 7, Lev. xiv. 41,
ete., and in N.T. Me. vi. 11 éxrivagare
rov youv= Mt. x. 14 riv Komtoprov. "Ex
Tis Teudrnros avrys, ‘by reason of her
valuableness,’ i.e. her great wealth,
which gave her unrivalled spending
power; the word is am. Aey. in LXX.
and N.T., but occurs occasionally in
the later literary Greek, eg. Arist.
eth. Nic. x. 7 Siapépover riryre ai
Wuxat, xX. 7 Suvauec Kat TYLOTHTE ToAd
padXov ravtav vrepexer, Lib. ep. 1557
mpowayopevo TH TimornTa gov, and
see van Herwerden, s. c. Compare
the use of ry} in 1 Pet. ii. 7, where
see Hort’s note.
the Lxx.:
238 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XVIIL. 19
’ 0 20 > y pwmES) > iol ’ / \ CG ef
20 nonuw0n. evppaivou em avTH, OVpave, Kal OL aLOL
\ / \ ¢ om e/ of \
Kal Ol ATOTTOAOL Kal Ol TPOPNTAaL, OTL ExpLvEv 0 Qeos
ar
a = A aes} a of
21 TO Kpiua vuwy €€ auTHS. Kal noev els ayryeXos
\ ¢ / \ Uj > \
lo-yUpos NiGov ws pvAwov péeyav, kal EBarev Eis THY
19 npnuwOn] nTiYwwbn arm 20 evppaverbe syrr Prim | er aurn] er avrnv P
1 35 36 79 186 al ev avry A 98 | kat of amocrodo] om car o C g 1 186 alpavevid
ygcledem tollipes5,6 9m o1 130 | o Geos] pr Kupios me 21 woxupos AcOov] A\vBov caxXupov
N* woxupor ALBov 40 130 OM toxupos A Syr anon" | ws uwvAwor (vel wuAcKov) weyar A(C)
quasi molarem magnum vg etc] ws pudov peyay PQ 186 al?! syrr Hipp Andr ws \cov
peyay & (36)
20. evhpaivov em avth xtA.| While
the kings and merchants of the earth
and its mariners bewail Babylon,
Heaven and its friends rejoice over
her doom : the reverse of the picture
drawn in xi. 10, where upon the death
of the Two Witnesses of xarotkouvtes
emt ths ys xalpovow em avtois kat
evppaivovra:: see notes there. There
is perhaps a reference to Deut. xxxii.
43, LXx. (ef. Intr. to the O.T. in Greek,
p- 243) evppavOnre ovpavoi Gua avT@...
evppavOnre €Ovn pera Tov aod avTov
...0TL TO Gia TOY vidy avToU ekOLKaTaL,
Kal exOuknoe Kal avrarodeces Oikny Tots
€yOpois: cf. Isa. xliv. 23 edppavOnre,
ovpavoi, dre nA€noev O Oeds Tov Iopana,
and Le. xv. 7, 10 yapa ev T@ ovparv@
cota. Andreas: dia Tou ovpavov 7) TOUS
dyyehous pyoty, 7) Tovs €v avT@ exovras
aylous TO mohirevpa. Of aor kal of
dmooroAo Kal of mpodynra, the Church
and her two highest ministries (1 Cor.
xii. 28 mpdrov dmoarddous, Sevrepor
mpopnras); in Xvi. 6, xviii. 24, the
Prophets alone are mentioned. It is
not clear whether in the present pas-
sage the Apostles are the College of
the Twelve, as in xxi. 14, or whether
the word is used in the wider sense
(ii. 2, note); but probably the title is
inclusive. The absence of any refer-
ence to a local ministry is remarkable
rast Phil. i. I rots ayious...cvv
émuskorots Kat Staxovois—but it is
characteristic of a book which ema-
nates from prophetic circles and is
charismatic throughout.
OTL Expwwev 6 Oeds TO Kpiva vpov e&
atts] Kpiua is here, not as in xvii. 1,
a sentence pronounced by a judge, but
a case for trial, as in Ex. xviii. 22 Ta
d€ Bpayéa Tay Kpiyat@v Kpivovow avrol,
1 Cor. Vi. 7, kpivata €yere. God has
judged the case of Heaven and the
Church—vpor, for in this instance
their cause is one—against Babylon,
with the result which the vision has re-
vealed; the Church is at last avenged
upon her enemy. *E& avrjs, at her
expense; the trial has issued in justice
being exacted from her. On the whole
verse Andreas well remarks: ovy os
Xatpeixakot de 7H Tov maderav emupopa
xalpovow, adX ws emOupiay didrrupov
mept Thy Staxomny THs auaprias E€xovres.
Cf. vi. 10, xviii. 6, notes.
21. Kat mpev eis ayyedos ixyupos
xtA.| In the silence which follows
the Voice from Heaven (vv. 4—20), a
single angel (for eis cf. viii. 13, ix. 13,
xix. 17; the numeral approaches the
force of an indefinite article, but has
not yet quite lost its proper meaning)
represents the fall of Babylon by a
symbolical action. He takes what
appears to be (és) a great millstone
and with all his might (for he is icxv-
pos) hurls it into the sea, which in
this chapter (v. 17) as throughout the
book (e.g. vii. 1, viii. 8 f., x. 2 ff, xii. 12
18, Xi. I, XV¥L 3G) belongs to the
scenery of the Apocalyptic drama. A
hidos purivos (cf. A. pudcKkos, Le. xvii. 2;
the former adj. lays stress upon the
purpose to which the stone is put, the
XVIIL 22]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
to
a
a)
Oaracoav Néywv OvTws dpunnate BrAnOnceTa Ba-
Burwv 4 ueyadn TONS, Kal OU pA) evpeOn eTL.
Kat 22
\ ~ \ - \ > = \
Ppovn kBapwoav Kal juovolik@y Kal avAnTwoY Kal
21 ov pn evp. ert] + ev aurn RQ 14 92
latter upon its fitness for the work) or
pvdos (Me. ix. 42) might be one of the
stones of a hand-mill such as women
could work (Ex. xi. 5 ris Oeparaivns
THs Tapa Tov pUAoY, Mt. xxiv. 41 évo
a@yOovean €v rH pvAw), Or One which
needed an ass to turn it (uvAos oveKos,
Me. /c.); the latter or even a stone
of greater weight (uéyas) is intended
here. The Seer has in his mind Jer.
XXViii, fli.) 63 €ora Gray maven TOU
dvaywdonery TO BiBiiov TOUTO, Kal
emidnoes é€r atvto idov Kat ane
auto els péoov Tov Evdpdrov, Kai épeis
OUres xaradicera BaSvdwy, cai ov 21)
dvaotp, and perhaps also an earlier
passage, Ex. xy. 5 xaréSvcav eis Buddy
aoe Aios (cf. 2 Esdr. xix. 11). Com-
pare also Herod. i. 165 pudpov otdnpeov
KaTeTovT@oay Kai @uooav pr mpl és
Paxaiay new, mpiv 7} rov pvdpdy rovroy
avaarnvat,
ovTws Opunpare BANOncera BaSvrwy]
‘As this stone is flung into the deep,
so shall Babylon vanish. ‘Opurjpari,
impetu, ‘with a rush,’ like a stone
whizzing through the air; ef. Deut.
XXViil. 49 Goee Cpunua derov; Hos. vy.
10 en” avrovs exyed ws Vdwp Td antl
prov (Symm. vdpoxediav Oppnwaros pov),
1 Mace, vi. 33, drrijpev THY mapeuBorny
€v opunpare atrns. The action sym-
bolizes the complete submergence, ‘the
final disappearance of pagan Imperial
Rome; ov yp) evpeOp Eri—she is to
vanish, as Babylon had vanished in
the time of St John; ef. Strabo, xvi.
1073: 7 de [BaSvrav] ¢ €pnyos 7 moXXn,
Gor én avrns 7) av oxvpoai Tuva elei
... Epnuia peyadn ‘otiv } Heyday TONS ;
Lucian, contempl. 23 7 Noes pev...a7r0-
AowdAev 76y...7) BaSvrar dé cot...00 pera
moAv Kat avn (nrnOnoopern aomep
Nuvos.
22 om kat 1° NI | OM Kac avAnrey me
22. kal davn xiBapwdav Kal povor-
xav xt.) No sounds of rejoicing, or
of industrial life or even of domestic
work, shall be heard in Babylon again.
For the first compare what is said of
Tyre by Ezekiel (xxvi. 13 xatadvoe rd
TAnOos TaY povoiK@y wou (IT ), kal
dovn tav Wadrnpiwr cov ov 47 axovcb7y
érc), and of Jerusalem by Isaiah and
Jeremiah (Isa. xxiv. 8 rémavra evppo-
ovvn TULTaveY...7réravTa pwvn KiOapas;
Jer. vil. 34 xatadvo...parny evppat-
vopevay kat Povny yatporvtwr, wry
vundio cai havny viudns, ef. xxv. 10,
xl. (xxxili.) 9. On x:@apa, xBapwdés,
see y. 8, xiv. 2, note; the avaAnrns
(Mt. ix. 23) is the player on the flute
(2°n, avhos), who performed, often
With the x.@apwdds, at the festivities
of Hebrew life (2 Regn. vi. 5, Isa. vy.
12, XXX. 29, 32 (A), Sir. xl. 21, 1 Macc. iii.
45). eae Fe a later form of aad-
meyxtys, founded on the analogy of
aadricw, €cadmoa (Vili. 6 ff.) is az.
Aey. in Biblical Greek. The trumpet
proper (77330) was in Jewish use
nearly limited to religious services,
but at Rome the taba was heard at
the games (Juv. vi. 249) and in the
theatre (%b. x. 214, with Mayor's note),
and even at funerals (Pers. iii. 103),
Movoiwxey may be songs (Gen. xxxi.
27, Ez., dc.) or instruments of music
(Dan. iii. 5 f.=NV31), but the analogy
of x:Capwdar, avAntay, wadtricray Is
in favour of the masc., and by povocoi
must be intended either ‘ performers
on (other) instruments,’ or vocalists,
R.V. “minstrels”; cf. 1 Mace. ix. 39,
41, where the same ambiguity exists :
o vupdios efndA@ev...mera tuuravav
Kal povotkoy...Kal peteatpadn...part
povoixay avtay eis Aphvov.
240 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XVIII. 22
- ’ \ > \ / \ =
gahmiaTa@v ov wn akovobi év wot €éT1, Kal Tas
/ / \ ~ \ of
rexvitns [wdons Texvns| ov uy evpEOH év Gol ETL, Kat
\ / \ i \ of \ ~
23 dw puAov ov pn akoveOy év wot Et, Skat Hos
lf > \ / > Ve? \ \ If \
Auxvou ov un pavyn ev Gol ETL, Kal Pwvyn vusdtov Kat
/ 5) \ > a. \ of e/ cish) 7
vuuns ou py dxova Oy EV TOL ETL. OTL OL EMTOPOL TOU
22 gadmorwy (-rvyxtwy Hipp)] cadmeyywv & 35 87 130 arm cadmyyos syré™ |
om Kat mas TexXvITNS...ev go. ETL 14 Q2 Vg syr®™ arm Hipp | om zaons rexvys & \
me {nab CPQ min°™"id yo syr aeth Prim Andr Ar) | om kat wvn pvdov...ev gor ETL
& 29 38 40 87 93 98 syrs” arm aeth Hipp | wudov] wvdov C | axovcdn] evpeby Q dary
46 31 Ar 23 0M kat dws Avxvov...ev cor ert A 26 vgrt4 Hipp | om ca 1° Q|
om ev 1° © ygamfudemlipss gyrew Prim (tibi) | vuudys] pr gwvy C syr8” | or: 1°] Om 2
29 30 alPla%3 ovde arm | ot europa (evr. Q) cov] om a A 95 0m gov 36 79
kal was Texvitns maons Téxvns KTA.]
The industries of the great city will
be swept away as well as its festivities.
A rexvirns may be an artist in metal
(Deut. xxvii. 15, Cant. vii. 1, Acts xix.
24, 38), in stone (1 Chr. xxii. 15), or
even in textile fabrics (Sir. xlv. 11).
All the arts of civilized life are at an
end in the new Babylon; one will
hear no more among its ruins the
stroke of the hammer or the whir of
the loom ; even domestic sounds such
as may be heard in the merest
hamlet, e.g. the creaking and droning
of the upper millstone as it turns
upon the lower, are hushed for ever;
there is no hope that they will be
revived in a restored city. MvAos is
here apparently the mill, ie. the
whole apparatus as distinguished
from the Addos pirdwos (v. 21); ef.
Num. xi. 8 7AnOov airs €v TO pve,
Mt. xxiv. 41. The @ov7 ptrov is best
explained as the sound made by the
mill, and not the singing of the women
who turn it, though the #47 emuwrAxos,
as Wetstein shews, was traditional in
Greece.
23. Kal Pods AVXvOV ov pn pary ev
cot ére ktA.| Whether the streets of
Rome were regularly lit after dark is
doubtful : Juvenal (iii. 285) speaks of
the brilliant lights carried by the rich,
contrasting his own dependence on
the moon or on the “breve lumen
candelae” ; at a festival in a.p. 32 the
spectators wereescorted home by torch-
light, provided by an army of slaves;
on the other hand Ammianus writes
(xiv. 1, § 9): “in urbe...pernoctantium
luminum claritudo dierum solet imitari
fulgorem” ; see Mayor’s note on Juv.
lic. Certainly the houses of the
wealthy were not wanting in means
of illumination; Jucernae and can-
delabra of artistic forms abounded ;
even bed chambers were provided
with lamps (lucernae cubiculares)
which sometimes were burnt all night
(Mart. x. 38, xiv. 39). But in the
Seer’s forecast the lights of Rome
have gone out in utter darkness.
Even the occasional flash of the
torches carried by bridal processions
(Mt. xxv. 1 ff.) is seen no more, and
with it has ceased the “voice of the
bridegroom and the bride,” a phrase
which is frequent in Jeremiah (vii. 34,
XVi. 9, XXV. 10, x1 (xxxdiL) 11) cheae
li. 23); for davn vupdiov see also Jo.
iii. 29.
OTL Of Eurropol Gov noay oi pey.oTaves
xtA.] The connexion of thought is
difficult. Are the two clauses intro-
duced by 67: parallel, or is the second
dependent on the first? For other
examples of the writer’s use of drt...
ére see Xv. 4, xvi. 6 (note). In the
present instance it seems best to take
the first 67s as controlling the whole
XVIII. 24]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
241
Ye € - -~ -~ v ? =~ ,
NOAV OL MEYLOTAVES THS YS, OTL EV TH Pappakia aoou
’ 10 / WEY 24 AS le > - of
éravnOncav mavta Ta EOvn, “kal ev avTn aipualra| 24
- \ ee c ‘0 \ , ed 2
TpopnTav Kat ayiwy evpelyn Kat TavTwY TwVv Expay-
Méevwy él THS YN.
23 Tn ¢apuaxia (-Keca Q 1 130 al?! Hipp Ar)] rars papwaxecacs latt syr®” | erAavn-
Onoav] erdavnoas 87 syrs”
24 amata Q 26789 14 16 29 31 35 36 95 130
186 alP'439 Ar] awa RACP 1 38 79 alPe Hipp wav awa arm | evpeOnoav 7 14 39 |
eopayevwr] exppayiuevwy 38 yeypaumevwy Kat exppay.cmevww ev TH yn SwrTwy
arm vid
sentence, and the second as explaining
the first. Babylon has been sub-
merged by her very greatness, for her
greatness has been used to bewitch
and mislead the world, and not to
raise and purify it. Oi €ymopoi
cov «rd. rests upon Isa. xxiii. 8 of
éumopor avtns eévdokor, apxovres tis
yis (7S %3322...0), and Ez.
XXVii. 21 mavres of Gpxovres Kndap,
ovrot Europol gov; for peyioraves see
vi. 15, note. Traders who could
make Rome their market rose to
the first rank, became merchant
princes (vv. 3, 15), while Rome on
her part acquired a worldwide in-
fluence which she used for evil;
through their traffic with her all
nations had learnt to adopt her false
standards of life and worship. On
appakia see ix. 21, note. Like Nineveh
(Nah. iii. 4 yyoupévn hapydkwy, 7 To-
Nodca €Ovn €v tH ropveia avths Kal
Aaols €v Tois Gappaxaus avrjs), and
Babylon (Isa. xlvii. 12 0796 viv ev
rais émaowWais gov Kal TH ToAAH ap-
paxia gov & épuavOaves éx vedtnTos
cov), Rome was full of professors of
the black art ; for the authorities see
Mayor’snoteon Juv. iii. 77, and ef. Orac.
Sibyll. vy. 163 adda peveis tavépnuos
dAous aldvas...cdv atuyéova ESados, re
appaxinu ero@nocas. But the word is
probably used by St John in the
wider sense of the witchery of gay
and luxurious vice and its attendant
idolatries, by which the world was
8. R.
fascinated and led astray.
xxii. 15, notes.
See xxi 8,
24. kal év avrn aiwata mpodpnrav
xth.] “Ore is to be carried on from
v. 23; a further reason for the over-
throw of Rome was her bloodguiltiness.
Cf. Jer. xxviii. (li.) 35 7d alpa pov
€ml Tovs KaTokovvras XadSdaiovs, éepet
*Iepovaadnp (see also v. 49, Heb.);
Ez. xxiv. 6 d modus aivarev EBs KrX.
The blood shed by Rome was not
simply that of gladiators ‘butchered
to make a Roman holiday, many of
whom may have deserved their fate
(ef. Dill, Roman Society, p. 242), but
that also of saints and prophets: cf.
xvi. 6, xvii. 6, notes. Altura dyiwv is
sufficiently explained by the massacre
of 64 and the recent troubles under
Domitian (Clem. R. Cor. 1, 5 ff.); and
among the Roman saints who suffered
on both occasions there were doubtless
members of the prophetic order (Rom.
xii. 6), not to mention St Paul who
was a prophet as well as an Apostle.
But the responsibility of Rome was
not limited to martyrdoms which oc-
curred within the city; the world
was under her rule, and the loss of
all lives sacrificed (éogaypever, cf. y.
9, 12, xiii. 8) throughout the Empire
lay at her door. It is remarkable
that the same is said of Jerusalem
before her fall (Mt. xxiii. 35 dws
EAOn Cf das wav aiua Sixaov €xyuwve-
pevov emt tis yys) On aipata sec
c. xvi. 6, note.
16
242 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIX. 1
I "Mera ravta iKovoa ws evnv peyannv bxAou
lod ol co Mi
moAXou €v TH OVpAavW EYOVTWY
‘ANAnAovia’ 1 GwTnpia Kal 7 do€a Kal ¥
/ ~ ~ - e/
2 duvayus Tov Oeov juewv,?0Tt arnOwal Kal Sixarat
XIX 1 pera ravra] pr cat 1 36 38 49 79 gt 96 186 al syré” arm aeth | om ws i 7
12 16 18 38 47 186* syrr arm | om peyadny x 40 79 vg" | oxdov modXov] turbarum
multarum vgs! (tubarum m, vg*™ ips arm?) syré” Prim | cae 7 doa Kat n duvapis] ae
9 dofa kac y Tun t 36 almexk. 7 Suv. k. n dota k. 4 TL“ SYY OM kK. n Svvames arM | Tov
Gov] Tw Gew 36 47 Vg syrr arm aeth anon®’ Prim xupiw Tw 6. 1
XIX. 1—10. TRrumpPH IN HuAVEN.
Two HALLELUJAH PSALMS ; AN ANGELIC
MESSAGE.
If. pera taita qxovca os havi
xtA.]| The triumphant shouts which
follow are an answer to the appeal in
XVlli. 20 evpaivov...ovpave, ktA. The
first (I—8) is the Te Deum of Heaven
ert r7 Sixatoxpicia Tov Geov, as Arethas
expresses it. It comes from a ‘great
multitude, which reminds the reader
of the multitude of vii. 9, but as the
Church is called to add her Hallelujah
afterwards (v. 5), this first-named
dxAos modtvs is probably the Angel
host, the pupiades ayyéAov of Heb.
xii 22, the pupiades pupiadov xal
xuddes y:Aradev of Apoc. v.11. Their
paean takes the form of a Hallelujah
Psalm.
The liturgical _ note mdoa
(<Zsallen, ddAdAAovid (on 7 for € see
Dalman, Gr. p. 152), allelwia) occurs at
the end of Pss. civ., cv., CXV., CXVi., CXVI.,
the beginning of Pss. cxi., cxii, and
the beginning and end of Pss. evi.
Cxili., exxxy., exlvi—cl. (Heb.), and
at the beginning of a few other
Psalms in the Lxx. which are without
it in M. T. (cf. Intr.to O. T. in Greek,
p. 250). The transliteration aAAndovia
must have come into use among
the Hellenistic Jews before the
Christian era (cf. Tob. xiii. 18 épodow
macat ai pipar adris (Sc. lepovradnp)
“AAAnAovid, 3 Mace. vii. 13 éemipov7-
gavtes TO adAnAovia), and was taken
over by the Apostolic Church from the
Hellenistic Synagogue. Like Hosanna,
this Hebrew word became familiar
even to the most unlettered Christians
everywhere, rather perhaps through
the Easter Alleluia than through the
influence of the N. T., where it occurs
only in this passage; cf. Aug. enarr.
in Pss, xxi. 24 “his diebus per totum
orbem terrarum...dicitur Amen et
Alleluia,” and for its early use in these
islands see Bede, H. £. i. 20, ii. 1.
It was hailed as a connecting link be-
tween the worship of the Church on
earth and the worship of Heaven ; cf.
Aug. serm. ccly. (a paschal sermon):
“in hoe quidem tempore peregrinati-
onis nostrae ad solatium viatici dici-
mus Alleluia; modo nobis Alleluia
canticum est viatoris, tendimus autem
per viam laboriosam ad quietam pa-
triam, ubi retractis omnibus actionibus
nostris non remanebit nisi Alleluia.”
This view of the word no doubt had
its origin in the present passage,
where Hallelujah is the keynote of the
heavenly hymn of praise.
7) owtnpia kal 7 Sofa kal 9 Svvapes
Tod Geod nav] ‘Salvation, glory, and
power are our God’s’; cf. xii. 10 dpru
eyevero 7 gwrTnpia,..Tov Beod juov, and
the more usual form in Vii. 10 (7 o. r@
Ge yudv); ON 7 ewTnpia see note on
vii 10. A definite reason is given for
the present psalm of praise—the ex-
ecution of judgement upon Babyloa
(Gre adAnOuwai...drc expwev xrd.). For
addnO. kai dik. ai kpioets cov Cf. x¥. 3,
xvi. 7, The thought of the coming
XIX. 3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
243
c s , ~ J v \ !
at Kploels auToOu* OTL EKOLVEV THY TrOpVnV THY
/ of 4 \ ~ ’ ~ /
meyaAnv TUS epbepev THY yNVv Ev TH TopvEla
> - ‘> , \ c - / , -
auUTNS, Kal €Eediknoev TO aia TwWV SovAwy avTou
\ ~
EK YELPOS AUTH.
\ / a c - ff c -~
3Kal devTepov eipnkav ‘ANAnAovia’ Kal 6 KaTrVOS aUTHS 3
2 epberpev] uePOecpev Q 130 alP'4 Ar expwev A | om ev ry ropveia aurns me | op-
vea CPQ min?'] ropyia NA | xecpwv vg syr*” arm Prim
3 om xa 1° g8 Byré™ |
etpnxav (-Kaow 14 92 94 95)] eypnxev Q 130 alP'8® me (cum devrepos) Ar
doom of Babylon has been in view
from c. xiv. 7 ; now at length it is seen
in its realization.
The second dri, as in xviii. 23 (see
note there), justifies the statement
introduced by the first. That the
Divine judgements are true and just
has been shewn anew by His sentence
on the Great Harlot (cf. xvii. 1, 5,
notes); on é€xpwev see xviii. 8, 20.
"Hris (cf. i. 7 ofrwwes adrov efexévtncar,
ii. 24 olrives ovK €yvwoay, xii. 13 THY
yuvaika ris erexev Tov Gpoeva; even
in the Apoc. doris and 6s are not
indistinguishable in meaning) épéewpev
THY yh ev TH Topveia avrns : ‘it is just
that she who brought moral ruin
upon the world should herself lie
in ruins’ For the general sense
see xiv. 8, xvii. 2, 5, xviii. 3, notes:
for EpOeiper thy yy cf. xi. 18 dcapGei-
pa rovs diapOeiporvras thy ynv, and
notes there; the phrase is perhaps
suggested here by Jer. xxviii. (li.) 25,
where Babylon is 16 dpos rd SuepOap-
pevov, ro StapOeipov macav thy yyy.
The uncompounded verb is used freely
in an ethical sense ; ef. 1 Cor. iii. 17,
xv. 33, Jude Io.
The grounds on which judgement
was pronounced against Babylon are
again rehearsed, viz.: (1) mopveia, (2)
aiparexxyvoia; cf. xviii. 23 ff Tor
SovAwry avrov here includes both
saints and prophets (cf. xviii. 24)—
the Church and her leaders. For
éxdixeiy aia Ex Twos see Vi. 10; €xéd.
éx xetpos twos is less usual, but cf. 4
Regn. ix. 7, which perhaps is in the
Seer’s mind: ¢xdianoess ta aiuata tov
8ovA@v pou rev mpodnrav kal Ta alpara
mavtwv tov SovAwy Kupiouv €x xetpos
(72D) "TeCaBer Kai ex xetpds drov Tov
oixov ’Ayaa8. The phrase seems to be
‘pregnant’ ; written at length it would
have run: épvaaro rods 8ovAous avrod
ex THs xetpos avris, exdixnoas €& avrijs
TO aipa aUTov.
3. Kat Sevrepov elpnxay “AdAnAovia]
The shout of praise ends as it began,
after the manner of certain of the
Hallelujah Psalms (7. 1, note); com-
pare Miriam’s repetition of the first
distich of the Song of Moses (Ex.
xv. I, 21). Iteration emphasizes, as
in Ps. lxi. (Ixii.) 12 ama€ €Kadnoe 6
Geos, SVo ratta HKovea, OTe TO Kparos
tov Geov; Job xxxill 14 €v yap r@
Graf Raryoa 6 Kipios, ev b& Te
devrépw. Thus the second Hallelujah
is not merely formal, but adds strength
to the first, like the antiphona with
which the later Church learnt to call
attention to the leading idea of a
psalm or to the thought on which for
the time she wished to lay special
emphasis. On the termination of eipn-
cay see WH.2, Notes, p. 173, W. Schm.,
p- 113, note, and ef. xviii. 3 wétexay,
xxi. 6 yéyovay ; and on the perfect see
iii. 3, V. 7 (note).
Kai 6 Karvos aris avaSaiver erd.]
With the offering of praise there goes
up, instead of incense (Vili. 4 dveS7 6 kar-
vos Tov Ouyauatey), the smoke which
rises perpetually from the embers of
the city ; cf. xiv. I1 6 xamvds tov Baca-
yurpov avrav els alavas alavey avaBaiver.
The same is said of Edom, regarded as
an enemy of Israel, in Isa. xxxiv.g f.:
16—2
244
, ? \ IA - SOF
4 dvaBaiver €ls TOUS alwvas TY aiwvwr.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIX. 3
4 Ae /
Kal €7TEO AY
¢ »/ / \
ol mpeaBuTEpot ol Eikoot TEToapEes Kal Ta TécoEpa
an \ / “ - - / cad
Cia, Kal moocekvvnoavy TO Dew TH KaOnuevw él TO
5 Opovew révyouTes ’“Aunv, dXAnAovia.
\ \ \
Skat Pwvn aro
Tov Opovov éEnrAOev Néyoura
3 avaBatver] aveBawe 35 38 87 aveBn 73 79 Syré” arm
4 emecoy Q** min?
Ar | recoapa PQ min?! | tw Opovw] rw Opovwy P rov Apovov 1 36 38 49 79 91 96 97
5 pwvat...cin\Oov Aeyoutar R* | aro ACQ min® Ar] ex XP 1 31 32 36 47 48 49 79 QI
93 96 al™ | Opovov] ovpavov Q 14 92
€orat 7 yi avtTns ws Tigaa KaLoyern
vukTos kal juepas, Kal od aBecOnoerar
eis TOY ai@va xpovoy, Kal avaBnoerat 6
kamvos avtis avw. The words add a
last touch to the description already
given (xviii. 21 ff.) of Babylon’s utter
collapse.
kat érecay of mpecBvrepor xtA. |
The Elders and the (oa have not been
mentioned since xiv. 3. Now that the
worship of Heaven is again visible
to the Seer, they are discovered in
the act of adoration as before (iv. 9 ff,
y. 8, 14). As in v. 14 (ra reooapa
(@a éheyov ’Aunv, Kat of mpecBitepor
érecay kal mpocexurynoar), they assent to
the Angels’ service of praise, saying the
Amen to the celestial Eucharist (1 Cor.
xiv.
with their character as representatives
in Heaven of Nature and the Church
(c. iv. 4,6, note). For duyy in such a
connexion see Y. 14, Vii. 12, and on the
word, c. i. 7, note.
5. Kal porn dro tov Opovov Ender
Aéyovoa Alveire xrd.] In c, xvi. 17 a
yoice comes from the Throne, but ex
Tov vaov, Which is not added on this
occasion. Here the voice cannot be
that either of God, or (as Bousset
thinks) of the Lamb; in the latter
case we should certainly have had
T® Oe@ pov, as in iil. 12, and not ro
6. nuev. It remains that one of the
Angels of the Presence is the speaker.
The yoice summons all the Servants
of God, ie. the whole Church, which
is now called to add its tribute to
that of the Angels, the ¢éa, and the
representative Eiders. The call alveire
krA. comes from the Hallelujah Psalm
CXXXiV. (CXXXV.) I, 20 aiveire (1227)
TO dvopa Kupiouv, aiveire, SotAot Kupiov,
..of oBovpevor Tov kvpov. In the
original mm 2Y are the Priests
and Levites who ministered in the
Temple (cf. 2 of €ordres év otk@ Kv-
piov), while the myn ‘87! are the
worshipping Israelites i in general; but
in St John’s adaptation of the words
their exact sense is less clear. There
is a fairly close parallel in c. xi 18
Sovvat Tov peo Bov Tois SovAous gov Tos
mpopnyrais Kal Tots aylous kal Tots do-
Boupévors xrA.; see note there. Here
the dodAo probably include the Saints
and the Prophets, as in ~. 2, and if we
read kat of go8. the latter may be, as
in xi. 18, the unbaptized friends of
the Church, catechumens, enquirers,
and the like ; if on the other hand kai
is to be omitted, of dof. is merely a
description, somewhat otiose as it may
seem, of of dodAot avrov. Ot puxpol Kal
of peyddo., a phrase characteristic of
the book (cf. xi. 18, xix. 18, xx. 12,
Xxi. 16), but based on the O.T. apD
Sasa) (Gen. xix. 11), and in this
connexion perhaps on Ps. exiii 21
(cxv. 13) Tois hoBoupévous Tov KUptov
Tovs pukpovs peta Tov peyadov; it
seems here to embrace Christians of
all intellectual capacities and social
grades, and of all stages of progress in
the life of Christ, even the eAaxorot
év TH Bactheia (Met. y. 19), and the
eLovbevnuévor ev TH exxAnota (1 Cor, Vi.
XIX. 7]
Alweire TW bew
LO,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 245
/ © n ~
TavTes ol OovAot
> - \ t / , , € \q \
auTou [Kae] ol poBovpevor GUTOV, Ol PLKpOL” Kal
ot meyaAou.
Ano « \ »/ pint ‘ e
°Kal NKOVTAa Ws Qwvyiv oxAov ToAOU Kal ws (pwernv 6
vdaTtwy ToMNwy Kal ws wryv Bpovtwy ioyuper,
/
AeyovTwv
‘AdAnAovia, OTL EBacirevoev Kupios 6 Beds
of r /
MOY O TaYTOKpAaTwp.
"4 / \ ’
Xaelpwuev Kat ayadN-— 7
cod
5 Tw Oew] Tov Geov 1 7 13 al?! Andr Ar | om xac 2° NCP (hab AQ mino™®""4 vg syrr
Prim Andr Ar) | o pixpoc)] pr xac 1 49 al arm
6 ws 1°] om 1* 8 12 31 35 87
Prim post gwyyy ponunt 36 syrs” | oxAwy wod\wy syr®” Prim | om ws 2° A 6 12 94
heyovrwy AP 6 35 36 38 79 87 98] Aeyourwy & Neyovres Q minP'4% anon*’s Neyorras I
186 al Ar | eBaci\evoev]+ ev nucy arm | kupios o eos] o Geos o kupios N* om Kupios 1 S
12 36 186 arm*" om o deos syr&” Prim | om nuwy A 1 49 95 al me arm aeth
4); all are included in the summons
to thanksgiving and are capable of
bearing a part in it; ef. Bede: “par-
vitas non nocet ingenii cuius cor et
lingua Domini laude repleta est.” Ai-
veiv T@ Oe@ is an unusual construction ;
WM. (p. 673) compares diddoxew ri
in ¢. ii. 14, where see note.
6. kal Hovca ds pawviyy dyXov ToA-
Aod xrd.] The voice of a second great
multitude is wafted across to the
Seer. If the dydos wodvs of v. 1 is
the Angelic Host, that of v. 6 is the
Universal Church, the innumerable
multitude described in Apoe. vii. 9.
The sound of the collective praises
of the Church was in St John’s ears
like the din of a vast concourse, the
roar of a cataract (i. 15, xiv. 2), or
the roll of thunder (vi. 1, x. 3f.):
“magna vox canentium magna cordis
est devotio” (Bede). The words could
be distinguished. They begin with
Hallelujah, repeated a fourth time,
and thus they are connected with
the triumph of Heaven. But when
the grounds of the Church’s thanks-
giving are assigned, an entirely new
note is struck. It is not the doom of
Babylon for which the Church thanks
God, but its sequel—the setting up of
the Kingdom of God—ér: é8acXevcev
cf. Ps.
éBaci\evoev (120), ayadX\tacerat 1) yh,
Kuptos : X¢CVi. (XCVii.) I 6 KUptos
and see c. xi. 15, 17, and notes there.
The aorist looks back to the fall of
Babylon, now ex hypothest past (ef.
€recev...expivas), Seeing in it the epoch
of the entrance of God upon His
Reign. The World-power has fallen,
in order that the spiritual and eternal
may take its place ; for the deus et do-
minus noster of the pagan provincials
St John substitutes the Kupsos 6 Geos
nuov of the Church throughout the
Empire, of the Saints and the Angels
on earth and in Heaven. For Kupios
or 6 xvpios in this book = mnt see i. 8,
iv. 8, 11, XL 17, XV. 3, XVL 7, Xvi 8
¥Xi. 22, xxii. 5 f, and for wavroxparep
8 (note), iv. 8, xi. 17, XV. 3, XVL 7, 14.
‘O Geds nuay is used in rr. 1, 5, as well
as in 6; it is a mode of address which
angels and members of the Church
have an equal right to use.
7. yxaipopev cai dya\\i@pev xrh.]
For this combination cf. Mt. y. 12
xaipere xat aya\darbe (Le. vi. 23
xapnre...xai oxiptnaare), Ps. xevii.
(xeviii.) 4 @oate cai aya\\acbe Kai
Wanare: ayadiacba and evppaiver Oa
are still more frequently found to-
gether, e.g. Pss. ix. 3, xv. (xvi.) 9, ete.
246 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIX. 7
~~ \ if \ / ~ e/ S
wpe, Kal OWowuev THY OdoEav avTa, OTL HEV
/ lod id \ \ 2 qn /
O YyaMos TOU apvlov, Kal yuYN avTOU HTOipmacTeEY
7 ayadNwuey RAP 1 12 18 35 36 79 87 95 130] aya\\wueba Q min?! Ar | dwow-
pev P ir 79 (dwoopey S°*
Ar | yurn (vungyn &°°)]+rundn arm
The active dya\\:ay is used only here
and in Le. i. 47 jyaANacey To mredpa
pov ent t@ Oe, with the possible
addition of 1 Pet. i. 8 (WH.?, Notes,
p. 176). For dotva: ryv Sd€av ave cf.
xi. 13, Xiv. 7, xvi. 9, and for the form
deéowpev (if that is to be read) see Me.
vi. 37, note, and W. Schm., p. 107.
dre MAGev 6 yapos Tov apviov KTA.]
In these words the reason of the
Church’s exuberant joy appears, and
at the same time there is sounded
the first note of transition to the final
vision of the book. It is the manner
of the writer to throw out hints of
the next great scene some time be-
fore he begins to enter upon it; thus
"Erecey émecev BaBvAwv is heard in
xiv. 8, though the fall itself does not
come into sight before cc. xvii—xviii.
Here in like manner the Marriage of
the Lamb is announced as imminent
(jAGev), though a thousand years are
yet to pass before its consummation
(xx. 3), and the Bride is not revealed
until we reach c. xxi.
The conception of a Divine Marriage
is deeply rooted in O.T. teaching. God
is the Bridegroom of Israel (Hos. ii.
19=2I pynorevoopual oe eave eis Tov
aidva ; Isa. liv. 6 ovx ws yuvaixa Kara-
eAtupevny Kal oAryoipuyoy KexAnkév oe
6 kupwos ; cf. Ez. xvi. 1 ff.). In Ps. xliv.
(xlv.) “expounded of the Messiah by
the Targum and many Jewish scholars,
e.g. Kimchi” (Cheyne, Psalms, p. 123),
the nuptials of the King are depicted
at length. All this imagery is taken
over by the Gospels, and applied to
Christ and the Church; we meet with
the vupdios (Me. ii. 19), the viydn
(Mt. xxv. 1, D), the ruudoy (Mt. xxii.
10), the viot rod vupgdavos (Me. Z.c.),
the pdos rod vupdiov (Jo. iii. 29), the
A)] dwuev &* Q1 67 14 35 38 47 48 49 50 130 186 al™
yauos made by the King for His Son
(Mt. xxii. 2 ff.), the évduua yapou (Mt.
xxii. 11)—all in a clearly Messianic
sense. Nor has St Paul failed to seize
on this group of ideas, ef. 2 Cor. xi. 2
ippoo dpny yap wpuas évi avdph map evo
ayyny mapaorhoat TO XPLoTe 5 Eph. Vv.
25 ff. of avbpes, dyarare Tas yovaixas,
KaOas kal 6 xpearos Hyannoey THY exkn-
giav...To j.voTnptoy TovTO péya eoriy,
€yo d€ Aéeyw eis Xpiorov Kal eis THY eK-
kAnoiay. St John, following St Paul,
but with a characteristic independence
as to detail, adopts so much of this
symbolism as lends itself to his pur-
pose ; the marriage, the supper, the
bride and her attire enter into his
vision ; cf. iii. 20, Xix. 9, 2omiemes
pO bay i
The nuptial festivity (yduos here,
as in Mt. xxii. 8f., Jo. ii. 1 ff; else-
where in N.T. yayor) is come (Aber,
as in xi. 18, xiv. 7, 15, xvii. 10); the
rejoicings in Heaven are the sign of
its arrival; the Bride is ready, the
Bridegroom is at hand (v.11). “H yur
avtod : for 7 7 yur = = 7 pepnorevpern cf.
Gen. xxix. 21, Deut. xxii. 24, Mt. i.
20, Apoc. xxi. 9. Only three female
fiures appear in the visions of the
Apocalypse—the yuv7 mepiBeBAnuevn
rov HAxov Of ¢. Xii., the y. meptBeBX. mrop-
dupody kat Koxxwoy of ¢. xvii. and the
y-. wepiBeBrA. Bioowov of c. xix.—the
Mother, the Harlot, and the Bride;
the first and third present the Church
under two different aspects of her
life, while the second answers to her
great rival and oneHiys With 7 7roipacey
éaurnv cf. xxi. 2 nromacpéevny ws vp
gnv. In Eph. v. 25 ff. the preparation
of the Bride is represented as the act
of Christ (€avrov rapédwxev tmép avrns,
iva altny ay.aon KaOapicas T@ ovTPe
We
XIX. 9] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 247
éauTyv, Kal €000) ality iva repiBarnTta Bio- 8
\ / \ \ / 4
ciwov Naurpov KaBapov' TO yap Bioowov Ta
/ - / > /
OcKalWuaTa TOY ayiwy eoTiv.
9Kal Neyer mor I parvo Maxkapuot ol Els TO C€imvoy 9
8 Naumrpoy xadapov] Naumrp. car kad. Q min® syr cad. ka Aaump. 1 36 73:79 152
pyres” arm xaé. \aump. 186
rov vdatos év pnuart, iva mapactnon
avroés €aut@ evdofov thy exxAnoiav KTH. ;
see Dean Robinson, note ad loc.).
Here, though no special emphasis is
laid on éavryy, the complementary
truth comes into sight; effort is
demanded on the part of Christians,
both corporate and personal ; for the
latter see 1 Jo. iii. 3 ayvifer éavrov,
Jude 21 éavrovs €v ayatn God rnp7-
gure, and 2 Cor. vii. I xadapiowper
€auTous...emiredourTes ayi@ovrny.
8. Kal €560n avrH twa repiBadnrac
Bioowov xrd.| A Divine gift supplies
the Bride with the right and the
power to attire herself as she does.
*E66n atrp (aura, avrois) is one of
the keynotes of this Book, and occurs
some twenty times in cc. vii—xx. The
bridal dress—in sharp contrast with
that of the Harlot (xvii. 4, xviii. 16)—
is of simple byssus, the fine linen
of Egypt; cf. the orody SBvoowwos in
which Joseph was arrayed by Pharaoh
(Gen. xli. 42). For Bioowov as a
noun see Dan. x. 5 (LXx.) évdedupévos
Bicowa kai thy dodiv repreCwopévos
Buooiva, and ib. xii. 6f. Aaumpov
caOapov: cf. c. xv. 6 evdedupévor Nivov
xadapov Aapurpor.
To yap Biaowor 7a Sixatdpata Kd. ]
Tap introduces the explanation ; ‘with
fine linen, for this clean, glistering,
byssus-made fabric represents the
righteous actions of the Saints,’ the
two are equivalents; cf. 1 Jo. iii. 4 7
dpapria €otlv 7 avopia: “sin and law-
lessness are convertible terms” (West-
cott). For dixaiwpa see xv. 4, note;
ra Stka@para tev ayiwr is the sum
of the saintly acts of the members
of Christ, wrought in them by His
9 Tov decrvoy Q 16 38 87 98
Spirit, which are regarded as making
up the clothing of His mystical Body.
As each guest at the wedding feast
has an évdvpa yauou (Mt. xxii. 11),
as the Saints are individually clad
in robes made white in the Blood
of the Lamb (Apoc. vii. 9, 14); 80
corporately the whole Church is seen
to be attired in the dazzling whiteness
of their collective purity.
Q. Kal A€yet por Tpayor Maxadpioc
of els ro Seimvoy xrd.] The speaker
is perhaps the angel-guide of xvii. 1,
who now again reveals his presence ;
for the form ypawov...cf. xiv. 13. Ma-
Kaptot of els To Seimvoy xrX. carries the
beatitude of xiv. 13 (uaxapiot of vexpoi
...a avarancovra) a step further ;
rest has now ripened into high festival
The words are a Christian interpreta-
tion of the remark which called forth
the parable of the Great Supper:
Haxapiws ootis dayerat Gprov ev rh
Baoieia tod Oeodj—an expectation
based on such prophecies as Isa. xxv.
6. Cf. Mt. viii. 11 wodXol...avaxdrOn-
govrat pera “ASpadau kai “Ioaax kai
Taxa év rH Baoiweia Trav ovparev;
XXVi. 29 Gray avTé Tivw pes vpaov
kawov €y tp BaciXela Tov TaTpos pou;
4 Esdr. ii. 38 “surgite et state et vi-
dete numerum signatorum in convivio
Domini. qui se de umbra saeculi
transtulerunt, splendidas tunicas a
Domino acceperunt. recipe, Sion,
numerum tuum et conclude candi-
datos tuos...roga imperium Domini,
ut sanctificetur populus tuus, qui yo-
catus est ab initio.” Oi els rd deirvoy
cexAnuevor, cf. Mt. xxii. 3, Le. xiv. 17;
the ‘called’ here are clearly identical
with the «Anroi cal éxAexrol Kal miaroi
248 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIX. 9
\ /
Kat Eyer pot
e \ col ca > /
10 Obrot ot NOyot aANOol TOU Beot civiv.
fn lod / /
TOU yauou Tov dpviov KeKAnpeévot.
af
Kal erera
ro lot la ~ lod \
eum poo bev Taw TOdwY AUTO TPOTKUVATAL AUTH. Kal
g om Tov yayou &* P 1 16 36 79 g me arm | om kar Neyer por (2°) R* 6 1 36 38
39 | ovroe ot Noryor]+ wou N* syr* | adynOwor (pr oc A 4 48 syr&") rou Beov evorw APQ
minP!425 ygamdem me syrr Ar] ad7O. ecw Tov Oeov &* 1 38 49 79 OI 186 Tov Oeov adnd.
eo K°* g5 98 vecletollipss 10 eresov Q 6 14 29 31 90.95 130 al™*™ Ar | eu-
mpocbev] evwriov Q | mpooxuynoat avTw (avrov Q)] Kat mpocexuynca av7w P 73 79 Me
syrs¥ arm
of xvii. 14 (where see note). Of. Pri-
masius: “illos videlicet significans qui
secundum propositum vocati sunt” ;
Arethas: «at 87 ye xal pera thy KAjow
amtovres ws Set.
kal héyet poor Otroe of Aoyou adn Ouwoit
Tov Oeov eiciv| A second utterance of
the angel, setting the seal of Divine
truth upon the whole series of reve-
lations now completed (xvii. I—xix.
9): ‘these are God’s words, and they
are true’; or, reading of a\7@., ‘these
are God’s true words.” For oi Adyou
Tou Geov see xvii. 17, and for the whole
phrase xxi. 5, xxii. 6, and the opening
words of the Oxyrhynchus Sayings
(2nd series, 1904; cf. Hap. Times,
xv. p. 489 f.).
This solemn claim to veracity does
not of course require belief in the
literal fulfilment of the details. Apo-
calyptic prophecy has its own methods
and laws of interpretation, and by
these the student must be guided.
Under a literary form Divine truth
expresses and fulfils itself rodvpepas
kal moAutpéres ; itis only in the Son
that it reaches finality.
10. kal éreca €umpoobev rév today
avrov xtv.] The Seer, overwhelmed
by the greatness of the revelation,
and realizing that God Himself has
spoken in these words-of the Angel,
prostrates himself before his guide.
It can scarcely be that he mistakes
an angel for God or for Christ ; rather
he is tempted by his sense of re-
verence to a Opnokeia trav ayyédov
(Col. ii, 18) from which in calmer
moments he would have shrunk. A
tendency to Angel-worship lingered
long in Asia Minor, as Theodoret
witnesses (on Col. d.c.): ¢uewe d€ rovro
TO aos év TH Ppvyia cat Tuowdia pexpe
moAXov: ov O} yapw Kai ovvedOodoa
avvodos €v Aaodikeia THs Ppvyias vou@
kek@AukE TO Tois ayyéAots Tpocev xed Oat
kal péxpt O€ TOU viv evKTHpLA TOD ayiov
Mixyayjd map éxeivors Kal Tois duopots
exeivov eotiy ideiv. Compare the 35th
canon of the Council of Laodicea: ov
det Xpioriavods €yxaradeimeiy Thy exkAy-
ciav Tov beod Kal dmevar Kal dyyéAous
dvouatew xtd., and the remarks of
Hefele ad /.; for an investigation
into the whole subject see Lueken,
Michael. St John’s repeated refer-
ence to his temptation and the
Angel’s rebuke (cf. xxii. 8 f.) may well
be due to his knowledge that such a
tendency existed in the Churches to
which he wrote.
Some of the Fathers regard this pro-
hibition of Angel worship as peculiar
to the New Dispensation ; see Gregory
mor. xxvii. 15, and Bede ad loc.:
“postquam Dominus Iesus hominem
assumptum super caelos elevavit, an-
gelus ab homine timuit adorari, super
se videlicet adorans hominem Deum ;
quod ante incarnationem Domini ab
hominibus factum, et nequaquam ab
angelis prohibitum esse legimus.”
But this is a refinement which is
not likely to have been present to the
mind of the Apocalyptist.
kal héyet pot” Opa py | For opay pn see
Me. i. 44 dpa pndevi pndev etrrns; 1 Th.
XIX. 10]
Never prow “Opa jan’
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
/ /
awuvoovNos
249
/ > -
WOU ipl Kal THY
adeAdov cov Twv éyovTwy Tiy uapTtupiav ‘Ilncou: TH
Pp x lV papTup n
Gea TpoorKuyy cov.
Tvevua THS TpOPNTEtas.
4 yap paptupia 'Incot éotiv TO
10 opa un]+mronons 32 95 Cypr Prim | om gov 2° 8* 6 | rn yap uaprupea I. cot
n Tpopnrea arm‘ (e, To opaua Kat To wy. THs Mpopnreas arm) | rpo@yreas] adnGeas
me
V. 15 dpare wy tis...amod@ ; with regard
to the ellipse in dpa py (sc. moumons
rovro), as Blass observes (G7. p. 293),
it must have been a common one.
The Angel disclaims worship on the
ground that he is a ovvdovdos of the
Seer and of his _ brother-prophets
(cf. xxii 9 Trav adeAday cov tar
mpodnrayv). That all Christians are
avvdovdos Was taught by the Master
(Mt. xviii. 28 ff, xxiv. 49), and
realized by the greatest of His ser-
vants (Col. i. 7, iv. 7, Apoc. vi. 11).
But Angels are servants of the same
Lord (Heb. i. 4 ff.), and therefore
fellow-servants of the Saints, who
will be their equals in the future life
(Le. xx. 35 f. of 8€ xarakiwOévtes Tod
aldvos éxeivov ruxeiv...loayyedor...
eiciv).
Tay éxovT@y THY puprupiay “Incod
«th. For exe Thy h. "Ingod ef. vi. 9,
Mi. 173 7 paprupia “Incod occurs also
in i. 2, 9, xx. 4. The question arises
in all these cases whether "Incod is
the genitive of subject or object ; in
i. 2 the context seems plainly to re-
quire the former, and it is natural to
_ make this fact determine the usage of
the Apocalypse; on the other hand
in several of the later examples ‘ wit-
ness to Jesus’ seems more apposite.
Here the problem becomes acute, for
the meaning of the following words
(7 yap paprupia xr.) depends on the
answer it receives. Perhaps the true
account of the matter is that the
writer, starting in i. 2 with the thought
of Christ as the supreme paprvs (i. 5,
iii. 14), falls insensibly into that of
the Church repeating His witness and
thus bearing testimony to Him. While
the original sense of 7 paprupia “Incot
is never wholly out of sight, the latter
probably predominates here. ‘Those
who have the witness of Jesus’ are
those who carry on His witness in
the world. Such, the Angel says,
are the Seer and his brethren the
prophets.
7 yap paprupia’Inoov €or rd rvetpa
ths mpopnreias| ‘For (cf. the explana-
tory yap in rv. 8) the witness of Jesus is
the Spirit of prophecy,’ ie. the posses-
sion of the prophetic Spirit, which
makes a true prophet, shews itself in a
life of witness to Jesus which perpetu-
ates His witness to the Father and to
Himself. The two things are in prac-
tice identical (cf. 7. 8, note 2); all true
prophets are witnesses of Jesus, and
all who have the witness of Jesus
in the highest sense are prophets.
In 1 Cor. xii. 3
‘Kupwos "Incots’ ef py é€v mvevpare ayia)
St Paul states the general law which
St John applies to the special in-
spiration of the Christian Prophets.
The Spirit of prophecy is the Spirit
of Jesus (Acts xvi. 7), Who must needs
testify of Jesus (Jo. xv. 26). In the
prophets of the O.T. the Spirit of
Christ bore witness of the coming
Passion and Glory; see 1 Pet. i. 11,
with Dr Hort’s note, and ef. Irenaeus
i. 10. 1 Kal els wvetpa Gyr, rd bia ray
mpodnray Kexnpuxos Tas olkovopias cai
tas eXevoes xtA. Similarly it is the
office of N.T. prophecy to bear witness
to the Christ as already come and
glorified, and to point men to the
future Parousia. The Armenian ver-
sion (see above) supplies an interest-
ing gloss upon this clause.
(ovdels Svvarac eirreiv
250 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIX. 11
II "Kal eidov Tov ovpavov rvewypevov, Kal iOov
e/ / \ ¢ / a8 > \ \
L777 OS AEUKOS, Kal O KkaOnuevos €7 QaUTOVY 7lo TOS
/ \ > / Ag / 7 \
[kaNovmevos | kal dAnOivos, Kat év Oixatoouvy KpiveEt Kal
Ir edov SP min?’] wdov AQ 7 130 186 | avewypevoy Q min?! Or Ar | om xahoupevos
AP 1 46 12 17* 31 32 48 79 186 vg! Hipp Ar (hab & et ante micros Q min?! yg me
the syrr aeth Ir™* Or Cypr Vict Hier anon*’s Prim)
II—16. VISION OF THE CROWNED
WARRIOR.
II. kal eidov Tov ovpavor Hrewypévor,
kai idov xtd.] So Ezekiel begins his
prophecy (i. 1 kai éyévero...kal nved x-
O@noay oi ovpavol, Kal etdov pacers Geov) ;
and a similar epiphany is described in
3 Mace. vi. 18 tore 6 peyadddo€os Oeds
...vé@Eev Tas ovpaviovs mUdas, €& av
dedoEacpévar Sv0 PhoBepoedeis ayyehot
katéBnoayv. In the Gospels the heavens
are opened to Jesus at His Baptism
(Mt. iii. 16, Me. i. 10 eidev oxiCopévous
Tovs ovpavovs, Le. iii. 21) and He
promises a like vision to His disciples
(Jo. i. 51 dWeoOe Tov ovpavdy dvewyo-
ra). arly in the Apocalypse a door
is opened in heaven (iv. 1), and the
Sanctuary itself is opened more than
once (xi. 19, xv. 5); angels frequently
descend from heaven (x. 1, xiv. 17,
xviii. 1). The present revelation is on
a larger scale; the heavens themselves
open to disclose the glorified Christ.
Sounds from heaven have been heard
already (xix. 1); the Bride has made
herself ready (vc. 7f.), the marriage
supper of the Lamb is at hand (z. 9).
But it is neither as the Bridegroom
nor as the Lamb that the Christ is
now revealed; the parted heavens
shew a Figure seated on a white horse,
a royal commander, followed by a
dazzling retinue.
The words kat iSod immos Nevkds,
kal 0 kaOnpevos er adrov are repeated
from c. vi. 2, where see note. In both
passages the ‘white horse’ is the
emblem of victory, for the allegorical
sense which Origen (in Joann. t. i.
2, li. 4) permits himself to give to
the horse in the present passage is
more curious than convincing. But
the Rider here is not the rider of ¢. vi.;
there we see the Roman Imperator,
or possibly the Parthian King, with
his bow and wreath (€yav rdfov, Kat
€506n atte orépavos); here the
Commander-in-chief of the host of
heaven (cf. Jos. v. 14 apxvotparnyos
duvduews Kupiov), with His sharp sword
and many diadems; the superficial re-
semblance seems to emphasize the
points of contrast. In any case no
doubt is left as to the personality of
the present Rider; He is known as
(kaXovpevos, cf. Le. vi. 15 Kadovpevor
Znrwrny, Vill. 2 1) KaXoupéern Maydadnrn,
Acts viii. 10 7 Kadouvpevn Meydadn)
‘Faithful’ and ‘True’ (verus, as Prim.,
not veraa, as Vg. here). Both epithets
are applied to our Lord in the early
chapters of the Book, e.g. i. 5 6 paprus
6 maT Os, iii. 7 6 Gytos, 6 GAnOwos, 14 0
paptus 6 moTos Kal 6 adnOwes ; for the
sense attached to them in this con-
nexion see notes to those passages.
év Sixacootvn Kpivet Kal mroheuet] A
principal feature in the Messianic
character, cf. Isa. xi. 3 ff. o¥ xara thy
doéav kpwvet ovdé Kata THY hadiav edéy-
&eu...xat marager THY yv TO AOy@ TOD
oropatos avrov...kat €otar dSixavord’yy
éCaopévos thy cody avrod Kal adnbcia
eiAnpévos Tas mAeupas ; See also Ps. Sol.
xvii. 23 ff. The Christ who comes is
both Judge and Warrior, and He
judges first, for in the Divine order
judgement precedes victory. His
judgements are év dixacoovvy, for they
are God’s (cf. xv. 3 Sixavae kai adnOwat
ai 680i cov, Xvi. 5 Sixauos et...6Tt Todra
éxpwwas, 7, Xix. 2 dAnOival Kat Sixarat ai
Kpioecs cov); the Seer perhaps men-
tally contrasts them with the corrupt
practices of Eastern courts, and
a
XIX. 12]
TONE MEL.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 251
"ot de opOadpol aitod | ws | PACE Tupos, 12
\ \ \ \ , cal / / ’
Kal ert THv KE:padyv avToU diadnpuata toa, Eywv
rd / a > \ ; > \ > ,
dvouna yeypaupevoy 6 ovdel’s oidev EL pur} aUTOS,
It OM xa wo\euver ME
Cypr Prim Ar] om NPQ 1
12 ws A 35 36 87 gt gs al vg me syrr arm aeth Ir Or
al® Hipp | ovoua yeypaupuevoy o] ovouara yeypaupeva
a 8" 9 13 16 27 39 arm aeth ovouara yeypaumera Kat ovoua yeypaupevoy o Q 130 al*®
syr
the injustice often received at the
Proconsul’s tribunal. The present
tense (xpivet, moAeuei) is used because
the writer is stating the normal cha-
racter of Divine judgements and wars,
or it may possibly imply that Christ’s
work as Judge and Warrior is already
proceeding in the world, though the
tribunal is invisible and no ear hears
as yet the din of battle.
12. of d€ dpOadrpoi avrot as Pr
mupos xtd.] The Seer proceeds from the
character of the Rider on the white
horse to His person. The ‘eyes as
a flame of fire’ are a reminiscence
of the vision in c. i.; ef. i. 14, ii. 18,
notes. The next feature is new: émt
Thy Kearny avrov Siadnuara moAda.
For d:adnua see xii. 3, note, xiii. 1.
The Dragon wears a diadem on each
of his seven heads; the Wild Beast
from the Sea has one on each of
his ten horns. As contrasted with
the wreath, the fillet was the symbol
of Regal power, going with the
sceptre (Apul. met. 10 “caput strin-
gebat diadema candida; ferebat et
sceptrum”), and for this reason it
was declined by the earlier principes :
ef. Suet. Jud. 79 “[ Julius] cum...qui-
dam e turba statuae eius coronam
lauream candida fascia praeligata im-
posuisset, et tribuni plebis...coronae
fasciam (i.q.76 d:adyua) detrahi...iussis-
sent, dolens seu parum prospere motam
regni mentionem sive, ut ferebat,
ereptam sibi gloriam recusandi,
tribunos graviter increpitos potestate
privavit” ; and the somewhat similar
story told by Plutarch, C. Caes. 61
depov Siadnua orehava dSadyns epi
meTAcypevov @peEe TH Kaicapt...c7w-
capévou b€ tov Kaigapos dras 6 djpos
avexpotnoev xrA. Christ, who refused
the diadem when offered to Him by the
Tempter (Mt. iv. 9) was crowned on the
merit of His victorious Passion, and
now appears wearing not one royal
crown alone, but many. For zoAda ef.
Andreas : ra 6€ roAXa cadqparta...rHy
Kata Tavtwy avTov Baciclay Tay TE €v
ovpavy@® Kal yn aivitrovrac; compare
1 Mace. xi. 13 Kai elondOev Hod epaios
eis "Avtioyiay, cal mepieBero Td Siadnua
THs ’Acias, kat weptebero Sv0 S1ady-
pata Tept THy Kedadny avtov, TO Tis
*Agias kat Aiyirrov. Not Asia only
and Egypt and Europe belonged to
the Lord’s Christ, but all the provinces
of God’s Universe ; cf. Mt. xxviii 18,
Phil. ii. 9, Apoe. i. 18.
Exar dvona yeypappévoy & ovdeis older
xtA.] Besides the title ‘ Faithful and
True,” which reputation gave Him,
He bore a name written (? upon His
forehead; see xiv. 1, xvii. 5) which was
known only to Himself; compare ii 17
Svopa kawov Yeypappevoy o ovdeis older
el Bi) 6 LapSavav ; iil. 12 yeaa ex’
avrov...TO Gvopa pov TO Kawoyv. A
similar mystery attends the name of
the Angel who appears to Jacob on
the Jabbok (Gen. xxxii. 29 iva ri od
€pwras TO Ovoua pov ;) and the same
answer is made bythe Angel to Manoah
(Jud. xiii. 18), with the reason added
kai avto €otw Oavpacrtoy : cf. Sap. xiv.
21 re axowarnroy 6voua. The comment
of Andreas seems to be justified : rd
de dyvwarov TOU ovouatos TO THS OvTias
avTou onpaives axatadnnToy> tais yap
oixovopiats ov Tohv@rypos, as dyabos,
os rouny. kal rais adrodacecw 6 eL0l@s,
ws apOapros, ws a@avatos...r7 ovcia
252
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIX. 13
12 \ l Cad, Ke / * J
13 Skat mepiBeBAnpuévos iuatiov *pepaupévov* atari,
\ / Asaf 5) IE / lat lot
Kal KeKAnTat TO Ovoua avtov ‘O Royos Tov Geod.
13 pepaymevor] mepipepaupevoy &* eppaymevoy Or (cf Irimt Cypr anon’ Prim) zrep:-
pepayTiapevov N° pepayticpevoy P 36 eppavrisuevoy 32 35 87 g5 Hipp Or BeBaupevor
AQ 1 130 186 al?! arm! ¥¢ Ar | aeuarc] pr ev 6 31 32 33 48 Ar| xexAnra] Kexdnro S*
(Or) kaXecrac 1 31 36 48 49 79 91 al Andr Ar ygcleamtollips5 syyew Jyint Cypr anon™s
coTiy avévupos kal avéduxros. Notwith-
standing the dogmatic helps which the
Church offers, the mind fails to grasp
the inmost significance of the Person
of Christ, which eludes all efforts to
bring it within the terms of human
knowledge. Only the Son of God can
understand the mystery of His own
Being. The words e? pi adrés do not
contradict but supplement our Lord’s
own saying in Mt. xi. 27 ovdeis ém-
ywooker Tov viov ef pt 6 marynp. AS
Primasius rightly says: “cavendum
sane est ne...nomen Filii...aut Patri
aut Spiritui sancto putetur incogni-
tum.” Ouvdeis excludes created beings
only, not other Persons internal to the
Life of God.
13. Kat mepiBeBAnpwevos ipuarioy pe-
pappeévoy aizatc] Dr Hort well observes
(WH.? Notes, p. 139f.) that “all the
variations [éppaypévor, tepipepappevor,
€ppavTiopévov, tmrepipepavticpévov, and
even BeBappevor] are easily accounted
for if the form used was pepappévor”—a
fact which, considering the comparative
paucity of first-rate authorities for the
text of this Book, seems to justify its
provisional adoption. It is worthy of
notice that non-Septuagintal versions
of Isa. xiii. 3—the passage on which
St John’s conception appears to be
based—rendered 1°) by ¢ppavric6n or
éppavn, and that the use of one of
these verbs is pre-supposed by the
ordinary Syriac, which has y\i, and
possibly also by Dr Gwynn’s version
(Gwynn, p. 85). On the form pepap-
pévov see WH.” Notes, p. 172.
The Rider’s cloak (the éuarvov) is per-
haps a xAauvs (Mt. xxvii. 28, 31) or a
paludamentum, if a Roman General
is in view. It is dyed or sprinkled
with blood, after the second Isaiah’s
conception of the Divine Conqueror
from Edom (Isa. xiii. 1 ff.), a prophecy
which the later Jews expected to be
fulfilled in Messianic times, cf. syn.
Sohar, p. 113.23 (Schoettgen, i. p. 1134):
“futuro tempore Deus...vestimentum
vindictae induet contra Edom.” In
the original context the blood upon
the Warrior’s dress is that of the
conquered enemy, who have been
trampled under foot like grapes in the
winefat ; and this idea is certainly
present to St John’s mind (cf. 2. 15).
But in applying the figure to Christ,
he could hardly have failed to think
also of the ‘ Blood of the Lamb’ (i. 5,
y. 9, Vii. 14, xii. 11) which was shed in
the act of treading the enemy under
foot. To some extent this probability
may be held to justify the old inter-
pretation, that e.g. of Hippolytus (ce.
Noet., ed. Lagarde p. 53 f.: opare ody,
aero, rds ev TupBOA@ TO iwarvoy TO
€ppavticpévoy aipate tiv capka Sinyn- —
caro, dv As Kat vr rabos HAGEV 6 amabys
Tov Oeov Adyos), Origen (én Joann.
t. ii. 4),and Andreas, who writes ad Joc.:
iuariov tod Oeod Adyou H mavayia cap&
avtov...7 Bapeioa ev TO Exovoio abet
T@ idi avrod aipart. But this view, if
admitted, must be kept subordinate to
the other. In this vision Christ is not
presented as the Redeemer, but as the
Judge and Warrior.
kal KékAnTat TO Gvopa avTod ‘O Aeyos
tod Oeov| In the N.T. the idea of a
personal Logos seems to be limited to
the Johannine writings (for Heby iy.
12 see Westcott ad loc.) and there it
isfound under three forms—o Adyos rod
Geod (here), 6 Adyos ths Cas (1 Jo. i.
1), 6 Adyos (Jo. i. 1 ff.). Of these the
7
7
]
XIX. 14]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
253
\ , - > -~ 39 /
“kal Ta oTpaTevuaTa [Ta] ev TH OVpavy riKkoNovOE 14
- e = > / / \
avTe@ ed imrow NevKots, évoeouuevot Bvoawoyv evKOV
14 Ta ev Tw ovpayw AP 30 32 47 48 49 50 51 91:95 130 186Jom7a RQ167 11
12 alr} rwy ovpaywy (vel rou ovpavov) 8 (36) syr*” | om ra ev 7. ovp. me | nKo\ovBovy
186 | €@ eros NevKors] ere crm, A. Q minP4® Or Ar edimmoe woddo 186 | evdedupevois
N* 152 Or | Svccwov Nevxov] Aevx. Butowov A NevxoBvcowor gs
present is probably the earliest; the
relative use of the term would natu-
rally precede the absolute, and the
relation of the Word to God would be
the first to present itself. “O Adyos row
6cod (Kupiov) is a familiar O.T. phrase
forapropheticutterance, whichSt Luke
and St Paul employ for the teaching of
Jesus or for the Gospel (Le. vy. 1, viii.
II, xi. 28, Acts vi. 2, xiii. 5, 44, 1 Cor.
xiv. 36, 2 Cor. ii. 17, iv. 2, 1 Th. ii. 13
ete.). Meanwhile, the thought had
taken root that Jesus is Himself the
final and the only perfect revelation
of God to man (Heb. i. 1 f.),and St John
gave expression to this belief when he
applied the term ‘Word of God’ to the
glorified Christ. How far at this stage
he had anticipated the doctrine of the
Prologue to the Fourth Gospel cannot
be determined ; but it is difficult to
resist the impression that there is
some connexion between the present
passage and the teaching of the Alex-
andrine book of Wisdom; ef. Sap. xviii.
15 6 mavrodtvanos cov Aoyos ar
ovpavay é€k Opovey Bacireiov aro-
Towos TWONEpLoTHS Els péoov THs OdeE-
O@pias HAaro ys, Eidos O€0 thy dvv-
ToxpiToy eritayny cov péepwv.
Arethas asks how the giving of this
name to Christ is to be reconciled with
the statement in v. 12: elxds éori ria
emaroph rat TOS 0 TPO pepow dudvupos
xpnparicas Kat racw dyvworos Kara rd
Gvopa, viv evrav@a Adyos ovopnaterat
His answer is not very convincing ; but
Apringius at least strikes the right
note: “sicut pro ineffabilitate virtutis
eius supra fatetur incognitum omni-
bus eius nomen...ad professionem nos-
trae fidei...Verbum Dei esse signifi-
eat.” No Name of our Lord, not even
6 Aoyos, is more than a help to faith
and a step towards fuller knowledge ;
cf. note on v. 12.
14. Kal Ta orpareipata Ta ev TO
ovpav@ «t.] The existence of a celes-
tial ‘army’ is implied in xii. 7 6 MeyanA
kal of GyyeAot avTou Tov ToAEAo aL pera
Tov dpakortos. In the O.T. 83%
Dw (MINI¥) is a constant phrase
for(1)theordered ranksof the heavenly
bodies (cf. e.g. 2 Esdr. xix. 6 ool mpoo-
kuvovow ai otpareiat Tay ovpavar,
and (2) the angelic bodyguard of the
Throne of God; see Driver, art. Hus!
of Heaven, in Hastings, DB. ii.
p. 429 ff. Here the latter are clearly
meant. The angelic hosts were at the
service of the Incarnate Son even in
the days of His Flesh (ef. Mt. xxvi. 53
Soxeis Ore ov Svvayat mapaxadecat Tov
matépa you, Kal Tmapaotnoet poe apri
Trew Saddexa Aeyi@vas ayyéA@y), and
in His exaltation they wait upon His
pleasure (Heb. i. 6 ff, cf. Mt. xiii. 41,
XVi. 27, XXiV. 31, XXV. 31, Apoc. v. 11 f.).
Some of the ancient interpreters
thought here of the elect from among
mankind (e.g. Apringius: “exercitus
qui in caelo est ipsa est sponsa”), or
of the “martyrum candidatus ex-
ercitus”; but though either of these
bodies might, consistently with the
usage of the Apoc., be placed in
Heaven and clad in white (cf vii
9 ff.), yet the general sense of both
O. and N.T. points rather to the angelic
orders, and Andreas is doubtless right
when he says: ro d€ axodovdew atra
’ ‘ > ~ > ed ‘
oTpaTrevpaTa Ta ev TT ovupar@ Tas
ovpavias Ta€ers onuaiwee. As the Lamb,
Christ is followed by the Saints (xy. 4,
xvii. 14); but as the Celestial Warrior,
coming from Heaven to earth upon
254
15 Kabapov.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIX. 14
\ la) / fal /
“Kal €K TOU TTOMATOS a’TOU Ex7ropEvETat
¢ , > ~ 4 > De / be sid \
poupaia o€ela, iva ev avtTy mataen Ta Eby: Kat
Sx N ~ b) \ 5) ook } } a \ 2 \
auTos TTOLMAVEL QUTOUS €EV pala w ol noe Kal AUTOS
~ \ \ ion sf ~ lo cod _ =
wartel THv Anvov Tov oivov Tov Busou THs opyns TOU
14 KaOapov] pr kar % 1 alvixmu g yoclelipss4,6 the syrs Or
15 eemopeveTo arm
Cypr Prim Hier | ofea] pr dicrouos Q minP!440 ygeletollipss syr* Cypr anon*’s Prim
Ar | rns opyns Tov @vyou & the Or
a mission of judgement, He brings
with Him His Angels.
On orparevpara see ix. 16, note. A
otparevya may be a small body of
soldiers, such as Herod’s bodyguard
(Le. xxiii. 11), or the garrison of the
Antonia (Acts xxiil. 10, 27), or a great
host, taken in the aggregate (v. 19);
in the plural the word = troops, forces,
copiae. These celestial troops are all
cavalry (cf. ix. 16), mounted, like their
Captain, on white horses, the symbol
andomen of victory. But whereas their
Captain is arrayed in a cloak sprinkled
with blood, they are clad in pure white
byssus (cf. v. 8, note). He only has
had experience of mortal conflict ; for
them bloodshed and death are impos-
sible.
15. kal €k TOU oTOpMaTos avTOU EkrrO-
peverac xtA.] Another feature from
the vision of c. i.; ef. i. 16, notes. But
thesharpsword issuing from the mouth
of the Word fulfils a new purpose.
The Priest-King, walking in the midst
of the churches, uses it to chastise the
impenitent members of the Asian con-
gregations (ii. 12, 15 f. weravdnooy ody:
el O€ puy,...7ohepnow per’ aitav ev TH
popdaia tov ordpards pov). Here its
work lies beyond the pale of the
Church ; the Warrior-King comes to
smite the pagan nations with it. St
John has in view Isa. xi. 3 ff. od xara
Hy dd€av Kpwei...narager yqv TH Oyo
TOU OTOpaTos avTod, “at ev mvevpare Sia
xeéav dvedet aoeBn7. The Word of
God fights with the sword of the word ;
His weapons are spiritual and not
carnal (2 Cor. x. 4); He smites the
nations not by judgements only, but
by the forces which reduce them to
the obedience of faith; ef. Apringius:
“percutere dicitur...liberare, damnare,
iustificare, eripere, salvare.” The
whole course of ‘the expansion of
Christianity’ is here in a figure: the
conversion of the Empire; the con-
version of the Western nations which
rose on the ruins of the Empire; the
conversion of the South and the far
East, still working itself out in the
history of our own time. Inall St John
would have seen Christ using the
Sword of His mouth; the white horse
and his Rider, the diadem-crowned
head, the invisible armies of Heaven.
kal avros tosavet avtovs ev paBd@
ovdnpa: an image already familiar to
readers of this book (ii. 27, xii. 5, where
see notes); the same blending of the
metaphor of Isa. xi. and Ps. ii. is to
be observed in Ps. Sol. xvii. 26 f.:
extpiat vmepnpaviay dpaptwdrod ws
okevn Kepapews: ev paBd@ odnpa
auvtpifa. macay vmooracw aura:
ddeOpedoa. €Ovn mapavoua ev oyo
oTouatos avrov—a coincidence which
may be explained by supposing that
St John here follows a Jewish tradi-
tion already existing in the century
before Christ. The sense is clear.
The work of the Pastor, the Guide
and Ruler of souls (1 Pet. ii. 25),
follows that of the Evangelist; the
heathen are first to be reduced to
obedience, and then brought under
the discipline of Christ. :
kal avros mare THY AnvoY Tov oWwoU
xtA.] The repetition of xai avros adds
solemnity ; Christ Himself is in all this
movement, by whatever ministry He
may work. And His work in the world
is not all redemptive or restorative ; it
——— OO
- gius, who writes :
XIX. 17]
Qeov Tou T AVTOKPATOPOS.
oer ? \ \io¢ /
Kal EXEL ETL TO luaTioV
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 255
\ \ \ \ ? ~ sf / \
Kal €7l TOV pNpoy avTOU dvoua yeypaupuevovy BaciXevs
/ \ / ,
BaoiNewy Kal KUpLos KUpiwy.
\ 7 / 4 e =~ , ~ «
Kai edov Eva ayyeNov éotTwMTa ev TO 1Alw, 17
16 om em To tpwariov Kar A | twariov)+aurov 87 152 syré™ | om em 2°R
SP min?'] idov AQ 7
arm ayyedov Q 130 alfre3? syr anon*'s
has its terrible side.
judgement and its wine of wrath have
been mentioned already more than
once ; for the first see xiv. 19 f., notes,
and for the second, xiv. 8, 10, xvi. 19 ;
now we learn by Whom the winepress
is trodden, though this has already
been suggested by v. 13, with its refer-
ence to Isa. lxiii. 1 ff.
16. Kat €xec emi ro iparioy xrh.}
While He is known to Himself by a
name which is hidden from all others,
and to the Churches as the Word of
God, He has a third name which all
can read, for it is displayed on His
habit where it falls over the thigh.
"Emi 7) iwariov Kal emi Tov pnpdv avroi,
‘on the cloak and on that most exposed
part of it which covers the thigh,
where it cannotescape notice. Modern
commentators quote Cic. Verr. iv. 43
“signum Apollinis pulcherrimum, cuius
in femore literulis minutis argenteis
nomen Myroniseratinscriptum” ; ; Pans.
Eliac. (Wetstein): .-€\e-
yeiov d€ ex’ avrd yeypappevoy eri rod
pnpov; the Apocalyptist, perhaps, has
inview some equestrian statue at Ephe-
sus similarly inscribed. The allegorical
meaning which the ancient interpre-
ters offer (eg. Primasius: “femore
illius posteritas seminis designatur in
quo benedicentur omnes gentes”) is
improbable ; nor can we press 76 {ua-
tov avrov after the manner of Aprin-
“in veste, id est, in
sacramento Dominici corporis scrip-
tum legitur nomen eius ‘ Rex regum’,”
meaning apparently that the glorified
humanity of the Lord sufficiently
proclaims His universal Sovereignty,
avdpos Elka,
The Anvos of
17 edov
14 36 92 130 186 | eva ayyeXov] addov ayy. & 36 me the syré”
The title BagiAtevs xrA. is given to
the Lamb in xvii. 14, where see notes;
the changed order can hardly be more
than accidental.
“Sic semper Verbum Dei,” writes
Irenaeus (iv. 20, 11), after quoting the
three visions of the exalted Christ in
Apoc. i, v., xix., “velut lineamenta
rerum futurarum habet, et velut spe-
cies dispositionum Patris hominibus
ostendebat, docens nos quae sunt
Dei.”
17—21. OVERTHROW AND END OF
THE BEAST AND THE Fase Propuet.
17f. Kat elSov €va ayyedov éotara év
T® NAi@ ktv.] As in xviii. 21, a single
angel suffices for the task. He takes
up a position in the sun, whence he
can deliver his message to the great
birds of prey that fly high in the zenith
(€v peoovparnparce: cf. viii. 13, xiv. 6,
notes); he is sent to summon them
to the battlefield which is presently
to be strewn with the bodies of the
King’s enemies. The imagery is bor-
rowed from Ez. xxxix. 17 ff., where the
slaughter of Gog is described: eixdy
mavrt
mavTay TOY TEpKUKA® émi thy 6voiay
Opvem TETEWO...cUvaXxOnTe aro
pov, hy TéOuKa v vpiy buciar HeyaAny.. -Kai
payerbe Kpéa_ kai wieaGe aija.
ytyavrey (ans 33) dayeode, aiua
ap yovrwy Ts yas mrieaGe...xat €umAno-
OnoerOe emi ths Tpame(ns pou imroy
avaBarny Kal yiyarvta Kai ravra
dvépa mo\guoryy. The same idea is
to be found in Mt. xxiv. 28 dou éay F
TO mT@pa, exet TuvayOnoovra of aeroi.
Carrion, even a single corpse, has a
magnetic attraction for vultures, and
here is a field piled with the dead, a
Kpea
Kai
‘
Kat
256 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XIX. 17
kat éexpagev [év] pwvy peyady €ywv Taow Tots
> ~ / / -
Opvéos Tots mETOMEevoIsS Ev pecoupavyatt AevTe,
18°/
, 2 \ ~ \ / ~ 6 “~
18 cuvayOnte eis TO S€irvov TO péeya Tov Deov, *iva
7 / / \ / / \
paynTe capKas Bacihewy Kal GapKas yiapywv Kal
a / ry \ cat ,
odpKas ioxyupwV Kal oapKas trTwy Kal TOV KAaOnuEVwY
? / / > ,
ém’ avtous, Kal wapkas mavtwy édevVépwy TE Kal
~ / \ > \
19 dovAwy Kal puxpwv Kal peyadwy. Kai eidov TO
\ ~ ~~ -~ \ \
Onpiov kat Tovs BaciAels THS yns Kal Ta COTpaTEKaTa
17 expager] expafev Q 12 95 vgt! | ev dwvn RQ 2 14 16 g2 altel? (om ev AP min?!
vg Andr Ar) | om zracw g5 syr8” | rerwuevors P min™ | om cvvaxOnre 1 186 Prim |
Tov demvov 4 6 8 16 29 31 32 35 41 42 94 95 96 al | Tov peyay 6 16 31 32 35 38 39 48
51 55 87 94 Tov peyadou 1 36 49 74 186 vgiirs® arm? aeth 18 om xat capkas
xXapxwv I 49 | er avrovs A 14 92] ex avrwy PQ min*teomn Andr Ar er avros & |
mayvrwy (ar. Q*)] pr twv 130 Ar om wavyr, 1 152 me syr8* arm? | om Te x 6 alPste | om
Kae 7°Q 9 14 3036 al | pexpwrv]+7e Q minP!99° | weyadwr] pr Tw & 95
19 etdoy P
min?"] edov RAQ 7 36 92 130 | kat 7a orpar.] kara orpar. N* xara ta oTpar. Ro*
great repast spread by the hand of
God (rd detrvov rd péya Tov Geov); or
in Ezekiel’s words, a sacrificial feast
spread on God’s table for all the vul-
tures of the sky. In Ezekiel only
the bodies of the great are offered to
the birds of prey; in St John’s con-
ception all the slain lie together ; not
only kings and captains (yAiapxor,
tribuni, cf. vi. 15, note), but the rank
and file, made up of all sorts and
conditions of men free and bond
(vi. 18, xiii. 16), small and great
Gaia xin 16, xx. 5 xx: @2) | The
great war between Christ and Anti-
christ, which is now about to enter
upon its final stage, draws its recruits
from every class, and in war there is
no respect of persons.
Is this battle to be identified with
that of Har Magedon (xvi. 16), and
with that of Gog and Magog (xx. 8 ff.) ?
In c. xvi. the forces are seen gathering
for battle, but the battle is not yet
begun; and there seems to be no
reason why we should not find its
consummation here; see note on xvi.
14. It is more difficult to correlate
the present passage with xx. 8 f.; the
battle of Gog and Magog follows the
tee aN tin
Rr eh
thousand years, and prima facie is
distinct from the battle of ¢. xix.,
and later; see notes ad loc. It may
be pointed out, however, (1) that
xix. 17 ff and xx. 8 f. are based on
the same passage in Ezekiel, and
(2) that in the Apocalypse priority in
the order of sequence does not always
imply priority in time.
On capkas see xvii. 16, note.
19. Kal eidov TO Onpiov Kat Tods
Baoweis xth.] When the Beast was
last seen (xvii. 16 f.), he was in league
with the ten kings who were to bring
about the destruction of Babylon. It
was foreseen by the Seer that the
kings would ultimately turn their
arms against the Lamb (7b. 14). This
development has now been reached ;
Babylon is no more, but the Beast
survives, and is allied against Christ
with the powers which have risen on
the ruins of Rome. They are now
called of Bacidcis ths yns—the repre-
sentatives of the yrs (Ps. ii, 2)
who are the hereditary foes of the —
Lord’s Anointed. In ¢. xvii. the —
Beast’s allies are uncrowned (v. 12
Baotrelav o'r ~aBov, Ga eLoveiay —
4
|
XIX. 20]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
257
~ - \ / \ -~
QUTWY CUNYyMEeva Troma TOY ToONEU“OY META TOU
/ \ a~ \ \ - /
Ka0nuevou eT TOU LTTTOUV Kal META TOU TTPATEVUAaATOS
20
auTou.
\ / \ / \ , ? ~ G
kal eriacOn TO Onpiov Kat pet’ avToU 6 20
/ ¢ / \ - , / , ~
evoorpodntns O TOWMOAaS TA ONMELA EVWITLOVY aUTOU,
19 avrwy] avrov A 6 11 31 | Tov wokeuov] om Tov P 1 6 al**™ Andr | 7. errou) +
Tov \evkov me
20 wer avrov NP (0 wer avrov o) 14 37 38 49°* 79 gt 96 VE
8 Prim] oc “wer avrov A 41 me pera rovrov 1 49* al’ o wer avrov Q mini
le 4 [a 4
syr arm? Ar
@s Baoweis piav dpay apSavovew
pera tov Onpiov), but St John foresees
that they will be sueceeded by crowned
heads; out of the confusion of the
age which saw the fall of Rome there
will rise a new order with duly con-
stituted powers. These, however, so
far as they lend their authority to
the Beast (xvii. 13), ie. so far as they
inherit the selfish and worldly policy
of the Empire, will be animated by the
same spirit, and the Seer sees them in
the end banded together, like Herod
and Pontius Pilate, to wage the war
(rdav modenov) foretold in xvii. 14 and
even in Ps. ii.
In what form this prediction will
fulfil itself cannot be conjectured.
But it seems to point to a last struggle
between Society and the Church, or
rather between Christ and Antichrist.
Those who take note of the tendencies
of modern civilization will not find it
impossible to conceive that a time may
come when throughout Christendom
the spirit of Antichrist will, with the
support of the State, make a final
stand against a Christianity which is
loyal to the Person and teaching of
Christ.
On rod orparevparos avrod as con-
trasted with ra orparevpara avray
Andreas makes the shrewd remark :
TOUS TO YPLOT@ EropEvous EUiKAS OT pa-
Tevpa mpoonyopevoe Jia TO THs yrwpuns
évaioy GéAnpa THs mpos Tov Gedy Aoyor
evapestnoews. There is a certain
unity which comes from making
common cause in evil-doing (xvii. 13,
17), but it has its limits and is apt to
Ss. R.
break down when personal interests
differ; the unity of the heavenly
otparevpara, When engaged in the
service of God and of Christ, is in-
dissoluble. Even the Church on earth
in its last struggle with Antichrist
may be expected to present an un-
broken front to the foe; a grave
common danger will go far to cancel
mutual distrust.
20. Kai émiagOn Td Onpiov Kai per
avrov 6 Wevdorpopyrns| The imagery
of the battlefield is carried on; the
course of the battle is not recorded,
but its issue is stated. The Beast,
who had been the prime mover in
the revolt against the King of kings,
when the day was manifestly lost,
made an effort to escape; but his
flight was intercepted, and he was
seized. For maew, said to be a Doric
form of méfew which was perpetuated
in Hellenistic Greek, see W. Schm. p.
50; meéCew occurs in Mic. vi. 15 meéoecs
éXaiav, Le. vi. 38 pérpov Kaddv reme-
ouevov; for the meaning ‘seize,’
‘arrest,’ cf. Cant. ii. 15, Sir. xxiii. 21,
Jo. Vil. 30, 32, 44, X. 39, Xi. 57, Acts
xii. 4, 2 Cor. xi. 32. With the Beast
was found his subservient ally, the
False Prophet (cf. Tert. de res. carn.
25 “bestia antichristus cum suo
pseudo-propheta”), i.e. the Second
Beast of ¢. xiii. 11 ff.; on this identifi-
cation see xvi. 13, note. Ta onpeia,
not ‘miracles’ (A_V.), but “the signs ”
(R.Y.), ie. those described in xiii. 13 ff.,
where see notes. The Seer still has
in view the magic art practised by
the priests of the Caesar-temples,
17
wD STOCK CULLLWM
258
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XIX. 20
? re; 2 / \ / \ / od
ev ols ET NGHICIEY Tous ANaBovTas TO XP a ES TOU
Onpiou Kal TOUS poe vO Tis TN ELKOVL auTOoU*
Cavres eBAnOno ay ol ue cis THY Nivyv TOU qrupos
PAA TNS KaLomevns €v bei.
kal ol Nowrol ameKTavOncav
20 To xapayua] THv xapw arm | Ty eckove N°-* AP minfereomm Andr Ar (rny ecxova
* 38 39)] ro xapayua Q | Swrres] pr car 130 | eBANOnoar] BryOncovra 1 36 38 | om
o. dvo arm | trys Katowevns NAP vg aeth Prim] ray xatouerqy Q min-™rid Ar | ev
Bew] ev Tw O. I 35 36 49 79 87 185 al Kar Becov syré”
but though he can only express
himself in the terms of existing
conditions, his words may be held
to cover all forms of religious or
irreligious fanaticism, all the juggling
and dishonesties of false cults and
creeds, whether pagan or Christian
or openly antichristian. When Beatus
writes: “pseudo-prophetae sunt prae-
positi...pseudo-episcopi et sacerdotes
eorum similes mali,” he is wrong only
in limiting his interpretation to
Christian false prophets; the world
is full of systems which misinterpret
God and His relation to the creature,
and these are not to be overlooked.
On ev ois émAavnoev Tovs AaBovtas TO
xapaypa Tov Onpiov xrd. see the notes
to xiii. 16, xiv. 9ff., xvi. 2, xx. 4.
(avtes €BdnOnoav oi Svo eis rHv
Aipyny tod mupos xrA.]| As the two
had fought together against Christ,
so they will ultimately fall together;
the day that sees the end of a false
statecraft will see also that of a false
priestcraft. The punishment of the
Beast is suggested by Daniel’s account
of the fate of his fourth Beast (vii. 11
Th. eOedpovr...€os dynpébn +d Onpioy
kat dm@eTo, kal TO capa avrovd €dd6n
els kKavow mupos: the meaning being
that the Fourth Empire “is to be
utterly brought to an end” (Driver).
Zavres adds to the horror of the
picture; cf. Num. xvi. 30 cara8jracay
(avres eis Gdov, repeated in Ps. liv.
(iv.) 15; the Greek classical writers
use the same figure, eg. Soph. Ant.
920 (@0° eis Oavdrtwy Epyouat Kata-
grads. Aipyn (stagnum, Prim., Vg.)
is a comparatively shallow pool or
lake; Ps. evi. (evii.) 35 (A) €Oero
épnuov eis Niwvas vdarwy; Cant. vii. 4
os inva ev “EceBov; I Mace. xi. 35
Tas Tov adds Aiuvas (salt basins near
the Dead Sea); Le. v. 1f., viii. 22 f.,
33 (the Lake of Gennesaret). Thus
the Acuvn tov mupos stands in marked
contrast with the aBvocos (ix. 1 ff,
xx. I ff.); the Beast and False Prophet
are not cast into a bottomless dungeon,
to be kept in safe custody, but into a
pool of blazing sulphur, where they
will be consumed. It is the utter
destruction and consumption of the
two systems which is in view; like
Babylon (xvii. 16, xviii. 8), they are to
be burnt with fire; not a vestige of
them will be left in the new order.
‘H Aiuyn tr. mw. xtTr., Or an equivalent
phrase, occurs again in xx. Io, 14f,
xxi. 8; the use of the definite article
on its first appearance seems to imply
that the conception was already
familiar to the Asian Churches;
compare xi. 7 ro Onpiov xrX., note.
Possibly it was a local expression for
the yéevva rod mupds-F hich was familiar
to Palestinian Christians (Mt. y. 22 ff,
Me. ix. 43, note, Jac. iii. 6; ef. Secrets
of Enoch, x. 2 “a gloomy fire is
always burning, and a fiery river goes
forth,” with Charles’s note); xacouevns
ev Geiw, however, points rather to the
story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.
xix. 24; cf. Ez xxxvill22) ee
kavouerns, if original, can only be a
slip due to hasty writing or dictation;
cf. xxi. 8 rH Aiuyn TH Katoperyn. For
betov see ix. 17 f., xiv. 10, notes.
21. Kat of Aowrol avextavOnoay krX.]
The rest of the enemy, the kings and
XX, 1]
, - t / - / 5 -
év 7H poupaia ToU kaOnpevou emt TOU
> > - - \
€£eN Gove) €K TOU TTOMATOS aUTOU, Kal
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
ov
L777 OU
/ \
TaAVTa Ta
? / > - - ; -~ ©
opvea exopTac Ono av EK TWV TAaPKWY AUTWY “st
7?
"Kal eidov ayyeXov KaTaBaivoyvra ék Tov ovpavov, 1 XX.
21 opvea] Onpia A*Y'4
XX 1 ecdoy & min?) cdov AQ 7 g2 130 | ayyedov] pr addov Re* (16) 32 (39) Byre™
arm®*** aeth anon* | om ex rou oup. &* (hab &**)
their hosts (v. 19), were not cast, like
the Beast and the Prophet, into the
Lake of Fire, but slain outright by
the sword of the Word ; contrast As-
cension of Isaiah iv. 14 (ed. Charles,
p. 33), “He will drag Beliar into
Gehenna, and also his armies.” That
this wholesale slaughter is to be
understood in a purely spiritual sense
is clear from the words 17 ¢feAOovon
€x Tov oropatos avtov which follow.
The sword is that of which St Paul
speaks in Eph. Vi. 17 Thy payatpay TOU
mvevmatos, 6 ect priya Oeov, and the
action of the living Word who wields
it may be illustrated by Heb. iv. 12
(Gv yap 6 Noyos tov Geot xai evepyns
kal Touwrepos Umép Tacay payaipay
Sicropuoy Kai Stixvovpevos aypt wepirpov
Wuxjs kal mvevparos, apuay te Kal
pueov. In interpreting, room should
probably be allowed for punitive as
well as for restorative operations; the
Word slays by pronouncing judgement
as well as by reducing to the obedience
of faith. But it is probably the latter
process which is chiefly in view; the
slaying of the €y@pa cis @eov, of the
self which resists Christ; cf. Gal. ii.
19 f., vi. 14, and for the exact figure,
though used with a somewhat different
reference, Eph. ii. 16 a@roxreivas ryy
éxdpav. Thus the vision of the
victorious Word fulfils itself in any
movement which leads to conversions
on a great scale, such as that which
attended the preaching of Boniface;
and it may find a more complete ac-
complishment at a time yet future,
when Christ will work through some
new Apostle of the Gentiles for the
traxon evar (Rom. xv. 18).
kal mavta Ta dpvea €xopracbnaay éx
Tov capkav aitay| See vr. 17 f., notes.
The words belong to the scenery of
the context, and need no precise
interpretation such as that of Andreas
(opvea S€ tovs ayyéAous wydpacev), Or
of Primasius (“invitantur spirituales
ad caenam”). The number of the
slain justified the anticipations of the
angel who invited all the vultures of
the world to feast upon them. Schoett-
gen quotes a Rabbinical parallel, syn.
Sohar, p. 114, n. 25 “illo tempore
cum Deus vindictam exercebit pro
populo suo Israel, carnibus hostium
illorum caenabuntur omnes bestiae
mensibus xii, et aves cibum exinde
habebunt vii annos.”
XX. 1—6, THE Tuousanp YEARS
OF SaTan’s CAPTIVITY AND THE
MARTYRS’ REIGN.
I. Kat eidov ayyeXov xatraBaivovra
€x Tov ovpavov xtA.| The formula xai
eiSov does not, like pera radra eldor, de-
termine the order of time in which the
Vision was seen relatively to the visions
which precede it, but merely connects
it with a series of visions which for
whatever purpose the writer has seen
fit to bring together in this part of
his book ; cf. xix. 11, 17, 19, XX. 4, II,
12, xxi. 1, and contrast pera ravra
efSoy in xviii. 1, and pera r. Heovea
in xix. 1. It must not, therefore, be
assumed that the events now to be
described chronologically follow the
destruction of the Beast and the False
Prophet and their army.
In the present vision, as in that of
c. XViii.,an angel descends from heaven,
charged with a special mission (xviii. 1,
note). He carries the key (on xX«iv
17—2
260
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 1
af \ > lon ) / Ay viel /
éyovta TyHv KNelv THS dBUVTTOU Kai &Nuow pEeyadny
\ \ ~ lod
2 él THY XElpa avToU.
2 Ae , \ /
Kal €xpadTnoev Tov SpakovTa,
€ af € > ~ e/ > id As -
0 dis 6 apxatos, os éotiv AtaBodos Kal 6 caTavas,
\ to oN / of 3 \. 5? ’ \ >
3 Kat E€Onoev avTov yxiALa ETH, *KaL EBarXev avTov els
1 kXew RAQ min*>] kheeda 1 7 al Ar | em tyv xecpa AQ min?! Andr Ar] ev ty
xecpt & 38 syrr arm
2 0 ogis 0 apxatos A] Tov odw Tov apxacoy SQ mino™vid Andr
Ar | os AQ min™""!4] 9 & | diaBodos] pro & 14 38 79 97 Ar (om AQ min?! Andr) | o
caravas] OM o I 130 186 al**™ +4 6 rraywy THv o1koupervny odnv Q 186 alfere3> syr Ar
2-3 Om xia ern Kat EBarev avrov & (propter homoeotel)
=kXeida see i. 18, note) which unlocks
the mouth of the shaft that leads down
into the Abyss; cf. ix. I 7 KAels Tod
péaros tis aBiaoou (note). “H aBvc-
gos stands here in sharp contrast with
7 Alwyn (xix. 20); the locked dungeon
with its black and bottomless depths
forms an antithesis to the open, shallow
pool of fire.
The angel who is charged with the
key of the Abyss carries also a manacle;
on addvors as distinguished from zédy
see Mc. vy. 4, note, and Acts xii. 7
eێmecay avrov al adioeis ex TOY YELPAV;
and cf. Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 8,
note 2. The fetter isof great size, being
intended to hold a prisoner of no ordi-
nary strength—one stronger than Sam-
son (Jud. xvi. 6 ff.), stronger than the
‘Legion’ who tore asunder the chains
that secured the Gerasene (Me. /.c.); an
ioxupos than whom there is but one
stronger (Le. xi. 21 f.). The great
chain lies.on the angel’s hand (ézi rip
xeilpa= eri ths xepds=nearly & r7
xetpl, cf. i. 16, 20), ready for use as
soon as he comes upon the criminal.
2. kal €xpdrnoev tov Spaxovra kth. ]
‘The Dragon, who from the first (xiii.
2, 4, notes) has been behind the revolt
led by the Beast and False Prophet,
but hitherto has escaped justice, is
now seized and chained: on xpareiv
followed by the acc. see ii. 1, note.
‘O ddis 6 apxaios, ds éorw KTr., a
parenthesis (cf. i. 5, ii. 13, notes) bor-
rowed from xii. 9, where see note.
For the present the Dragon is not
slain or consumed, but only made a
prisoner (for édycev in this sense see
ix. 14, and cf. Mt. xxvii. 2, Me. vi. 17,
Le. xiii. 16, Acts xii. 6, xxii. 5) for a
term of a thousand years, ie. a long
period of time, a great epoch in
human history ; cf. Andreas: yi\ua de
€Tn OU TavT@s Ta Tooad’Ta TO apiOue
voeiv evAoyor: ovd€ yap mepl av hnow
o Aavid (Ps. civ.:=cv. 8)...eis xsAias
yeveds Sexaxis Exarov ravtas aptOpnoat
duvaueOa, adda tras woddas; Beatus:
“pro eloquendi modo dicit, sicut est
illud intellegendum in mille genera-
tiones, cum non sint mille.” For the
interpretation of this period see the
third note on v. 6, below.
3. Kal €Badev avrov eis Thy GBvacov
xt\.] Satan, powerless in the hands
of the angel, who exercises Divine
power (Andreas: iva dein kal trav
Aetroupytxav Suvdyewy TovTov Arrova
kata Svvauv), and fettered, is flung
down the shaft into the Abyss, the
mouth of which is at once locked and
made secure. The Abyss is the desti-
nation to which the ‘Legion’ looks
forward (Le. viii. 31 mapexad\ouvv avrov
iva pi) emiraén avtois eis THY GBvacov
are Geiv), and it is under the charge
of the Angel Abaddon (Apollyon) (ix.
11, note), who is by some interpreters
identified with Satan himself, and
is at least a kindred power. Thus
the Dragon’s committal is in effect
a limitation to his proper sphere of
influence ; already he has been cast
out of Heaven (xii. 9), now he is cast
out of the earth, and returns to his
own place.
i
XX. 4]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
261
\ 4 \ 7 ‘ ’ / ; /
Tyv aBvocov, Kai Exhewev Kal éxppayiwev eTavw
> ~ \ / a \ » of - \
auToU, iva uy TWAaVYNON ETL TA éOvn, ax pe Tereo On Ta
, / \ - - a > \
xirua Eryn’ wera TavTa det AvOAvat a’Tov puKpoVv
xpovoy,
4 \ > / \ > / 2.9 > /
Kal €L100V Opovous, Kal exabiorav €7 QUTOUS, 4
3 €mwavw avrou] expevws avtov A | rAavnon (-cec 8) A 1 79 95] tAava Q min*® Ar |
Om evi I 14 40 me aeth anon*” | ra xia] OM Ta I 12
al™ ygcledemlis6 me arm aeth Andr Ar vera de 7. 29 30 130 SY
al?!) idov AQ 7 g2 130
"Eodhpaywrey eravw avrov—a last
precaution taken to prevent escape.
Not only is the pit’s mouth shut and
locked ; it is sealed. Inc. vy. 1 seven
seals guard the secrets of a papyrus
roll; in vii. 2 a seal stamps the Divine
impress upon the servants of God.
The use of the seal here is parallel to
that described in Mt. xxvii. 66 jodadi-
eavro Tov Tabor odpayicavres Tov AiBov
peta tis Kovotwdias ; cf. Ev. Petr. 8
éréxptcay éxta odpayidas. The pur-
pose of sealing the entrance toa prison
was to prevent any attempt at escape
or rescue passing unobserved; see
Dan. vi. 17, LXX. 6zas p7...0 Bacireds
avrov avaomacy é€x Tov Naxxov, and cf.
Bel 11 ff.
tva py mAaynon KTA.| The confine-
ment of Satan to the “Abyss is not so
much a punitive as a precautionary
measure; so long as he is in the Abyss,
he cannot deceive the nations, as he
had been used to do. To mislead on
a great scale is his business and raison
Wétre ; see xii. 9 6 mAaVaY THY oiKov-
pévny Arp, and cf. Jo. viii. 44 dray
adj To Wevdos, ex trav (Siwy Nadel, dri
Wevotns eotiv cal 6 ratip a’tov. Now
his activity is checked for a season ;
the great malefactor is in custody,
and there is no fear that he will break
his prison while his term of imprison-
ment lasts. Afterwards he must be
released for a little while: jcpov
is relative, as in Jo. vii. 33, xii. 35,
Apoc. vi. 11—the release will be brief
in comparison with the captivity. But
short or long, it must come; there
is a necessity for it (dei), founded on
79 186 | wera rauTa] pr xa 1
4 ecdov Nr 186
some mystery of the Divine Will
This use of Sei, frequent in the N.T.
(Mt. xxiv. 6, xxvi. 54, Me. viii. 31,
ix. 11, xiii. 7, Le. xxiv. 26, 44, Jo. xii
34, XX. 9, Acts XVil. 3, xxiii. 11 ; in this
book, i. 1, iv. 1, xi. 5, xiii. 10, xvii. 11)
occurs first in the versions of Daniel
ii. 28, 45 where a dei yeveobar =*7 1D
NUT2. It is in vain to speculate on
the grounds of this necessity, but it
may be that the Christian nations
which have long acquiesced in the
faith without conviction will need to
be sifted before the end; cf. Le. xxii.
31 idov o catavas ée€ntnoaTo pas Tod
ouacat ws Tov giroy. A short exposure
to the stress of Satan’s évépyeva tAayys
(2 Th. ii. 11) may suffice to separate
the wheat from the chaff.
4. Kai eidov Opdvous, kai éxabioay er
avrovs xrA.] Another vision, which
is shewn by the sequel (7. 7 ra yiAra
étm) to be synchronous with Satan’s
captivity. The scene is from Daniel
Vil. 9 €Oewpouv Ews Gre Opdvor éréOncay;
the indefinite éxaé:cav, which follows
here, resembles Dan. viii. 26 rd xpe-
Thptov exadioev, ‘the court sat’; the
plural is perhaps meant to include
Christ and His assessors, the Apostles
(Mt. xix. 28) and Saints (1 Cor. vi. 3);
cf. Dan. vii. 22 ro kpiva Ehwxey ayiors
‘Yviorov. To these is given the right
of pronouncing sentence (xpiua); they
are invested with judicial authority.
On @pévos see ii. 13, note; it is here
the judge’s chair, placed upon the
S8yua, where he sits to hear cases and
deliver judgement; cf. Jo. xix. 13 6
262
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 4
\ i > / ] ~ \ \ \ >
kal Kplua €000n aUTOLS, Kal TAs Wuyas TWwV Te7réeX\E-
, 5 \ \ / 4 | a \ 5 \ \ ee
KLOMEVWY OLA THV MapTuplav nOOU Kal OLA TOV oyov
lal io \ e/ ? / \ , xO
Tov Qeov, Kat oiTivEs OV TpoTEKVYHTAaV TO Bnpiov OvdE
\ es, > a \ el \ / rete, \
THY ELKOVA QAUTOU KAL OUK éXaov TO XAPAY Ma e€7l TO
\ \ \ = > VS) \
METWITOY Kal El THY Yelpa avTwy' Kat ECno-av Kal
4 Tw TemeNeKicmevew (-KnEvwy 130)] Tas TemeeKicMEvas SYY TwY TeToAEUNMEVwY
A | ryv paprupiay] ro ovoua arm* Cypr | om dia 2° me | rov Oeov] avrov 130 | Kat
orwes] ec Twes ow | Tw Onpww I 32 49 90 QI gs al Andr | ovde] ovre 1 186 alPerme
Andr | 77 ecxove 7 49 91 95 al™ 4 | ro werwrov] Tay weTwrwv 7 12 16 39 79 94 130+
aurwy I 49 79 gI™'4 al vgtllips4 me arm aeth | om em 2° me | ras xetpas g4 Vg syrs™ |
om ka efnoay me
ovv TlewGros...exaicev émi Byparos ;
Eo. Petr. 3 éxabicav adrov emi xadéSpay
kptoews ; Acts xxv. 6, 17, 1 Cor. vi. 4
Tovtous kaGifere, i.e. ‘make judges.’
The picture presented to the mind is
that of a state of society in which
Christian opinion is dominant, and
positions of influence and authority
are held by believers and not, as in
the age of St John, by pagans and
persecutors.
kal Tas Wuyxas Tov memedeKicpEvoY
xth.] Se. etdov. In vi. 9 the souls of
the martyrs were seen under the Altar,
crying for vengeance. It has now
been awarded (xix. 2 é&ediknoev To
aia tov SovtAwv airov), and they
appear again, living and reigning with
Christ. For eodaypéver (vi. 9, xviii.
24), which associated the martyrs with
the Sacrificed Lamb (v. 6, 9, 12, xiii. 8),
the Apocalyptist now writes memee-
keopevoyv, ‘beheaded with the médexus
(securis), the traditional instrument
of capital punishment in republican
Rome, which, though under the Empire
superseded by the sword (Acts xii. 2),
still lingered in the memory of the
provincials ; ef. Diod. Sic. xix. rIo1
paBdioas émehéxive xaTad TO marpLov
€Oos; Polyb. i. 7. 12 paoriywcartes
amavras Kata TO map avTois éOos €reXe-
xoav. The Seer still has in his mind
the martyrs of his own age, the victims
of Nero and Domitian. With da ryv
papruptay “Inood cf. i. 9, xii. 17, xix. 10,
notes ; and for da rov Adyov Tod Beod
see i. 9, Vi. 9.
kal olrives ov mpoweKUynoay TO Onpiov
xth.]| Cf Cyprian, ad Fortun. 12
“vivere omnes dicit et regnare cum
Christo, non tantum qui occisi fuerint
sed quique in fidei suae firmitate et
Dei timore perstantes imaginem bes-
tiae non adoraverint.”. The triumph
of Christ is shared not by the martyrs
only but by all who under the sway
of the Beast and the False Prophet
suffered reproach, boycotting, im-
prisonment, loss of goods, or other
inconveniences, though they did not
win the martyr’s crown: ef. xiii. 15,
xiv. 9 ff., xvi. 2, Xix. 20, nObes. Kee
oirwes introduces a second class of
persons, ‘confessors,’ and others who
were faithful in the age of perse-
cution, with special reference to those
who in St John’s day were resisting
the Caesar-worship.
kai €(noav kat €Sacikevoay peta Tov
xptotod xia érn] The Christ Who
suffered under Tiberius now lives
(i. 18) and reigns, as the vision of c. xix.
has shewn (vz. 12, 16), and His life and
royalty are to be shared for a thousand
years by the martyrs and confessors of
the Church. ‘O ypio7res occurs in the
Apocalypse only in xi. 15, xii. JO,
xx. 4, 6, and is probably in each
instance a reminiscence of Ps. ii. 2.
The Lord’s Anointed, against Whom
the kings of the earth conspired, has
XX. 6]
b / \ - ~ / /
éBaciNevoay peta TOU yplaTOU yYiua ETH.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
263
Sot 5
\ - lod , ” »/ - \ ,
Nowrol Twy veKpwv oUK EToav aypt Terr Oy Ta yiNua
yf
€T?.
TA c / e /
avTy 1) avaoTacts 1) TpwT).
6 , ‘6
Makaplos Kat 0
of e »f / , - ’ / - / ’ \
y rs fi
“of faai oO EX wv Mepos EV TH aVaCOTaCEL TH TT PWT Eel
4 xtua ern] ra x. «. Q min?! syr Ar xiALors erTegw 130
5 OM ot AoiraL...x.
erm S 7 8 14 29 92 al” syr (propter homoeotel) | 0 Aoroc] pr xac Q 1 12 26 31 alPlal®
vgiemlipss** me Andr Ar | 7. vexpwr] 7. avOpwrwy Q 32 34 eorum Vict Aug Prim |
efnoay AQ min*re? yizerunt vg me Aug Prim Ar] ave{ncay Vict™4 (revizerunt) ave-
oTnvay I
triumphed over His enemies, and His
victory ensures that of those who
have fought on His side.
5. of Aourot ray vexpwr ov e(noav
Gxpe tederO7 ta yidca éry] To infer
from this statement, as many ex-
positors have done, that the €{ncay of
v. 4 must be understood of bodily
resuscitation, is to interpret apoca-
lyptic prophecy by methods of exegesis
which are proper to ordinary narrative.
The Seer merely guards against the
impression that he had referred to
the General Resurrection, which will
follow and not precede the Thousand
Years of the Martyrs’ reign. On
e(noav=ave(noay see ii. 8, note, and
for dypi reAeo Op cf. Blass, Gr. p. 219.
Attn 9 avaoracis 7 mpwrn: this, i.e.
the return of the martyrs and con-
fessors to life at the beginning of the
Thousand Years, is the First Resur-
rection. It belongs to the Apoca-
lyptist’s view of things to see the
great realities of life and death
arranged in antithetical pairs, in
which one of the two facts belongs to
the present order, and the other, its
greater counterpart, to the future ;
cf. xxi. I 6 mpa@ros ovpavos, 1) mpairn
yn, contrasted with ovp. xaios, y
kaw7 ; li. 11, XX. 6, 14, xxi. 8 6 Gavaros
6 Sevrepos or 6 8. @avaros, implying a
mpa@ros Gavaros, though the latter is
not expressly named. So here the
First Resurrection is one which takes
effect in the present life, in contrast
with that which belongs to the new
order and is to be introduced by the
6 om Kat aytos 14 92 Or'™ | exc] pr ore arm
Parousia. There is nothing analogous
in this to 1 Th. iv.
XpioT@ avacrnocorra mpartorv, for mpe-
rov is there in antithesis to €rera
nmeis of Corres xtA., Le. the dead in
Christ are contrasted with His mem-
bers who will be living upon earth at
the time of His coming. Nor again
is 1 Cor. xv. 23 really parallel; there
St Paul defines the order in which
the Resurrection will take place at
the Second Advent, and his words
(€rerra of Tov xpioroU ev TH Tapovcia
avrov) are not limited, as St John’s
are, to the martyrs and confessors,
but embrace all loyal members of the
Church. Hence Origen’s remark
(fragm. in Isa. ap. Pamph. Apod 7) is
inapplicable here: ‘“considerandum
est...ne forte dividi possit omnis
reswrrectionis ratio in duas partes, id
est in eos qui salvandi sunt iustos, et
etiam in eos qui cruciandi sunt pecca-
tores.”. On the probable meaning of
St John’s First Resurrection see note
after v. 6.
6. jpaxapios Kai dys 6 éyav pepos
xrA.] <A fifth Apocalyptic beatitude
(cf. 1.3, XIV. 13, XVL 15; XIX. 9 KEL
14), distinguished from the other six
by the addition of Gywos to paxapws.
He to whom this paxapiopos belongs
is not only happy, but holy; he is in
the highest degree worthy of the
name of Saint; he is beatified, he is
canonized by the voice of the Spirit
of Jesus. With 6 éyov pépos ev r. a. ef.
Jo, xiii. 8 ovx Exers pepos per’ €uod, and
the use of ro peépos in xxi. 8, xxii. 19.
Pag =e
10 ot vexpot ev
264
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 6
/ / / 5) yf / ,
TouTwy 0 devtepos Oavatos ovK Exer E€ovoiav, aA
6 0 Oavaros o Sevrepos 1 49 79 alt me | adda &
The grounds of the beatification are
added. (1) ‘Over these (i.e. ei ray
exovr@y pepos xtA.) the Second Death
(see below, v. 14, note) has no control’;
the first is past already and for them
there remains no other. The words
recall Rom. vi. 9 ovkére amoOuycket,
Gavaros avTov ovKere kuptever, but the
reference there is to the first death
only. (2) ‘On the contrary (dAX’)
they shall be priests of God and the
Christ’; cf. i. 6 émoinoey npas...iepeis
T® Oe@ kal matTpi avTov; V. 10 émoin-
gas avtovs TO Oe@ nuav...iepeis. The
destiny purchased by the Christ for
all Christians will be realized in
those who partake in the First
Resurrection ; for them priestly ser-
vice in the glory of its ideal per-
fection is an accomplished fact. The
inclusion of Christ with God in the
Object of Divine service is peculiar
to this passage, but it agrees with
what has been said in ¢. v. 8 ff. as to
the joint worship of God and of the
Lamb by heavenly beings, and with
the general tendency of the Book to
regard Christ as the Equivalent of
God. (3) There is yet a third reason
for the paxapiopos of the martyrs and
confessors ; ‘they shall reign with the
Christ during the thousand years’
(i.e. those mentioned in v. 4). Priest-
hood and royalty are the mutually
complementary aspects of the service
of God, “cui servire regnare est”;
Ci OfN. 10, Ex. 3, 5. notes. It: is
important to notice that no hint is
given as to where this service is to be
rendered and this royalty to be ex-
ercised ; emi ris yas (c. v. 10) has no
place here either in v. 4 or in 2. 6,
and must not be read between the
lines.
Any serious attempt to interpret
the vision of the Thousand Years
must begin with an examination,
however cursory, of contemporary
Jewish belief upon the subject of
the Messianic Reign. (1) While the
O.T. represents this Reign as per-
manent (Dan. ii. 44, vii. 27 ; ef. Jo. xii.
34), the pseudepigraphic writers of
100 B.C.—I00 A.D., whether influenced
by Persian eschatology, as Briggs sug-
gests (Messiah of the Gospels, p. 15 f.)
or by the hopes of an unsettled age,
looked for a temporary triumph of
righteousness before the consum-
mation of all things; see Charles,
Eschatology, p. 200 ff. (2) To this
golden age varying periods were
assigned; thus in Zanchuma 7, in
answer to the question ‘How long
are the days of the Messiah?’, R.
Akiba replies, ‘Forty years’; other
Rabbinic computations give 100, 600,
1000, 2000, 7000 years (Weber, Jiid.
Theologie*, p. 372 f.; while in 4 Esdr.
vii. 28 we read: “revelabitur enim
filius meus [Jesus] cum his qui cum
eo, et iocundabit qui relicti sunt an-
nis quadringentis”). (3) In Enoch
xci. ff. human history is divided into
weeks, of which the eighth and ninth
witness the victory of righteousness,
while the tenth is that of the final
judgement, followed by the creation
of a new heaven and the beginning of
an eternal order. The later Slavonic
Enoch (Secrets of E. xxxiii. 1 f., ed.
Charles, p. 46) makes the duration of
the world a single week of seven days,
each day consisting of 1000 years, to
be succeeded by an eighth day in
which there are “neither years nor
months nor weeks nor days nor hours,”
i.e. Eternity. This conception of a
week of millennia took root in early
Christian thought, and support for it
was found in an allegorical treatment
of Gen. ii. 1 ff. coupled with Ps. Ixxxix.
(xc.) 4; cf. Barn. ep. 15. 4 mpowéxere
Texva, Ti Aéyes TO Suverédecev ev &
nuépars* ToUTO Neyer Ure ev ELaxioyxiAlos
éreaw ouvTedéoet Kupios Ta cvprravra,
1) yap Nuepa map’ adt@ (onuaiver) xa
érn; Iren. v. 28. 3 7) yap juepa Kupiov
XX. 6]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
265
éxovTat iepeis TOU Geov Kai TOU xpioToU, Kal Bact-
> - \ / 7
Nevoovaw pet avTou [ra] yidia ETN.
6 evovra] eco arm | tov Geov x. Tov xpirov] pr kat NK Tw dew k. Tw xpioTw 38
pyre” | Bagi\evovew A | ra x. erm] om 7a A 130 186 al?! arm Andr Ar
@s a erm: ev 2 ody Huepas ouvrere-
ANeorat ra yeyovdra’ avepoy obv dri 7
ouvréAcca alrav ro |S Eros eoti; Clem.
Al. strom. iv. 25, § 161 6 xpovos...0 bia
Tov énra repiodwy Tay apiOpoupevwy eis
Tv dkxpotatny avaravaw anoxabioras.
The idea existed also in Zoroastrian-
ism (Hastings, D. B. iv. 990 5), but
the Judaeo-Christian tradition rests
clearly and sufficiently on the O.T.
It can scarcely be doubted that
St John’s mind was familiar with these
conceptions; yet he employs them
with considerable reserve. Either
from (3), or perhaps from the 0O.T.
itself (Ps. l.c., cf. 2 Pet. iii. 8), he
has adopted the symbolical term of
1000 years, whilst (1) has been so far
used that he assigns this limit to the
reign of the martyrs with Christ. But
St John does not commit himself to
a reign upon earth. When Dr Charles
writes (Eschatology, p. 349): “the
martyrs...reign with Christ personally
on earth for a thousand years (xx.
4—6), with Jerusalem as the centre
of the kingdom,” he introduces into
the eschatology of this passage ideas
collected from ce. y. 10, xx. 9, and
XXxi. 10.
Early Christian interpretation fell
inte the same snare. Thus Justin, in
answer to Trypho the Jew, admits
(dial. 80f.): éyd S€ Kai ef rwes elow
opOoyrvepoves kara wavra Xpioriavol Kai
acpxos avacracw yevnoerba émiora-
peOa, cat yAca Eryn €v “lepovoeadyp
oixodopunbeion Kai Koounbeion Kai mda-
tuvdeion, ws of mpodyracr “leCexinA Kai
*Hoaias (Ixy. 17 ff.) wai of GAXoe dyo-
Aoyovo.; adding after a little: zap’
Huw avnp tis & Svoua Iwas, els rav
aTooroA@y Tov xpioTou, €v atoxadiWer
yevonery att@ xilia Eryn roinovew ev
*Tepovoadnp Tovs TO Nyuetepw Xpiore
mioreveartas mpoedyrevoe, Where éy
‘Iepovoadne has been suggested by
Isa. Le., or imported from c¢. xxii. 5,
which refers to the final state. The
same confusion appears in Tertullian,
adv. Mare. iii. 24: “confitemur in
terra nobis regnum repromissum,
sed ante caelum, sed alio statu, ut-
pote post resurrectionem, in mille
annos in civitate divini operis
Hierusalem caelo delata” Still
further from St John’s thought is the
picture of sensuous bliss derived by
Papias (cf. Eus. 7. £. iii. 39) from an
apocryphal source (see Iren. y. 33. 3 f,
and Charles’s note on Apoc. Baruch,
xxix. 5), and strangely ascribed to our
Lord, and the grosser views attributed
to Cerinthus (ap. Eus. iii. 28 Aéyor
pert ™mY avacracw emrtyevov elvat TO
Bacitevoy Tov ypirrov, Kai mdAw ére-
Ouulacs kai ndovais év lepovcarnpm
THY GapKka moALtTevoperny dovrev-
ecv xrd.). There were, however, even
in Justin’s days many Christians who
refused to accept the chiliastic inter-
pretation of St John’s vision, as Justin
himself candidly confesses (/.c. todo! s
8 avd cai ray THs KaOapas Kat evoeSois
dvrwy Xpioriavay yveuns TOUTO 41) yrw-
pitew é€onuava go). At Alexandria
in the third century a materialistic
chiliasm was strongly condemned by
Origen (de prince. ii. 11. 2), and Diony-
sius (ap. Eus. H. £. vii. 25; ed. Feltoe,
p. 115); but no thorough examination
of this passage, with a constructive
purpose, seems to have been under-
taken by the Alexandrian school. To
Augustine the Church owes the first
serious effort to interpret Apoc. xx.
(de civ. Dei xx. 7 ff.). }He confesses
that he had at one time been disposed
to adopt a modified chiliasm, in which
“deliciae spirituales” were substituted
for the sensuous expectations of the
early milliarii. But a longer study
266
of the subject led him to a different
conclusion.“ He had learned to see
in the captivity of Satan nothing else
than the binding of the strong man by
the Stronger than he which the Lord
had foretold (Me. iii. 27, Le. xi. 22); in
the thousand years, the whole interval
between the first Advent and the last
conflict; in the reign of the Saints,
the entire course of the Kingdom
of Heaven; in the judgement given
to them, the binding and loosing of
sinners ; in the first resurrection, the
spiritual share in the Resurrection of
Christ which belongs to the baptized
(Col. iii. 1). This exegesis finds a place
in most of the ancient commentators,
both Greek and Latin, who wrote after
Augustine’s time.
There are points at which the
Augustinian interpretation forsakes
the guidance of St John’s words; it
overlooks, e.g., the limitation of the
first Resurrection to the martyrs and
confessors. But on the whole it seems
to be on right lines. The symbolism
of the Book is opposed to a literal
understanding of the Thousand Years,
and of the resurrection and reign of
the Saints with Christ. It is “the
souls” of the martyrs that St John
sees alive ; the resurrection is clearly
spiritual and not corporeal. / Augus-
tine’s reference to the parable of the
Strong Man armed is illuminating in
a high degree, even if it is impossible
to press it to the precise conclusion
which he reached.
Turning back to the vision itself,
we observe that it has points both
of contact and of contrast with the
Vision of the Two Witnesses in c. xi.
3 ff. In each a definite time is fixed
—in ¢. xi. 1260 days, in ¢. xx. 1000
years. If the 1260 days symbolize the
duration of the triumph of heathenism
(xi. 2 f, notes), the Iooo years as
clearly symbolize the duration of the
triumph of Christianity. In ¢. xi.
11 ff. the Two Witnesses after their
martyrdom rise and ascend to heayen
in the sight of their enemies ; in c. xx.
4 ff. the souls of the martyrs and con-
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 6
fessors live and reign with Christ. In
both passages we have virtuaily the
same fact symbolized, viz. the victory
of the principles for which the martyrs
died and the confessors endured hard-
ship and loss. How short the age of
persecution would be, when compared
with the duration of a dominant Chris-
tianity, is shewn by the adoption of a
term of 34 years in the one case and of
1000 years in the other. Blessed and
holy, indeed, were those who by their
brief resistance unto blood secured for
the Church so long a continuance of
peaceful service ; they would live and
reign with Christ as kings and priests
in the hearts of all succeeding genera-
tions of Christians, while their work
bore fruit in the subjection of the
civilized world to the obedience of
the faith.
If this or some similar interpreta-
tion be accepted, the question remains
at what epoch the great chapter in
history represented by the Thousand
Years began. An obvious answer
would be, ‘With the Conversion of
Constantine, or of the Empire. I,
however, the visions are to be re-
garded as following one another in
something like chronological order
(but see v. 1, note), St John has in
view the moment of the overthrow
of the Beast and the False Prophet,
i.e. the final break up of the Roman
world-power and its ally, the pagan
system of priestcraft and superstition.
But possibly the question, like many
another raised by this Book, admits
of no precise answer. The Seer of
the Apocalypse does not anticipate
history; he is content to emphasize
and express in apocalyptic language
the principles which guide the Divine
government of the world. That the
age of the Martyrs, however long it
might last, would be followed by a far
longer period of Christian supremacy
during which the faith for which the
martyrs died would live and reign, is
the essential teaching of the present
vision. When, under what circum-
stances, or by what means this happy
.
XX. 8]
\ oe -~ \ / 4 / ‘
7SKat orav reXecOn Ta yidia ETH, NVOHTETAL 6
‘
caravas eK THs cuAaKys avToU,
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
267
267
\
Skat €FeNevoeT aL 8
~ \ \ o> a / , -
Travnoat Ta EOyy Ta €v Tats TETTAPTW Ywvias THs
-~ \ \ \ / = > \ >
YNS> TOV lwy Kal Mayor, TVVAYayelyV @uTOvus Els
7 orav re\ecOn] wera Q7 14 29 92 min?) arm Ar
8 ra €Ovn] pr zav7a &
79 syrs" arm! | 7a ev] om ra N 14 29 35 87 92 130 the syr*™ arm! | reccapow]
terpagt N | rov wy] pr xac 79 arm
Maywy] pr tov &* Q min?! | cuvayaryew] pr cae
S rr (12) 17 31 32 79 186 vg syrs” arm‘ aeth Aug Prim
result should be attained, St John does
not foresee, and has not attempted
to explain. It might have been well
if students of his book had always
followed the example of this wise
reserve.
7—10. AFTER THE THOUSAND
Years. RELEASE or Satan: War
or Goc AND Macoe.
7. Kat Grav teXeoOn Ta xia Ern,
AvOnoera xTr.] ‘Whensoever the thou-
sand years shall end, Satan shall be
released.’ The use of the future tense
is carried on from x. 6 into rr. 7, 8,
with the result that this part of the
vision assumes the form of a prophecy.
The dei AvOjvat avrov pixpov ypovoy of
v. 3 is at length to be accomplished ;
the thousand years of the Martyrs’
Reign (now identified with the thou-
sand years of Satan’s captivity; cf.
vv. 2—5) being ended, he will be set
free from his prison (for this sense
of duAakn see ii. 10, and ef. xviii. 2,
note), and troublous times will begin
again. As the Seer ascribes the first
persecution under Nero to Satan’s
wrath at his expulsion from Heaven
(xii. 13, note), so the final outbreak
of hostility against the Church is attri-
buted to his return to the earth after
long imprisonment in the Abyss.
8. Kai efeXevoerat rAaYAGTA Ta EOvn
xrr.] Cf. Bede: “exibit...: in apertam
persecutionem de latebris erumpet
odiorum.” A thousand years have
wrought no change in Satan’s methods;
no sooner has he been set free than
he is at his old work of deceiving
the world (v. 3, note), and turning it
against the Church; his limitations
removed, the évépyea mAdyns begins
again. Ta ev tais réocapow yevias
Ths yns (see c. vii. 1, note), ie. all the
nations of the world, however remote ;
cf. Ez. vii. 2 ro mépas free emi ras
Tésoapas mrépvyas THs yfs, Le. on the
whole land. The movement which
St John foresees is not dictated by
an imperial policy, but is the result
of a common impulse which will seize
men of all races and nationalities.
tov Tey cat Maywy] Magog (2132
appears first in Gen. x. 2 (see Driver's
note); but the immediate reference
here is to Ez. xxxviii—xxxix., where
the prophet conceives of a great in-
vasion of the land of Israel by Gog
(3}3), whom he connects with the land
of Magog (xxxvili. 2 emi Tay cat ry
ynv Tov Mayoy), and describes as the
prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal
—the two last usually identified with
tribes inhabiting the S. and SE.
shores of the Euxine. “The ex-
pedition imagined by the prophet
is no doubt modelled upon the great
irruption of the Scythians into Asia
(Hdt. i. 104—6) which took place in
630 Bc.” (Driver on Gen. Zc.) Jo-
sephus identifies Magog with the
Scythians (antt. i. 6. I Mayawyns Se
Tovs am’ a’Tov Maywyas ovopacbevras
@xicev, SKiOas S€ vn’ avrady, sc. Trav
‘EAAnver, tporayopevopevous), and the
older interpreters of the Apocalypse
thought of the Scythians here. But
whatever Gog and Magog may have
meant to Ezekiel, St John’s phrase
tov Tey cai Maywy has no definite
§ the
268
\ / ec ¢
Tov WoAEuOV, WY O
>
9 Oaracons. %Kal
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 8
\ A e t sf a
cip.O 10s aAUTOV WS 1 aos THS
/ 5) \ \ / a ~
aveBnoay émt TO TAATOS THS YS,
8 rov moAdenov] om Tov 1 38 49 79 186 al™ the arm Andr | om aurwy 1 38 48 49
79 al™™ arm* Andr Ar
geographical associations ; possibly it
comes not directly from Ezekiel, but
from Jewish apocalyptic sources in
which it had assumed a new con-
notation. In the Rabbinical writings
Gog and Magog appear as the enemies
_ of the Messiah; cf. the Jerusalem
Targum on Num. xi. 29 “Eldad et
Medad (cf. Herm. vis. ii. 3, Fabric.
cod. pseud. V. T. i. p. 801 ff.), ambo
isti prophetarunt simul et dixerunt:
‘In fine extremitatis dierum Gog et
Magog et exercitus eorum adscen-
dent Hierosolyma, et per manus regis
Messiae ipsi cadent’” ; Aboda Sarai.
f. 36 “quando videbunt bellum Gog
et Magog dicet ad eos Messias: ‘Ad
quid hue yenistis?’ Respondebunt
‘Adversus Dominum et adversus
Christum eius’”; for other Rabbinical
passages see Wetstein ad /.; Schoett-
gen, de Mess. (ii. pp. 68, 227); Weber,
Jiid. Theol. p. 386 ff. et passim. See
also Orac. Sibyll. iii. 319 ff. at al cou,
xapyn Toy (cf. Book of Jubilees, ed.
Charles, p. 74) 7d€ Mayowy, péoov
ovea | AlOirey rotapey, rocov aiaros
éxxupa defn, | kal kpicews oiknos év
avOpdmowwt Kexdyjon; tb. 512 ff. at al
cot, Tay 7b€ Maywy, kal raow epeéijs |
..Tacw yap, doa xOuva vateraovor, |
“Yypuoros Seivny émumeuwet €Oveot mAn-
yar 5 for the expansion of the legend
in the later apocalypses see Bousset,
Der Antichrist, esp. p. 128 f. Con-
jecture was busy among Christian
interpreters of the fourth and follow-
ing centuries as to the identity of
Gog and Magog. Eusebius (dem. ev.
ix. 3) mentions the view that Gog
represents the Roman Empire; Am-
brose (de fide ii. 16) says: “Gog
iste Gothus est,” while Andreas and
Arethas ad loc. speak of some who
thought that the Huns were intended.
Augustine, on the other hand (de civ.
Dei xx. 11), rightly rejects any such
narrowing of the sense: “toto namque
orbe terrarum significati sunt isti esse,
cum dictum est nationes guae sunt in
iv angulis terrae.” This great up-
rising of the nations will, he adds,
be the final protest of the world
against the Church: “haee enim
erit novissima persecutio quam sancta
ecclesia toto terrarum orbe patietur,
universa scilicet civitas Christi ab
universa diaboli civitate, quantacum-
que erit ubique super terram.”
ouvayayeiy avrovs eis Tov moepov
xth.] Cf. xvi. 14, where the same
words are used of the three froglike
spirits arising from the Dragon, the
Beast, and the False Prophet, which
gathered the Kings to the battle of
Har Magedon. A similar war is
described in xvii. 14, xix. 19; whether
the three passages refer to the same
event is not clear, but the war of
Gog and Magog appears to be dis-
tinguished by its position after the
Thousand Years (érav reheoO7 Ta x. €.)
and immediately before the Last
Judgement. Other onslaughts upon
the Church were preludes to this final
worldwide attack.
In dy 6 dpiOyos aidray as 1) dupos
tis Gakaoons the metaphor carries us
back to many O. T. contexts in which
a great host is described ; cf. e.g. Gen.
xxii. 17, Jos. xi. 4, Jud. vii. 12, 1 Regn.
xiii. 5, 2 Regn. xvii. 11, Judith ii, 20,
1 Mace, xin:
9. Kat aveBnoay eis TO mAdTos THs
yis| For ro mdaros r. y. see Sir. i 3
Uios ovpavod Kal mAaTos vis; Hab. i. 6
(of the Chaldean army) To é8vos.. TO
mropevopevoy ext Ta mAatn (A, TO mddros)
ris yis=VN %2NI2- The land of
Israel is doubtless in the Seer’s mind;
ef, Ez. xxxviii. 15 f. fers éx Tod romou
XX. 9]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 269
\ > / \ \ ~ e , 4 4
Kal €xukKN€voav TV Tape [0Anv TwWY ayiwy Kal THY
/ \ / \ , x 5 - ~
SqroAuy THY NYyamNMEVNY. Kal KATEN TUP EK TOU OUpavou
g exuxrevray AQ 2 8 29 49 al™] exuxdwoary & 1 7 31 38 130 186 ase™ Andr Ar |
Tw ayiwr)+Kat THY Tow Twr aywy Q 97
| €x Tov ovpavouv]+aro rou deou Q min?>
me the arm Vict Aug anon*“s Ar amo r. 6. 130 pr amor. 6. &°* P 7 al™ me vg syrr
Hier ex 7. 0. aro r. ovpavov 1 17 19 186
gov...kat €Oyn moddG pera cov...cuva-
yoy!) weyadn cai Svvayis ody, Kal
avaSnon emt rov Nady pov “IopanA ws
vedbeAn xadviar yy: en’ eoxatwv Tov
nmepav éorat, kai avakw oe emi THY yh
pou ; Enoch lvi. 6 (ed. Charles): “they
will march up to and tread under foot
the land of His elect ones, and the
land of His elect ones will be before
them a threshing floor and a path.”
In the aorist avé8ncav the writer slips
back into his usual apocalyptic manner
(cf. v. 7, note); he sees the hosts of
the invading army just as they appear
'on the horizon, mounting up, as it
were, on the edge of the great plain
—perhaps Esdraelon is still in his
thoughts (xvi. 16, note). Or avaBnva
may be used with its usual reference
to the backbone of central Palestine,
and the situation of Jerusalem.
kal exvkAevoay THY TapeuBorny Tar
ayiwy xr\.| Apringius: “nihil caeleste
sapiunt, nullam caelestis altitudinis
potentiam metuunt.” The ‘Camp of
the Saints’ and the ‘Beloved City’ are
two aspects of one body, the Universal
Church, whichis threatened by Gogand
Magog. TapepS8oAn, a word which, as
Phrynichus says, is dewas Maxedovixdr,
a reminiscence of Macedonian military
life, the constant Lxx. equivalent of
m3nd, a camp, Oran army on the march
(Ex. xiv. 19 f.) or engaged in battle
(Heb. xi. 34: see Westcott’s note),
recalls the picture of Israel marching
through the wilderness (Num. ii. 2 ff.),
and perhaps also of the brave stand
of the Maccabees against Antiochus
(1 Mace. v. 4o ff.). On the other hand
TONS 1 Hyarnué represents the
Church as the New Zion, the c/ritas
Dei (Heb. xii. 22), already potentially
set up on earth (cf. c. xxi. 10). ‘“H
nyarnuern looks back to Ps. Ixxvii.
(Ixxvili.) 68 ro dpos TO Decay yHyarnoer,
Ps, Ixxxvi. (Ixxxvii.) 2 dyara Kvpws
tas mUAas Sey vrep marta Ta oKnve-
pata laxw ; Hos. ii. 23 (B) xai ayarnow
(HMOAN) rhv ovx nyamnyerny (AQ, x.
eXejow T. ovx nAenuerny; for ON
= ayaray cf. Ps. xvii. (xviii.) 2, on which
see B.D.B. s.c. and Cheyne, Psalms,
p. 376). Wetstein compares Aesch.
Eum. 869 x#pas peracyeiv rhode
Oeopireotarns. The Beloved City
includes of course the Gentile Church,
once thy ovk ryarnuerny, but now one
with Israel in Christ; see Rom. ix. 25 f.
(SH.), 1 Pet. ii, 10 (Hort). KuxXevew
=kvuxAovy occurs also in Jo. x. 24 (B
exUkXevoav avrov oi “lovdaioe; WH.*
(Notes, p. 178) compare (n\evew
=(nroiv in Apoc. iii. 19, and arodexa-
reveww=arodexarouy in Le. xviii. 12
(S*B); for cuxAoty ‘besiege’ ef. Le. xix.
43 mapeuBadrovow oi €y@pol cov yapaxc
oot Kal TepixuxAdcovaiy oe, and 7), xxi.
20 Grav Se tSnre kuxNouperny vro oTparo-
méSwv lepovcadnu. The spiritual Jeru-
salem will be surrounded by a greater
host, but no épnuwors awaits her. As
to the sense in which she will be
besieged, Primasius is doubtless right:
“hoe est, in angustiis tribulationis
arctabitur, urgebitur, concludetur.”
kai xaté8n mip ex Tov ovpavow KrX.}
Cf. Ez. xxxviii. 22 cal mip xai Oeiov
BpeEw (Gen. xix. 24) én’ adroyv [se. roy
Toy] xai ext mavras rots per avrot
kai €’ €Ovn roAAa per avrov; ib. XXXiXx.
6 avoared@ Trip eri Pay (so B, but r fol-
lows M.T. with May#y). There is prob-
ably also an allusion to 4 Regn. i. 10, 12
KareSy Tp €K Tov ovpavow Kal karemayey
ear Gs ; “aS.
auToyv Kal Tous TevTNKOYTa avTOov—an
270
\ / > /
IO kal KaTePayev auvTous:
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 9
\ / G co
kal 0 dtaBorXos 0 TAaVMOY
\ / > \ , ~ \ \
avTous €BAnOn eis THY Niwyny Tov Trupos Kal Céiov,
e/ \ \ / \ € / \
Omov Kat TO Onpiov Kat 6 rLevdorpodpntns, Kal
/ / \ \ \ a
BacavcOncovTa juépas Kal vuKTOs els ToUs ai@vas
a /
TWYV ALWVWY.
1) LON / / \ /
ig * Kat eidov Opovoy wéeyay Nevkov Kal Tov KaOnpuevov
Io Geov] pr rou 8 7 13 16 18 32 95 al | om cae 3° Nr gt al vgMdemtol the syrsw
arm aeth | om evs Tous aiwvas Twy atwywy I 12 | Tov atwyos me
Tr evdov SP 186 alP!
Ar] cdov AQ 7 g2 130 (item v. 12) | NevKov] pr kac arm Prim
O.T. incident which had impressed
itself, as we know (Le. ix. 54), on the
mind of St John. For the future Gog
and Magog he foresees a destruction
as complete as that which overtook
the besiegers of the old city (4 Regn.
XUK. 35).
10. kat 6 dtaBodros 6 mAavaY avTovs
€Bdn6n xtrd.] The Deceiver of the
nations (for the pres. part. see Blass,
Gr. p. 198; Dr Gwynn’s Syriac version
uses the verbal noun uxs\—=
mAavos, Mt. xxvii. 63, or yons, 2 Tim.
iii. 13, Pesh., Gwynn, p. 87) escapes
the general doom only to be reserved
for one more terrible. Like the Beast
and the False Prophet before him he
is flung into the Lake of Fire (cf. xix.
20, note); kai Oeiov answers to ris
katonevns ev Oeiw there. Thus his
third and final punishment is reached
(compare xii. 9, xx. 2 f.)—so slowly
does the Divine Justice assert itself,
though the end has been foreseen
from the beginning; see Mt. xxv. 41
TO Tip TO aidmoy TO NTomwacpEvoy
T@ OtaBdAw Kal Tots ayyedos adrod.
"Omov kal, sc. €8AnOnoav; cf. xix. 20.
The three ringleaders are now at
length involved in the same hopeless
ruin, and, as was meet, suffer a punish-
ment more severe than those whom
they misled; whilst their dupes are
at once consumed by fire from heaven,
they are immersed in a fiery flood
where their torture is increasing and
perennial : Bacavnc Onoovrar(ix. 5, note)
quepas Kal vukros (iy. 8, Vii. 15, xii. 10,
Xlv. II) els rovs ai@vas Tav alavey
(i. 18, xi. 15, XIV. 11, xix) oe
It is not certain that these terrible
words can be pressed into the service
of the doctrine of the Last Things;
since two of the three subjects of the
Bacavicpos represent systems and not
persons, it is safer to regard them as
belonging to the scenery of the vision
rather than to its eschatological teach-
ing. But beyond a doubt St John
intends at least to teach that the
forces, personal or impersonal, which
have inspired mankind with false views
of life and antagonism to God and to
Christ will in the end be completely
subjugated, and, if not annihilated,
will at least be prevented from causing
further trouble. From the Lake of
Fire there is no release, unless eyil
itself should be ultimately consumed ;
and over that possibility there lies a
veil which our writer does not help
us to lift or pierce.
II—15. VISION OF THE GENERAL
RESURRECTION AND THE Last JUDGE-
MENT.
II. kat eldov Opovoy peyav AevKov
ktA.| All is now ready for the last
scene connected with the present
order. The Great White Throne con-
trasts with the @povo: of xx. 4; in the
final judgement there is but one
throne, since there is but One judge;
cf. Heb. xii. 23 xpiry Oe@ ravrav; Jae.
iv. 12 eis é€otiv...xpitns. The absolute
purity of this Supreme Court is sym-
bolized by the colour of the Throne;
XX. 12]
THE APOCALYPSE OF
ST JOHN 271
? ond . \ = / A t - \ c
€1 GUTOU, OU amo TOV TpOTwTOU EuyEY 1) Yi] Kal O
> / \ / «
Oupavos, Kal TOTTOS ©
oux evpeby auTots,
2 1 FD
Kal €l00Y 12
\ / \ t \ \ / ‘ -
TOUS VEKPOUS, TOUS bey aXous Kail TOUS MLKpOous, EOTWTAaS
It em avrov A 1 gs] em avrov PQ min®** ex aurw 33 35 emavw aurov & 38 | Tou
™pogwmrouv] om rov Q al?! Ephr Andr Ar + aurovu gs syrr
Q 4 26 31 32 48 Ar
ef. Dan. vii. 9, Th., ro €vdupa avrod woei
xt@v evkov...0 OApovos avtrov pdok
mupos; Enoch xviii. 8 damep Opdvos
Gov amd Aidov dovxa (“of alabaster,”
Charles, p. 89); and see Ps. ix. 1
éxadioas eri Opovov, 6 kpivwy diKato-
avvnv; xevi. (xevil.) 2 dcxacocvvy
kat kpipa xaropOwars tov Opovov av-
tov. The Judge is not named, and
there is solemnity in this reserve ; as
Bousset says : “der Name Gottes wird
hier wie iy. 2 f. ehrfurchtsvoll um-
schrieben.” But throughout the Book
6 kadnpevos emt tov Opdvov is the
Almighty Father (iv. 2 f, 9, v. 1, 7,
Ta. XO, Vil. IO, 15, Xix. 4, xxi. 5), as
distinguished from the Incarnate Son;
ef. 4 Esdr. vii. 33 “revelabitur Altissi-
mus (?” Bicees)) super sedem iudicii.”
That the Father will be the Supreme
Judge of mankind is a doctrine which
~ seems to join direct issue with Jo. y.
21 ovd€ yap 6 matnp Kpiver ovdéva, AANA
Thy Kpiow macav dedaxey ro vid, and
indeed with the whole current of early
Christian tradition (cf. Mt. xxv. 31 ff,
Acts Xvil. 31, 2 Cor. v. 10, 2 Tim. iv.
1); but a reconciliation of the two
views may be found in the oneness of
the Father and the Son (Jo. x. 30)—
when the Son acts, the Father acts
with and through Him (Jo. y. 19).
Thus St Paul can write in one place
(2 Cor. v. 10): havepwOnvar Sei Eurpo-
oGev rov Bnuatos Tov xpiorov, and in
another (Rom. xiv. 10): mavres yap
tapaotnoopeba TH Syuate Tov Geor.
But while this is borne in mind,
recognition must be given to the fact
that the Apocalypse regards judge-
ment as the prerogative of God (ef.
Vi. 10, xvi. 7, xix. 2); it belongs,
perhaps, to the Jewish-Christian
I2 TOUS [LLKpouUS kK. T. MEyadous
character of the Book that in this
supreme act prominence is given to
the Person of the Father, see the
Introduction, p. clxxii.
e > ‘ - ‘ ~ c -
ov amo TOU Tpom@mov Eduvyev n YN
{ the
kai 6 ovpavos| The non-eternity of the °
external order is taught in the O.T. ;
cf. Ps. ci. (cii.) 27 avrot (sc. of ovpavol)
drrodotvra, ov d€ diapeéverss Kal mavres
@s ipariv madawbnoovra ; Clii. (Civ.)
29, 30; Isa. li. 6 6 ovpavos ws Kamvos
eorepewOy (1213), 7 8€ yn ws ipariov
TadawOyjoera ; and the N.T. corrobo-
rates this doctrine; cf. Me. xiii. 31 6
ovpavos Kal u YI mrapedev corvra; 2 Pet.
lil. 10 of ovpavot poundov mS FO
ta. As the ancient Church saw
plainly, it is only the external order of
the world which is to be changed and
not its substance or material; so e.g.
Irenaeus, vy. 36. I: ov yap 7 vreotacts
ovde 4 ovoia THs KTicews eEadaviterac
.GAAa TO OXIA Tapayer TOU KdTpPOV
tovrov; Primasius, ad loc.: “figura
ergo praeterit, non natura”; Arethas :
1 puyn Tov ovpavod Kai Ths ys ov Tom
Kv onuaiver petavactacu,...adrAa dv-
ynv THY ard ths HOopas eis apOapciay.
For the metaphor epuyer cf. xvi. 20
Tmaca vngosepuyer, xalopn ov ¢ evpeOnoay.
"Ard TOU mporwrou xtA. is illustrated
by Ps. xevi. (xevii.) 5 ra dpn éeraxnoay...
avo mpoowmov Kupiov, and for romos
ovy evpeOn avrois see xii. 8, note.
12. xal elSov rots vexpovs xrA.] The
General Resurrection, described be-
low in ve. 13, is assumed for the
moment. The Great White Throne
is not surrounded, like the Throne
set in Heaven (iv. 2), with heavenly
beings, but with the human dead of all
former generations, and the dead of the
272
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 12
évwrtov TOU Opovou, kat BiBria ivoiyOnoav* Kat ado
/ > 7 A fee) ion ~ oe / €
BiBrLov jvoixOn, 8 éotw THs Cwns* Kal ExpiOnoay ot
b) Co / -
vexpol €k TwY yeypaupevwy ev Tots (1BAtols KaTa Ta
af > >
13 €pya avTwy.
Nv oh y \ \
3kal Edwkev 1) OaXacoa Tous vEeKpous
12 evwmiov] ere &* | Bpovov] Geov 1 al | om qvaxO. K. ado BiBiov K* | nvoecxOnoay
APQ 1 al] qvewxOnoay (avewxd.) 7 (37 38 49 91) al™ nvotay 2 8 29 30 130 al®
notte 9 13 16 27 39 | OM Kaz addo BiBAov nvarxOy I | nvarxOn] nrewxXOn (avewxO.) RQ
7 31 (37) al™t™ | rys gwys] om 77s 130+ uniuscuiusque hominum Aug | rors ByBdtots |
Tats BiBAos S
generation which shall be found alive
upon earth; the living (2 Tim. iv. 1)
are not mentioned here, partly because
they form an insignificant minority,
partly perhaps because the keen in-
terest which the first generation had
felt in the bearing of the Parousia
upon the ‘ quick’ (1 Th. iv. 13 f.) had
abated before the end of the century.
But all the dead are seen standing
(Le. xxi. 36, Rom. xiv. 10) before the
Throne, whatever their condition on
earth may have been (rovs peyadous k.
Tous pixpovs : Cf. xi, 18, xili. 16, xix. 5,
18), from the Proconsul, as that official
was often reminded by Christians
who appeared before him, down to
the meanest slave.
kal Si8Xia jvoixyOncav] The sentence
of the Judge is not arbitrary; it rests
upon written evidence; the books
which were opened contained, as it
seems, a record of the deeds of every
human being who came up for judge-
ment. The conception is based on
Dan. vii. 10 xpitnpiov éxabioev kal
BiBrou jvolxyOnoay, and it appears in
the Jewish apocalypses, e.g. Enoch xc.
20, “ that other took the sealed books
and opened them before the Lord of
the sheep”; Apoc. Baruch xxiv. I
(ed. Charles, p. 46 f.), “behold the
days come and the books will be
opened in which are written the sins
of all those who have sinned”; 4 Esdr.
vi. zo “libri aperientur ante faciem
firmamenti, et omnes videbunt simul.”
The Testament of Abraham, recen-
sion A (ed. James, p. 92f.), knows of
two recording angels: oi dé dv0 dyye-
Ro, 6 €k Se€idv Kal o e& apiorepar,
ovToL eiaiv of amoypapopuevor Tas auap-
rias kal ras dtcacocvvas; in recension
B (ib. p. 114f.) the same office
is fulfilled by Enoch, who is styled
ypappareis ths Sixacoovyns. The
true interpretation of the ‘books’ is
doubtless that given by Augustine,
though, misled by a gloss (“qui est
vita untuscuiusguc”), he wrongly
connects it with the ado P:Bdiov:
de civ. Det xx. 14 “quaedam igitur
vis est intellegenda divina qua fiet
ut cuique opera sua vel bona vel
mala cuncta in memoriam revocentur
et mentis intuitu mira celeritate
cernantur, ut accuset vel excuset
scientia conscientiam, atque ita simul
et omnes et singuli iudicentur.”
kal G\Xo BiBXiov Hvoiy6n xtr.] For
the Book of Life see iii. 5, xiii. 8,
notes. It is the roll of living citi-
zens of the New Jerusalem; cf.
Andreas: 7 6€ pia BiBdos ris (wns
€oTw 7 Ta TAY ayiwy yéypanrat GvopaTa;
Enoch xlvii. 3 “the books of the living
were opened before Him.” It is only
another and complementary view of
this ‘book’ which Bede offers when
he calls it “praescientia Dei,” for
God’s foreknowledge fulfils itself in
the lives of the elect. In their case
as well as in that of the rest of man-
kind the sentence is xara ra épya, as
St Paul saw no less clearly than St
John (Rom. ii. 5,2 Cor. v. 10; ef. Apoe.
ii: 25 xxi a
13. Kat S@xev 7 Oddacca Tovs VeR-
pots xrd.] The Resurrection, implied
in v. 12, is now described. The ac-
XX. 14]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
273
\ > rp a! \ € / \ « of ” \
TOUS EV auT1, Kal O Oavatos Kal O aons €Owkay TOUS
\ \ ~ \ > / vf \
vekpous Tous ev auvTois, Kal expiOyoay ExaaTos KaTa
Saf > -
Ta Epya avTwr.
4kal 6 Oavatos Kai 6 adns EBANOn- 14
13 7. vexpous T. ev aurn] T. €&v auTn Pv. 49 G6 130 186 al | o Gavaros] 7 afvocos me
(item 14) | edwxay] edwxev A 2 48 | 7. v. Tr. ev auras] T. ev avTos ¥. I 49 130 186 aeth |
expiOnoav] xarexpcOnoay & | avrwy] avrov Q 7 14 92 alPial?
cidents of death will not prevent any
of the dead from appearing before
the Judge; sea and land will alike
deliver up their tale. The Sea, as
ever in this island-drama, is fore-
most in the writers thoughts. It
has been the grave of thousands
whose restingplace could not be
marked by orAn or cippus, whose
ashes no columbarium had ever re-
ceived. Both Greeks and Romans
attached great importance to burial
and the inviolability of the tomb (cf.
Dill, Roman Society, p. 496; Ramsay,
Cities etc., ii. p. 514 ff.), and recoiled
with proportionate horror from the
thought of death by drowning or
even of burial at sea; there were
wild tales of the condition of souls
whose bodies had been lost at
sea, cf. Achilles Tatius, cited by
Wetstein: A€youor S€ Kai ev vdacr
Wuyas avypnuevas pndé eis adov Kxara-
Baivey Gdws, GAN avrod Tepi rd Vdap
éxew THY Aan. It is to the hope
inspired by the words of the Seer
that we owe the confidence with
which the Church now commits the
departed to the deep, “looking for
the resurrection of the body when the
Sea shall give up her dead.” So far
as the righteous are concerned, how-
ever, the hope appears also in the
Targum on Ps. Ixviii. 31: “reducam
iustos qui suffocati sunt in profundis
maris” Enoch (vii. 32) speaks only
of a rising of the dead from the dry
land.
kai 6 Oavatos kai o adns Swxay Ktr.]
Death and Hades are an inseparable
pair, as in i. 18, vi. 8 (notes), repre-
senting the two aspects of Death, the
physical fact and its spiritual conse-
quences (6 aéns rxohovOe). Here they
appear as two voracious and insatiable
monsters who have swallowed all past
generations, but are now forced to
disgorge their prey. The ‘harrowing
of Hell, which the Gospel of Nico-
demus connects with the Lord’s De-
scent into Hades, is thus seen to
belong in truth to His Return, when
the maupayos cai axdpecros “Adns will
be emptied by Him Who has the
keys of Death. But the primary
purpose of the great gaol-delivery is
judgement—a judgement which will
determine the spiritual condition of
each individual man; éxaoros adds a
feature not noticed in v 12, but
belonging to the Christian tradition ;
see Mt. xvi. 27, Rom. ii. 6, xiv. 12,
1 Cor. iii. 13, 2 Cor. v. 10, 1 Pet. i. 17,
and already recognized in this Book
(ii. 23).
14. kat 6 6. cai 6 adns €8rnOncav
eis tHv Niuymy Tod mupos xrir.] Le,
Death and Hades, the phenomenon
and the condition, were both irre-
vocably destroyed and effaced; ef.
Andreas: To pnxére €oeoGat Pavatoy
) POopar, aN adpCapoiay xai abavaciav
Baow\evew onpaivera. The immersion
of this symbolical pair in the Lake of
Fire is parallel to that of the Beast
and the False Prophet (xix. 20); it
can only mean the annihilation of the
forces indicated. St John expresses
in the language of symbol what St
Paul has said in direct words (1 Cor.
Xv. 26 €xyaros €yOpos Kkarapyeirac 6
@avaros); and both have probably in
view Isa. xxv. 8, Th. xarero6n (Aq.
Katarovricet) 6 Oavaros eis vixos, and
Hos. xiii. 14 rod 7) Sixn cov, Gavare ; rot
To Kévtpov cou, adn; (ef. 1 Cor. xv. 54 f.).
18
XXI.
274
4 J lol /
av eis THY NijuvyY TOU TUpOs.
/ / > / ~ /
15 devTEpos €oTiv, 4 Alyn TOU Tupos.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XX. 14
iy c 7 €
outros 0 Oavatos 6
I5 \ af >
Kal €l Tis OVX
evpeOn év T™ BiBrw THs Cwns yEeypapupévos, EBATOn
els THY NiuYNnY TOU TUPOS.
I \ ™ > \ \ \ r / c \
I Kat eidov ovpavov Kawov Kal ynv Kawyv: 6 yap
I4 OM ouTOs...
eoTw 1 18 31 41 42.94 97 arm” Prim | om ovros.
..Tov Tupos 186
me | 0 Gavaros o devrepos] o 6. Oavaros 38 | om 7 Aruyy Tov Tupos 1 18 31 41 42 94 al
yg"lelips6 me arm Prim
15 eupedn] evpebnoerar &* | ry BiBw] Tw BiBw Q 1 al®> Ar
XXI 1 ecdov SP min?! Ar] vdov AQ 7 32 130 (item v. 2)
Otros 6 6. 6 Sevrepos €or xr. is
quaintly rendered by Benson, “this is
Death the Second, the Lake of Fire.”
Death itself is swallowed up by a
greater and final Death. The Second
Death (ii. 11, xx. 6) is identified here,
and again in xxi. 8, with the Lake of
Fire; the latter is in the new order
the nearest analogue of Death as we
know it here.
I5. Kal et tis ovy evpébn ev TH
BiB\® THs CwAs xrd.] The Second
Death is shared by all who are not
enrolled among the living; cf. Bede:
“id est, qui non est iudicatus a Deo
vivus.” Here at length (cf. xxi. 8) the
Lake of Fire is associated with the
future condition of human beings;
i.e. it is treated as the counterpart of
the Jewish Gehenna, on which see
Me. ix. 43, note. Enoch (xe. 26) has
a similar representation of the fate of
the reprobate: “I saw at that time
how a like abyss was opened in the
midst of the earth, full of fire, and
those blinded sheep were brought, and
they were all judged and found guilty
and cast into that fiery abyss, and they
burned. ” Of. Petr. Apoc. 8 Xiuvn ris
Hv peyadn memAnpaopern BopBopov
reyouévov, ev & Hoav avOperoi ties
aroarpedorvtes tHv Stxacoovyny. The
conception furnisued the Christian
martyr with a last warning for the
Proconsul who threatened him with
the stake; see Polyc. mart. 40 rip
ameteis TO TpOs Wpav Katopevoy Kal per”
OXLlyov aBevvipevov ayvoeis yap TO Tis
peAAovoNs Kpicews Kai ai@viov Kokdcews
Tois aoeBéor tTypovpevoy mip. The
Apocalyptic Lake is doubtless the zip
To ai@muoy of Mt. xxv. 41, 46,—a
koAaots ai@mos Which is both the
reverse and the alternative of (7
aidvos. It is remarkable that here
as in Mt. Zc. the qualification for the
Second Death is a negative one (ovx
evpéOn, ovK emomoare). The negation
of eternal life is eternal death.
That there will be a resurrection
to death as well as to life is taught
already in Dan. xii. 2 éSeyepOnoovrat
.-.0UTOL eis overdurpov Kal eis alaxvyny
aidwov. Cf. JO. V. 29 éxmopevoovrat...
of ta data mpagavres eis avactaow
Kploeas.
XXI. 1—8. Tue Vision or A NEw
HEAVEN AND A New Earrtu.
I. kal cidov ovpaviy Kawvov Kat ynv
kawyv}] <All is now ready for a
revelation of the bliss of the Saints ;
cf. Bede: “finito iudicio quo malos
vidit damnandos, restat ut etiam de
bonis dicat.” The passing away of
earth and heaven before the Face of
the Judge (xx. 11) has prepared the
way for the present vision, but the
conception of a New Heaven and
Earth is not peculiar to St John —
or even to the N.T.; it occurs in
Isa. Ixy. 17 €orat yap 6 ovpavds Kawos
kal 1 yh Kau7 Ms} pwn Dry 4
nvm), Ixvi. 22 0 ovpavos xatvos Kal
) yi Kawi a ey Tow péver eve@mioy —
exov—perhaps also in Isa. li. 16 (see
XXI. 1]
Oe
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 275
mMp@Tos ovpavos Kal % mpwTn yn amndOav, Kal
I OM mpwrn 13 29 130 me arm Ir™ Aug Prim | arnday (-\fov) SA (Q 8g 13 29
go alfere20 gyrr Ar)] arn\Oev P 2 4 11 31 35 47 87 98 130 wapnA\Gelv) 1 49 79 186 al
_ Charles, Eschatology, p. 122 f., n. 2)—
and in Enoch xly. 4f., “I will trans-
form the heaven, and make it an
eternal blessing and light. And I will
transform the earth and make it a
blessing”; ib. Ixxii. 1, “the new crea-
tion... which dureth till eternity”; xci.
_ 16 “the first heaven will depart and
_ pass away, and a new heaven will
| appear, and all the powers of the
heavens will shine sevenfold for ever”;
the Apocalypse of Baruch xxxii. 6
“the Mighty One will renew His
Creation” ; 4 Esdras vii. 75 “tempora
illa in quibus incipies creaturam re-
noyare.” Compare the interesting
Rabbinical parallel quoted by Schoett-
gen from Debarim rabba 4f. 262. 4
“cum Moses ante obitum oraret,
caelum et terra et omnis ordo crea-
turarum commotus est. tunc dixerunt:
Fortasse adest tempus a Deo prae-
stitutum, quo renoyandus est orbis
universus” (yoy nsx wand).
On xawos see ii. 17, note, and cf.
lil. 12, v. 9, xiv. 3. As the opposite
of maXatos, it suggests fresh life rising
from the decay and wreck of the old
world ; cf. Heb. viii. 13 ev roé eye
Kawny [se. Suadyxny), wemaaiwxey tiv
mpaorny: To dé madawvpevoy Kai ynpa-
oxoy éyyds apavopod. What is indi-
cated is in fact a madwyevecia of
heaven and earth (Mt. xix. 28), or to
use another figure an droxardoracis
mavroy (Acts iii. 21). As Irenaeus
sees, the New Heaven and Earth
correspond to the New Man, whose
renovation has now been completed
by the Resurrection ; v. 36. 1 dvavew-
Gévros tov avOpwrov, Kal axudoartos
mpos Ty apbapciay, dare pnxére dvva-
oa répa Tarawbiva, Eora 6 ovpavds
_Kawos kal 7 yi) Kaw ev rois [? ois]
-Kawois avapuevet 6 GvOpwros dei Kawwos,
kai [? Kawa] mpocouiday Té bed.
6 yap mpaTos ovpavds Kal 7) TPT yA
arjA@av| Cf. xx. 11, note; like épv-
yer, anndéav must not be pressed,
and Andreas is not far wrong when
he glosses: dyti rot ‘ynAAayn.” The
writer of 2 Peter conceives of a con-
flagration of the old order at the
Parousia (iii. 12 ovpavol mvpovpevoe
AvOnoovra Kal oToLyeia Kavoovpeva TH-
xerat); but no such phenomena suggest
themselves to the Apocalyptist, though
fire is a frequent factor in his visions.
kat 7) Oadaoca ovK éotw err] The
Sea has fulfilled its last function (xx.
13), and when the Seer looks steadily
at the New Earth, he sees that “the
waters which are under the firma-
ment” have vanished; no place is
left for the Sea in the New Creation ;
it belonged to the order which has
passed. There is no need to suspect
with Augustine a reference to the
effects of the conflagration (de civ.
Dei xx. 16 “utrum maximo illo ar-
dore siccetur an et ipsum vertatur in
melius non facile dixerim.” The Sea
has disappeared, because in the mind
of the writer it is associated with |
ideas which are at variance with the
character of the New Creation. Cf.
Aug. lc. “tune non erit hoe saeculum
vita mortalium turbulentum et pro-
cellosum”; Andreas: roy rapaywdn
Biov wat moAdvuKUpova onpawovons THs
@adacons. St John, an exile in sea-
girt Patmos, regarded with no favour
the element which mounted guard
over his prison, and parted him
from the Churches of Asia. For the
ancients generally the Sea possessed
none of the attractions which it has
for moderns. To undertake a voyage
without grave cause was to tempt
Providence; Hor. carm. i. 3. 21 f£
“nequicquam Deus abscidit | prudens
Oceano dissociabili terras, si tamen
impiae | non tangenda rates transi-
liunt vada.” It is true that since the
18—2
276
/ 3 v7 sf
2 @aXacoa oOvUK EOTLW ETL.
I 7 Oadacoa ouKk ect ert] THY Oadaccay ovK Ldov ert A
Vv pele lipss
time of Horace facilities for travel
had greatly increased, and, as Dill
remarks (Roman Society, p. 205),
“until the appearance of railways and
steamboats it may be doubted whether
there was any age in history in which
travelling was easier or more general.”
At the end of the first century Ju-
venal could write (xiv. 275 ff.) : “aspice
portus | et plenum magnis trabibus
mare, plus hominum est iam | in
pelago, veniet classis quocumque vo-
carit | spes lucri”; and the Apoca-
lyptist has told practically the same
tale in c. xviii. 17 ff. Yet how great
the risks of a seafaring life still were,
the story of St Paul’s shipwreck
shews: to the Apostolic age the
ocean spoke of separation and isola-
tion, rather than of a highway linking
shore to shore. For this element of
unrest, this fruitful cause of destruc-
tion and death, this divider of nations
and Churches, there could be no
place in a world of social intercourse,
deathless life, and unbroken peace.
The disappearance of the Sea from
the future order is a feature in other
apocalyptic writings; cf. eg. Orac.
Sibyll. v. 158 ff. née & ovpavddev
dotnp péyas eis Gra Sewn | cat Pr€Eer
movtov 3 UD. 447 €orac 8 voratiw Kapa
Enpos mote movros; Assumption of
Moses x. 6 “the sea will return into
the abyss, and the fulness of waters
will fail”; in the Coptic Zephaniah,
p- 129, flames break out and dry up
the sea (Simcox, ad /.), and Bousset
quotes from Plutarch, de Zs. et Osir.
7, a similar belief entertained by the
priests of Isis: dA@s b€ Kai rH Oa-
Rarray ek mupos yyovvrat Kal mapwpt-
opevny; but the Apocalyptist (see
above) shews no knowledge of this
form of the conception.
2. Kat THY Tow THY ayiay "I. Kawhy
etdov] The New Earth must have a
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
pees
2 \ \ / \ i YA
Kal TyHv TOALY THY aylav
2 Kat]t+eyw Iwavyns
new metropolis, not another Babylon,
but another and greater Jerusalem.
Of a kaw "IepovoadAn we have read
in c¢. ili. 12, from which this verse
borrows its description as far as amé
tod Geov, adding rv ayiav, which is
here no mere conventional epithet
(Mt. iv. 5, xxvii. 53), but one significant
of the new holiness, the inner and
permanent consecration of the new
City of God. The Holy City of the
O.T. (2 Esdr. xxi. 1, Dan. ix. 24, Mt.
Xxvii. 53) had been in ruins for a
quarter of a century, and Hadrian’s
new city was not yet planned. The
New Jerusalem of the Seer belongs
to another order; it is of heavenly
origin, a city ‘whose builder and
maker is God’ (Heb. xi. 10), 7 wéAAovea
modus (ib. xiii. 14). Some years before
the fall of the old city the thought of
a celestial city had been familiar to
St Paul and his school; ef. Gal. iv. 26 f.
7 6€ dvw “Iepovoadnu eAevbépa éeariv,
qts cot pntnp jor, Phil. iii. 20 judy
yap 7d moXirevjpa €v ovpavois vrapyet,
Heb. xii. 22 mpoweAndvOare Sidv dper
kai mode Oeod (évros, “Iepovcadnp
éroupavio. Jewish literature also is
full of the hope of an ideal Jerusalem,
based on O.T. prophecy (Isa. liy., lx.
Ez. xl., xlviii.); ef. Apoc. Baruch iv.
3 ff. (ed. Charles, p. 6 ff.): “it is not
this building which is now built in —
your midst; it is that which will be
revealed with Me, that which was
prepared beforehand...and now, be-
hold, it is preserved with Me”; 4 Esdr.
x. 27 ff. “vidi et ecce amplius mulier
non comparebat mihi, sed civitas
aedificabatur...haec mulier...est Sion
...ingredere etvide splendoremet mag- —
nitudinem aedificii” ; Orac. Sibyli.y _
420 ff. kai row fy erdOnoe beds, rabryy —
eroincev | paidporépny aotpev re Kat
nArtov 7dé cweAnvns | KtrA.; Test. wit.
patr., Dan 5: eri rhs véas "lepovgadnp —
—_—_—
XXI. 3]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
277
> \ \ 7: / - ? road
lepovo aX KaLYNV €L100V KaTaBaivoveay é€k TOU oupavou
\ ~ - € / € / /
ato Tov Oeou, NTOLMAT MEVNY WS vueepny KEKOO (Ay) LEVY
~~ , \ > ~~
TW avopl avTNS.
3 \ of ~ / > co
Kal nKov~a chwyns peyaXns eK TOU 3
Opovov Neyoverns’ldov 7} eKnvy Tov Beod peTa THY dvOpw-
2 amo Tov Oeou ex Tov ovp. P 1 49 79 91 96 al | om azo tov Beou Ir" | Kexoc-
Hnwevny] pr kat 130 3
kat nxouga...eyourns] Kat Pwvy peyadn...\evyouca R* | ex 7.
Opovov] ex 7. ovpavov PQ min‘ereo™> me the syrr arm aeth anon*“* Prim Andr Ar
evppavOjcovra: Sixaior, Wris Eotar els
Sdfacpa Beod Ews tov aidvos. The
Rabbinical doctrine of an ovpavorodis
is worked out by Schoettgen (i. 1208 ff,
de Hierusalem caelesti); see also
Schiirer, Geschichte’, p. 5361, Weber,
Jiid. Theologie, pp. 374, 404. On the
Christian Society as the realization of
the heavenly Jerusalem see Westcott
on Heb, xi. 10 (additional note).
kataBaivoveay €x Tov ovpavod arb Tov
6eod| Repeated from c. iii. 12 rhs
xawns “Iepoveadnp, 7 KataSaivovca eéx
Tov ovpavod aro Tov Beov pov, Where
see notes. It is perhaps unnecessary
to think of a future visible fulfilment,
such as is suggested by 1 Thess. iv. 14
6 Oeds rots Kotunbervtas dia Tod “Incod
Géet ody avr@...neis of Cdvres...dua
ovv avrois apraynoopeba ev vedhéXats.
What is primarily intended is doubt-
less the heavenly origin (ex) of the
Church, and her Divine mission (ao);
as Primasius says: “de caelo descen-
dere dicitur ista civitas, quoniam cae-
lestis est gratia qua Deus eam fecit.”
The metaphor appears also in the Rab-
binical writings, e.g. Sohar Gen. f. 69,
col. 271; “Deus...aedificabit Hieroso-
lyma, ut ipsam descendere faciat in
medium sui de caelo.” In its measure
the hepe fulfils itself already in the
daily experience of the Church. If,
as St James says (i. 17), way Sapna
Té\ewov avwbév eatw, KataSaivoy amd
tov marpos, this is in an especial
manner true of the highest form of
corporate human life, the Civitas
Dei.
Hromacpeny os viudny kexoopnwerny
_xth.] In xix. 7 the voice of a multitude
proclaimed that the Wife of the Lamb
had made herself ready for the nup-
tials; now at length she is revealed
to the Seer in her bridal attire.
Over her simple dress of white byssus
(xix. 8) she wears the ornaments
usual for women of rank; cf. Judith
Xil. 15 €xoopnOy TO ivatiou@ cal ravi
TO koopn@ TO yuvatke(@—in what this
consisted appears ib. x. 4 repi€Bero...7d
Wea kal rovs Saxrudious Kal Ta évaria
kal tavta Tov Koopoyv avrns; Ez. xvi.
II éxoopnoa oe KOT Ha, kal mepieOnxa
Wéua...xai evadtiov...Kai
Tpoxiokous...kat orépavoy...cal ékoo-
pnOns xpvoi@ Kai apyupi@ ; cf. Isa. iii.
18 ff. For the ethical significance of
the Bride’s ornaments see 3 Mace.
vi. I mdon TH Kata Tov Biov dpery
kexoopnpevos ; I Pet. iii. 3 ovy 6 EEwOev
euTokijs Tpiyav Kai repiOemews ypvcior
i évdtoews ipatiwy Kxdopos, add’ 6
Kpumros ths Kapdias avOpwros év Te
apOapr@ rod novxiov Kal Tpaéws rvev-
patos; cf. also 1 Tim. ii gf On as
vipdny see Isa. xlix. 18 repiOjoes
avrovs ws Kocpoy, ws vin ; tb. lxi. 10
as vipdbny KaTexoopunoey pe KOT HO ; and
for t@ avdpi aris cf. 2 Cor. xi. 2,
Eph. v. 23.
Fuller particulars of the bridal
array of the New Jerusalem are given
below (v. 9 ff), where see notes,
3. Kal nxovea horns peydAns éx row
@povov xrX.] The voice is that of one
of the Angels of the Presence, as in
xvi. 17, xix. 5 (notes), not of God
Himself, Who speaks for the first
time in vr. 5. The present voice inter-
prets the New Creation; it is that
condition of humanity in which will
, ‘
xaGepa...Kal
278
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXI. 3
/ - \ \ \ ? ~
TwV, KAL TKNVWOEL MET AVTWV, Kal avTOL Naol avTOU
p) \ \ > vr SD - /
éxovrat, kal avTos 6 Beds per’ adT eV ExTat| avTOY Geos,
4 4kal FeaN et Tav Sax puoy €K TOV dpOad wav auT av,
Kal 0 Oavatos OUK éoTal ETL OUTE mevOos OUTE Kpavyn
OUTE TOVOS’ OUK €oTal ETL’ [ore] Ta TPWTa amnGav.
3 oxnvwce] ecxnvwcev &* | Kaos NA I 79 g2 al Ir™*] daos PQ min® vg syrr me
the syr aeth arm Ambr Aug anon®’ Prim Ar | kaz avros] om kat & | avtwy Geos A vg
(syrr) Iri=t anon®"s] Geos avrwy P 79 130 186 al om &Q rell
4 e€adeWer]+o Geos
A 1 alpscvid yg Tert Aug Prim anon | daxpuov] dpaxu (sic) &* | ex SA 32] aro PQ
minfereomn Jy Andr Ar | 0 Gavaros] om o & 38 47 Ir | om oure wev@os arm | 0m ouTe
moves & | ere 2° om 1 | ore Ta pwra] om ore AP 186 arm (hab RQ min*"°°™") ra, yap
mpwra 79 | amndOav A (-NOov P x 7 al®*™)] amnhdev XQ minfre?0 Tr Ar
be realized at length the long pro-
mised life of fellowship with God.
The words id8od 7 oxnv7 xrd. rest upon
a series of O.T. predictions, e.g. Lev.
xxvi. I1 f. Onow thy SiaOqKny pov
(F, r. oxnyny pov) év vpiv...cat eoopua
vpiv Beds, kat dpeis eoecOE pov daos ;
Jer. xxxvili. (xxxi.) 33 écopat avrois
eis Oedv, kal avtol €xovrai jot eis Naor ;
Ez. xxxvii. 27 €ora 7 Kataoknvecis
pov év avtois, kal €copuat avtois beds,
kal avtTol pov éaovrat Aaos; Zech. viii.
8 xaracknvdcw ev péow “lepovoadyp,
kal €oovrai por eis Aadv, Kayo Eoopa
avrois eis Oedv ev addnOeia kat ev
ducatoovvy. , One important and doubt-
less deliberate change has been made
in the terms of these prophecies ;
our writer has substituted Aaoi for
Aads—the many peoples of redeemed
humanity for thesingle elect nation, the
world for Israel. Neither in the O.T.
prophecies nor in their Apocalyptic
echo does the use of oxnv7 and its de-
riyatives suggest a merely temporary
dwelling of God with man. As in
Vii. 15, Xiii. 6, xv. 5, they carry us back
to the original settlement in Canaan,
when the Sanctuary was still but a
tent ; they point to a oxnv7 ddynOun, a
peiCwy Kal TeAevcorépa oxnvy (Heb. viii.
2, ix. 11); perhaps by the assonance
of oxnvody and {2 they also suggest
the Shekinah, realized in the Incarn-
ation (Jo. i. 14) and in the mystical
Body of Christ. ‘O Oeos per’ avrav
recalls Ox jy (Mt. i. 23), and all
that that name holds for both the
present and the coming age.
4. Kai é&areiwver wav Saxpvoy xri.]
The effect of the Divine indwelling
on the circumstances of life is de-
scribed in negative terms; as to the
positive conditions of the future exist-
ence, ova epavepwbn Ti eoopeba (I JO.
iii. 2). On éfadeiWer wav daxpvov (Isa.
xxy. 8) see vii. 17, note ; 6 Oavaros ovK
éora ere renews the assurance of xx.
14; cf. Shemoth rabba xy. f. 114. 4,
“temporibus Messiae mors cessabit in
aeternum.” For ovre mwévOos xrhd. ef.
Isa. xxxy. 10 amédpa ddvvn kal Avy
kal orevaypos; ib. Ixv. 19 ovKére pr)
dxovoOy €v attn pevy kdavOuov Kat
devi) kpavyjs—the exact opposite of
what is said of Babylon in ¢. xviii. 22;
see also Enoch x. 22. On sovos,
‘pain,’ cf. c. xvi. 10, note. Ta mpdra —
an7jdéav: ‘the first things are gone
by’—not, as in A.V., ‘the former
things’ simply, but ‘the first’—the
things belonging to the first heaven
and “the first earth, the whole order
of things which existed in the first —
creation. The thought in this verse —
and the next is remarkably close to
that of 2 Cor. y. 17 «f rus ev Xpiora,
Kaw) KTiows* Ta apxaia tapndGev, idod,
yéyovev kawa ; but the reference there is —
limited to the individual life in Christ.
T~'-- ~- ——_—_ =_”™
|
XXI. 6] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 279
5 ee € fa / ’ \ - 0 / 1d \ \
Kal €17TTEY O Ka )MEVOS ETL Tw povw OU KalVa TOLW 5
/ \ / / aA 4, € / \
mavtTa. Kal Neve [pavvov, OT oVTOL ot NOYoL TIF TOL
A Ais oe 6 \ 7 2 / “ee, \
Kal aAnOivoi cio. =°Kal etrev por Teyovav. eyw TO 6
! \ tales oe \ \ \ / over ~
adja Kat TO Ww, 4 apxn Kat TO TEAOS. EYW TW
5 OM Kat 1° 2 29 41 50.90 94 97 Ir | ecrev] Neyer 130 | Ere Tw Opovw] em Tov
Opovov 1 49 al ev Tw Opovw 35 79 87
38 49 87 o1 96 vg syré” Ir Aug Prim al] xaworow ravra 79 186 Tavra Kawa row |
al syr | Aeyec]+ or SP 1 186 al?! vgeleflipss me syré¥ arm! Prim Andr Ar | om or g4
186 syr8” | adyAiwvo]+rov deov Q mint’ syr Ar+rov Geou ew 130 6 ecrev]
Reyer 8 | yeyovay &°* A (-vacw 38) syré” Ir] yeyova R*PQ 1 130 186 alP4® syr arm
Or Andr Ar yeyove 41 94 factum est vg Prim om &*°") me aeth anon*“* | eyw] + equ A
38 39 vg me aeth Cypr anon*"s | 7 apxn] om 7 8 29 32 37 130 alt’! Ar | ro redos]
| Sov] pr xac A | kawa row mavta SAP 35 37
om ro 8 29 32 37 130 al] ferol0- Ay
5. Kal eimev 6 kaOnpevos ert TO
Opov xth.| The Speaker is now, pro-
bably for the first time in the Book,
God Himself; cf. xx. 11, xxi. 3. The
words are suggested by Isa. xliii. 18 f.
pf) Penmovevere TA TpATa, Kal Ta apyaia
pH ovddoyiler de: Sod eya rod Kawa,
but the scope of the old prophecy is
enlarged indefinitely by mavra; all
the fruits of the new Covenant (cf. ii.
17, note) are included. Barnabas, if
indeed he has this promise in view,
has strangely minimized it when he
writes Wi. 13); Aéyet dé Kvpwos *ISov,
Tow Ta éoxara ws Ta mpara. For émi
T @pove in this connexion ef. vii. 10,
xix. 4: the more usual emi rod Gpévou
Secure im iv. OL, Vv. 1, 7, 13, Vi 16,
Ltr 5, RX. 12.
Kai deyer, coming between kat elev
(vw. 5) and kai eier (vr. 6), indicates :
ah of speaker. The direction to
the Seer to write what he has just
heard comes doubtless from an angel,
as in xiv. 13, xix. 9 f. He is to write,
because the words he has heard are
as true as they are tremendous; ef.
Arethas: 2) vouite, pnciv, 3 “lwavyn,
TH TOU peyéOous TOY Kaworo.oupevwy
Ado cer ds Ka irepBor)y hartacias
vromecciy Wevdei tut exBarer Ta Neyo-
eva wow ToTovTOY yap adn Oh @are kal
yagi kataGéoOar oe TavTa Tmapeyyv-
pat eis dverrihno Tov Tov OTe yernoeTat
For mtorés cat adnéuvds in this Book
compare ce. ili. 14, Xix. I1; Aoyos m.
kat ad. occurs again in xxii. 6and Aoyos
ay. in xix. 9. These great sayings
which concern the future of humanity
and the world must be seen to rest
on a secure basis; men need to be
assured that they are not only worthy
of confidence, but answer to realities
which in due time will enter into the
experience of life, though for the
present they cannot be fully realized
or adequately expressed. “Haeec ecredi
oportet, non exponi” (Primasius).
6. Kai elev poe Téyovay } The
Divine Voice speaks again. Not only
are these sayings true; they have come
to pass (cf. xvi. 17 yéyovev). They
have found a fulfilment already in the
regeneration of life and thought which
exists within the present Church, and
the larger fulfilment which awaits the
Parousia is potentially realized in the
Divine foreknowledge. The aoristic
termination of the perfect (-ay for
-acw) has perplexed the scribes, and
the vv. ll. yéyova, yéyove, are attempts
to evade this difficulty; on yeéyovay
see Blass, Gr. p. 46, and ef. Rom.
XVi. 7.
éyo to dAda cat ro @ xrd.] Cf.
i. 8, note. Here as there the re-
ference is to the Eternal Father,
whilst in xxii. 13 it is equally clear
that the Incarnate Son is in view;
see note ad loc. ‘H apy? kat rb redo
280
Orpwrtt déow ék THS THYyNns TOU UdaTos Tis CwHs
if Swpeav.
6 rw diyorr] om tw P| dwow]+avTw Q 2 8 29 31 35 48 87 92 94 97 al™ aeth
Ar | om rs rnyns A post Tov vdatos 130
TauTa| TavTa I TaVTA TavTa arm}!
reflects a phrase of the second Isaiah
(Isa. xliv. 6 jms 281 WNT UN;
ef. ib. xli. 4, xlvili. 12). *Apy7 is used
in Col. i. 18 in reference to the relation
of Christ to the Church, and in Apoe.
iii. 14 of His relation to the cosmos;
here it represents God as the First
Cause, the Source and Origin of all
things, a sense already found in
Aristotle, by whom the Deity is called
& mpern kal KuptwTatn apxn. Tédos, as
complementary to dpy7, is the end and
goal—a meaning of the word which is
rare in the N.T., but see 1 Tim. i. 5
TO O€ rédos THS mapayyeAias éoTiv
aydar7y, and perhaps Rom. x. 4 rédos
yap vopnov Xpiotds (see, however, SH.
ad loc.). The full phrase is used
in reference to the Divine life by
Josephus, antt. viii. 11. 2 [6 Beds} o os
Epyov eorly avrov kal apxn kat TéAos
Tov ardvrav ; contr. Ap. ii. 22 6 beds
exer Ta igs TayTeAns Kal wakaplos,
autos a’t@ kal maow avdrapkns, apx7n
kat péoa kal TéAos ovTOS TaY TayTer.
St Paul expresses the same funda-
mental belief in other terms, when he
writes: €€ avrod kai dv adrod kat eis
avrov ta mavra (Rom. xi. 36), and
speaks of the Father as 6 émi ravrev
kat dca mavt@y Kai év raow (ph. iv. 6).
The Infinite Life originates, embraces,
and transcends the Universe.
ey® TO Suparte dda ék Tis mys
«th. ] The Source and End of all
life is the bountiful Giver of life in
its highest perfection. Cf. Jac. i. 5
aireita mapa tov Siddvros beod macw
am\@s Kal by dverdifovros ; ; 1b. 17 raca
ddets dyadn kat may dépnua ré\evov
avwbev eorw, kataBaivov arb rod TarTpos
tov dodrer. With the form of this
Divine offer cf. ¢. vii. 16 f. od8€ Sapy-
pA c
govow éTt...kal odnynoer avTovs emt
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
lod 7 ~~ /
70 wiKkwv KAnpovomunoel TavTAa, Kal Exouat
[XXL 6
7 KAypovopnoe] Swow avrw Q min® Ar |
(wis manyas vdarwv, where see notes.
There, however, the perfect state is
anticipated ; here, and in xxii. 17, it
is to the Church and the world in
their present condition that the water
of life is promised, as r@ dupavrs, 6
dior, clearly shew. Awpeay, ‘gratui-
tously, as in Mt. x. 8 6. eAaBere, Rom.
iii. 24 Orxaovpevor 6.; for the sense
see Isa. lv. I of Supavres, mropeverGe
ep vdwp...xal hayere Gvev apyvpiov
kat tiujs; Jo. iv. Io ef wOes mH
dwpedv Tod Oeod...0d av ATnoas avTov
kal €d@xev av cor Vdwp Cav ; Acts viii.
20 thy Swpeay Tov Oeov evouicas dia
xpnuatov krac6a. That God’s gifts
are gratuitous is rightly urged as an
argument for free Sacraments, but
the fact has a far wider significance,
and lies at the root of the Pauline
doctrine of justification by faith with-
out ‘works of law.’ In the present
case the Gift is one which comes here
and now from the very Source (é« rs
anyns; cf. vii. 17)—a point emphasized
here but not repeated in xxii. 17.
Cf. Bede, “de hoe fonte irrorat nune
credentes in via quem vincentibus
ubertim hauriendum praebet in patria,
utrumque autem gratis”; and the
experience of the Viennese deacon
Sanctus in the fires of persecution,
related in the letter of the confessors
(Hus. H. £. v. 1. 18): mapépevev averi-
kaumtos kal dvévdotos, oTeppos mpos
THY Opodroyiav, Urd THs ovpaviov myhs
tov vdatos tis fwas Tov e&tovros é€k
Ths vndvos tod xpicrod SpoarCopevos
kal évduvapovpevos.
7. 0 wiKGY KANpovouncer Tadral
While ‘he that is athirst’ receives the
Gift of the Water of Life, it is ‘he
that conquers’ alone whose heritage it
will permanently be. ‘O m«éy carries —
XXI. 8]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
-~ A \ \ »/ ¢/
ait@ Oeds Kal avtos Exrai puot vios.
281
Srois 6¢ betAOls 8
\ > / \ > / \ ~
Kat amiotos Kal €Bdeduypuevors Kal covevor Kai
7 autTw) avrwy A 1 79 130 avros arm! | auros ecrar pou (uov & 14 98 al syr)
wos] Om avros A syré™ avro ecovra pot wor 130 186
8 amicros]+xat auaprwros
pap
Q 130 minP4 syr aeth Ar | om xa govevor arm*
_ the reader back to the seven promises
of ce. ii, iii, to which xAnpovoynoe
ravra adds an eighth promise that
completes and in effect embraces the
| rest. On the pre-Christian history of
KAnpovopeity see Mc. x. 17, note, and
cf. Dalman, Words of Jesus, E. Tr.,
p. 125 ff.; in the N.T. the-use of this
verb and its cognate nouns in refer-
ence to the future of man is well
distributed, but specially frequent
in St Paul, with whose doctrine of
the sonship of believers it accords ;
ef. Rom. viii. 17 «2 d€ réxva, «ai
KAnpovdpor, Gal. iv. 7 ef d€ vios, Kat
KAnpovopos a Oeov. That in the
solitary instance where it occurs in
the Apoc. the word has the same
reference is one indication among
many of the radical agreement be-
tween St John and St Paul.
The heritage of the conqueror will
embrace the contents of this vision
(ratra}—the new creation with its
immunities from sorrow and death,
the indwelling of God, the conscious-
ness of a filial relation with Him, and
the Water that quenches the thirst
and quickens the life of the human
soul. The v. 1. mavra, with its larger
but vaguer outlook, offers a less
really satisfying prospect.
kal €gopat avt@ Beds Kai avtos ora
poc vios] The words link themselves
on to a catena of O.T. prophecies,
e.g. Gen. xvii. 7f, 2 Regn. vii. 14,
Ps. Ixxxviii. (Ixxxix.) 27; the last of
these passages is applied to Christ
in Heb. i. 5, but may obviously include,
in a laxer sense, His cuveAnpovdpor.
Their sonship, even their relationship
with God, is here regarded as be-
longing to the future (€coua, €orar),
when it will be manifested by the
resurrection ; cf. Le. xx. 36 vioi elow
Ocot rhs dvactracews viol dvres; Rom.
Vili. 23 viobeciay dmrexdexduevor thy
drokvtpwow Tov gwyaros jyar. St
John is not unconscious of the present
existence of both (1 Jo. iii. 1 roramny
dyarny bédwxev 6 matnp wa réxva Oeod
KAnOapev> xai eopev...viv téxva Geor
eouev), but in this passage he has in
view the son who is entering on his
full inheritance, and not him to whom
but the dppaSwv (Eph. i. 13 f.) has as
yet been given.
8. rois S€ Sedois Kai amioros «rh. ]
Bede: “blandis semper, ad cautelam
insinuandam, austera permiscet”; the
doom of the impenitent is placed in
sharp contrast with the heritage of
the conqueror. First among the
condemned are the &eAoi—members
of the Church who, like soldiers turn-
ing their backs upon the enemy, fail
under trial; not, as A.V. and R.V.,
‘the fearful’? but the cowards or
craven in Christ’sarmy. Cf. Arethas:
Setovs Karei Tors Exovoio daGeveia
mpos Ta dmoXavoTixa Tov maporTos
ai@vos aroxAivavras. When Tertullian
writes (de fuga 7): “in Apocalypsi
non fugam timidis offert sed inter
ceteros reprobos particulam in stag-
no sulphuris et ignis,” he is led,
partly by his Latin version, partly by
his personal tendencies, into undue
severity; it is not fear or even flight
which incurs the penalty, but the
cowardice which in the last resort
prefers ease or earthly life to Christ;
ef. Me. vili. 35 Such dela betrays
instability of purpose, lack of any
deeper faith or loyalty; cf. Sir. ii 12 f,
and Origen on Ps. xxvi. (xxvii) 1 f£:
mpooxonte. S€ Wuxn TwPAdrrovea xai
mavta oSeirat, xai THy els Beov dpodo-
282
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
poem:
/ \ cond \ 5) / \ rc
Topvos Kat Pappakois Kat elowAoAaTpals Kal Tact
an } if \ / > a > lon Xl ~ /
TOLS bev EOlY TO Mepos AUTWY €V TH tjAvy TH KQ@LOMEVH |
\ \ if ke a2 G 4 € /
Tupl Kal Oeiw, O €OTLY O Bavatos O devTEpos.
8 om racr me | Pevderw] Yevorais A | rupi] pr ev 130 | 0 Bavaros o devrepos SAQ
min?4% ye syr arm] day. o 6. minP** Ar o 6. dav. I 49 130 186 al™ Gavaros P
ylav apynoera.* azo Geot b€ paticbeica,
Mp@Tov pev TOY mpopayoy avTjs Kal
cwtipa gate Oewpovoa, pera S€ Tavra
TOY avTHS moeuiwy Katrabappet. The
remedy for deAla is riotis, cf. Jo. xiv.
I, 27 mw) tapacocécbw vay 7 Kapdia:
murrevete eis tov Oedv, Kai eis epe
MLOTEVETE «.. LT) ~TapaccécOw vay 7
kapdia pndé Seisato. The dmicros,
in the technical sense which appears
in the Pauline Epistles, is the non-
Christian, the pagan (cf. 1 Cor. vi. 6,
Vile t2i Vs. 27, Mv. 22h, 2 Cor: ivi.
14f.); but here, following immediately
after deos, it is probably not to be
limited in this way, or referred to the
heathen as such, but means simply
‘faithless,’ ‘unbelieving’ (Mc. ix. 19, Le.
mil 46; Jo; xx.27, Tit ions <ck 1 Tim:
y. 8), and applies to the Christian who
by act or word denies his faith, as
well as to the pagan who insults and
blasphemes it. The other characters
described, though they might be found
on the fringe of the Christian brother-
hood (cf. ii. 15, 20), are such as
heathenism produced on a_ large
scale; see ix. 21 where the heathen
are clearly in view, and the list of
sins is nearly the same. “EBdeAvypévor,
not simply BdeAv«roi, as in Tit. i. 16,
but persons whose very natures have
been saturated with the abominations
which they practised in their lifetime;
the context suggests that in this case
the BdeAvypara are not merely idola-
trous acts (cf. xvii. 4), but the monstrous
and unnatural vices-of heathendom.
Kai qovetdou kat mopvois KT. Povor
are included among prevalent sins in
Me. vii. 21, Rom. i. 29, Apoc. ix. 21 (cf.
Jac. iv. 2, 1 Pet. iv. 15), but perhaps
the reference is here chiefly to the
violent deaths of Christians whether
incurred at the hands of the mob or by
order of the courts. I0pvo. abounded
in Greek cities—at Corinth, St Paul
admits it was impossible to avoid
meeting them in society (1 Cor. vy. 10
emet @eihere Gpa ek Tov Koopov e&ed-
6civ)—and they fitly follow qdoveis (ef.
1 Tim. i. 9 f. dvdpopovors, mopvois) ac-
cording to the M.T. order of the
Decalogue. On dappaxoi see 1x. 21,
XViii. 23, notes ; in Gal. v. 20 happakia
follows eiSwAoAarpia, whilst here dap-
pakos precedes eiSwAoAarpns; for the
connexion of sorcery and magic with
idolatry in Asian cities see xiii. 13 ff, —
notes, and the Introduction, p. xci. f.
The list ends with kal waow Trois Wev-
déow, ‘all the false” ie, as is ex-
plained below in xxii. 15, maou tots
pirtovow kat rovodow Wevdos. All the
insincerities of heathendom are here
—the conscious frauds practised by
the pagan priesthood and the dealers
in ‘magic,’ and the support rendered
to them by those who ‘loved to have
it so’; the tricks of trade and deceits
of domestic life. But the insincerities
of Christians are not of course to be
excluded; the baptized liar is the
worst of his kind, since he lies to the
Holy Ghost (Acts v. 3 f.). Tertullian,
indeed, seems to limit the reference
of the whole passage to Christians:
de pud. 19 “non enim de ethnicis
videbitur sapere, cum de fidelibus
pronuntiarit Qui vicerint, ete.”; but —
the inference is too sweeping. A
better exposition will be found in
Hipp. de Antichr. 38 (ed. Lagarde,
p. 116).
None such have any part in the in- —
heritance of the Saints (Eph. y. 5);
their names are not in the roll-call of
the living in the New Jerusalem. —
XXI. 9]
9° Kal
i: ec ’ - « \
nrdOev ¢€is €K Twv énTa
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 253
ayyeAwy TeV 9
/ \ t \ / - / - t \
EXOVTwWY Tas Eta diadas, THY YEMOVTWY TwY ETTA
a ms 2 / Cos / >» ~ /
mAnyav Twv €ryvaTwv, Kat EeNaAnTEV MET EMou NEYwY
Acvpo, oei&w cow TH vuepny THY yuvaika Tov
g nddev}+7mpos pe vg"P*4 arm! | es] 0 rpwros 35 36 87 | om ex 1 35 38 79 87 | Tu
yemovTwy] Tw yeuourwy RK" ras yeuousas 1 7 130 al™ 4 arm et sine ras Q 8 29 31
38 49 gt 92 al’ syrr”4 Ar | rw exra rAnywr] om Tay Q min® | roy vungny THY yw.
Tov apviov] THY v. Tou apy. THY yur. I 79 186 Vg"P*® rny yu. Thy v. T. a. Q 7 8 29 31 49
al?5 Ar
The alternative is a part in the Second
Death, the Lake of Fire. Exclusion
from eternal life burns and consumes
like a perpetual fire; whether the
function of the fire is to destroy or to
punish or to purify is not within the
scope of the revelation entrusted to
the Seer; cf. xix. 20, xx. 10, 14f,
notes. Compare the dogmatic tone of
the Slavonic Enoch (ed. Charles, p. 10):
“this place, Enoch, is prepared for
those who do not honour God; who
commit evil deeds on earth...witch-
craft, enchantments, devilish magic,
and who boast of their evil deeds...for
all these this place is prepared for an
eternal inheritance.”
XXI. 9—XXII. 5.
THE NEW JERUSALEM.
g. Kal rAOev eis ex Ta Extra Krd.]
The announcement of v. 2 (kai ry
moAw TH ayiay lepoveadnp Kawny €idov
xrA.) is here resumed and worked out
in detail. The Seer tells us that this
nearer view of the City was obtained
through the ministry of one of the
Angels of the Seven Bowls. Compare
¢. XVii. I kal FAOev cis ex trav énta
dyyAov Tav éyovtwy ras éxra duadas,
kal eAdAnoev per’ euot Néywv Acidpo,
Sei gor TO Kpiua THs ropyns, Where
the same formula is used to introduce
the vision of the Harlot City; its
repetition here serves to place the
vipdyn in marked contrast with the
mopyn — Jerusalem the Holy with
Babylon the Great. For rév éyovrav
Tas émta diadas, ef. xv. 1, note. Tay
yenovray is unexpected ; possibly it is
Tuk VISION OF
a slip on the part of an early scribe or
perhaps of the writer himself for ras
yenovoas (xv. 7), or it may be meant
to suggest that these angels were still
full of the great task they had accom-
plished, and that St John’s guide
came fresh from the scene of the
Last Plagues to this widely different
office. Both participles are timeless ;
the Seven Angels have emptied their
bowls, and doubtless have ceased to
carry them, but they are still known
as oi €yovres Tas diadas Tas yenovoas
(or of yéuovres) Tay extra mAnyov. That ©
one of these Angels of wrath should
be deputed to shew the Seer the Holy
City is a Divine paradox which has
not escaped the ancient commenta-
tors ; cf. Andreas: 6 yap Tore thy TAnyny
tots aio emaywr, vuY THY paxapLoTyta
ths exkAnoias To ayi@ vrodeixvucr;
Bede: ‘“praedicatores iidem qui
plagam septimariam (id est, univer-
salem) irrogant impiis, ecclesiae quo-
que futura gaudia pandunt.”
Thy vipdny thy yuvaixa Tod apyiou
takes up a thread dropt at ¢. xix. 7
WAGev O yapos Tov apviov, Kal 4 yuvry
avrov roipacev éauTiv. The espoused
wife (Mt. i. 18, 20) is now the Bride
(xxi. 2) of the Lamb; the nuptials
have begun; indeed, as Andreas
remarks: dre as auvds eodayiacbn 6
Xptoros, ToTe avthy TO oixei@ aipare
evunpevoato...T7 €KXUTEL TOU eK THs
mAeupas aiuatos 1) exkAnoia cvotaca
ro tudevte SC yas nppoora. The
metaphor belongs to the first days of
the Gospel, and had been employed
284
\
Io dpviou. 1° eal
b) \ - 6 >
Il amo tov Geou,
10 emt] ex PQ min? | ryv row] +7 Meyadyy I 31 49 79 91 96 130 186 al Andr |
THY ayiay] Kat ay. I 31 79 130 186 | ex] amo II 31 32 33 35 51 90 | amo] ex Q min®
Ar | om azo 7. @eov 92 94 Ambr Cassiod
tov @eov me arm*| tov Geov] pr aro & IrsrexAnast | 9 gwornp] pr kat I 7 alm
ygcledemlipss4,6 syrew armexe? aeth Prim Ar | rywrarw] Tim o4 g VE syre” | Om ws
Ow 1-7 12 17* 18 38 47 186 syrt¥
by St Paul in a passage which has
some affinity with the present; see
the note on ¢. xix. 7.
10. kal amnveyxéy pe é€v mvevpate
ert dpos xtA.] Compare xvii. 3 dm7-
veykev pe eis epnuov ev mvevpatt. The
Harlot City is seen in a wilderness,
the Bride City from a mountain. The
mountain is not Mount Zion (xiv. 1),
for the New Jerusalem is not founded
upon it, but is seen from it; the
indefinite dpos péya cal vnc points
to no particular height, but rather
symbolizes the elevation of spirit
(Apringius: “in fidei altitudine ele-
yatur”) necessary for one whe would
see the heavenly vision. Cf. Ez. xl.
2 Hyayev pe ev Opacer Oeod...kal €OnKéev
pe em” Gpos vWnArov opodpa; Mt. iv. 8
mapadapBavet avrov 6 duaBodos eis Gpos
vwnddv Aiav. The Seer is carried
thither ‘in spirit’ (cf. i. 10, iv. 2);
the Angel’s devpo is a sursum cor to
which his spirit under the influence
of the ‘Spirit of revelation’ (Eph. i. 17)
at once responds.
kat ederSév prow thy wOAW THY ayiay
*TepovoaAnp krd.| For ryv wodw kr.
see v. 2, note. Kayyv is not repeated
here, for the City is not now regarded
in its relation to the rest of the New
Creation, but in its specific character,
which is Holiness.
Il. €xyovcav tiv Sogav rod Geod|
The Church possesses the Divine
Presence, which, with its illuminating
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
/ "4 / \ 4
amnveyKev ME EV TVEUMaTL ETL OpOs
/ \ aI / \ i \
meya Kal Undov, Kat GOaEev mor Thy TOW THY
\ / > lo an
dyiav *lepoveaAnu KaTaBaivovoay é€xk Tov ovpavou
112/ \ P) / cr ra se «
Exovcav Tyv do€av Tov Geou- Oo
\ Ie als e/ rE / rd rE
Q~wortnp avTns omowos AWw TimwTaTw, ws ALLOW
[XXI. 9
II OM exovcay...rov Geov A g8 om
and elevating powers, she brings with
her from her place of origin, and she
is transfigured by it; cf. 2. 23, xxii. 5.
Cf. Isa. Ix. 1 4 Sofa Kupiov emi oe
dvatéra\kev. The description belongs
even to the present condition of the
Christian Society: 2 Cor. iii. 18 jets
d€ mavres avaxekaduppev@ TpOTaTe THY
dofav Kupiov xarontpifomevor (R. V.
‘reflecting as in a mirror’)...uerapop-
hovpeba ard dons eis doێav.
6 pwotnp adrijs Gporos AiO@ Tipi@rare
xt.] Her luminary resembled a rare
crystalloid gem, every facet of which
is radiant with a Divine light. For
dwornp, as distinguished from dds,
see Gen. i. 3, 14 kal eirev 6 Geos Tevn-
Onto pas...cat eimev 6 Oeds TevnOn-
tecav dworhpes, and cf. Sir. xliii.
7 hwotnp peovpevos emt ouvtedeias.
A geornp is “something in which
light is concentrated and thence
radiates” (Benson)—luminare rather
than dwmen (Prim. Vg.), isa
(Syr.) rather than —<S@as (Syr.&* ;
see Dr Gwynn’s notes here and on
iv. 5). Our Lord is represented as
having spoken indiscriminately of
Himself and His disciples as r6 gas
tov koopov (Mt. v. 14, Jo. viii 12),
but in the underlying Aramaic there
may well have been a distinction such
as that between 7} and WND; the
saints are properly dasireqaed (Dan.
xii. 3, LXX. davodow as poorhpes To
XXI. 12]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
285
te } / 12 »/ -~ / \
lagi. KpvatadNiCovTt: “Eyoura Teiyos peya Kal 12
/ / -~ ~ -~
UvnrXov, Exoura TuAwWVas SwWoEeKa, Kal El TOIs TUAW-
It Kpvoradfovre PQ min®™"
& 18
Se eS
ovpavor, Phil. ii. 16 haiverbe ws hwo-
Tipes év Koopa), and not ro das ro
AnOwor (Jo. i. 8 f.). The distinction
is ignored here by patristic com-
mentators (e.g. Andreas: d@aornp ris
exkAncias oO xpioros), and by some
moderns, who point to v. 23 6 Avxvos
adrjs To apviov. But it is unnecessary
to depart from the strict sense of
geworjp. The light which illuminates
the Church is Divine; itis the daric-
pos...tHs So€ns trod Oeov ev rpocair@
Xpworov (2 Cor. iv. 6); but it shines
in the hearts and lives of men. The
‘luminary’ of the Holy City is her
witness to Christ: her teaching, her
sacraments, her whole corporate life
—the light of tens of thousands of
saintly lives.
On Aidos tacms see iv. 3, note.
KpvoraAXifovre (ar. ey.) modifies
A. laomdi, ‘having the effect of rock
crystal,’ ‘crystal - clear’ (Benson) ;
ef, xxii. I Aapmpoy ws xpvoradXovr.
Wetstein quotes Psellus: 4 ‘taoms
gvoe Kpvotaddoedys. King (Z7ist.
of Precious Stones, p. 281) proposes
to identify the tagms with the true
emerald, green in colour, but lustrous
as crystal. There seem to have been
two kinds known to the ancients: ef.
Dioscor. y. 160 AiMos taoms 6 pév ris
€oTt apapaydiCwy, 6 b€ xpvotaddw@dns.
St Joha combines their qualities.
12. €yovoa Teixos péeya xai UY dor]
*Exovea carries on the description of
the City, which was broken by the
parenthetic clause 6 @warnp avrijs...
KpvotaAXiforr:; in his eagerness to
note each detail of the transient
picture the Seer forgets that he had
written €yovcay in 7. 11. The wall is,
haps, a conventional feature, neces-
I2 exovsa 1°] exovcay (re) 35 87 al (Ar)
exovra & | exouca 2°] exovcay 7 35 87 al vgcledemtollips4.6 (habentem) Ar exovras N* |
Om emi 7. run. ayyedous Swiexa A ve™ syr arm | ert Tos rudwow] ewe Tous ruAwvas
sary to the description of an ancient
city; the earlier commentators, how-
ever, regard it as a symbol, but
interpret variously; eg. Primasius,
“murus ecclesiae Christus”; Bede,
“(murum], id est, inexpugnabilem
fidei spei caritatisque firmitatem ” ;
and see note on v. 17. Cf. Zech. ii.
5 (9) eyo eoopa atrn, Aێyer Kupws,
Tetxyos mrupos kuxAobev; Isa. xxvi. 1
i8od modus loyupa, Kal cwrnpioy Ojon
TO TElyos Kal TeEpiTeLyos.
€xovea mudavas dwdexa xrd.} Ezeki-
el’s city also has twelve gates (Ez.
xviii. 31 ff.). IvAdy may be either the
vestibule of a great house, through
which visitors pass from the street
into the courtyard (cf. Gen. xliii. 18
eAddnoay avT@ €v TO TUA@ME TOU oixov,
Le. xvi. 20 Aafapos €8¢€8Anro mpos rov
TuA@va avrov, Acts Xil. 13 Kpovoayros
S€ avrov thy Ovpay rod muAd@vos); or,
as here, the gate-tower of a city-wall
(cf. 3 Regn. xvii. 10 émopevén els
Sapenra, eis Tov muA@va THs ToAEws,
Acts xiv. 13 6 re iepevs rod Acs rot
dvTos mpo THs moAews Tavpous Kai
oTéupata eri Tovs muAa@vas évéyxas...
nOekev Ovew). In both cases mudAey
is more than zwvAn, viz. the whole
structure through which admission
is gained.
The twelve angels posted at the
gateways are apparently there as
muAwpoi or dvAaxes—a feature sug-
gested perhaps by Isa. lxii. 6 éxi ray
Tetyav gov, ‘lepovoadyp, Katéornca
@vAaxas SAny thy jucpay Kat GAny thy
vixra. The city which descends from
heaven has celestial gatekeepers ;
ef. Heb. i. 14, and Yalkut Shim. f. 7.
1 “duas portas paradisi statuunt lx
myriadibus angelorum munitas.”
286 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XXI, 12
> / a ") \ > / > /
ow ayyedous OwoEeKa, Kal OvOMaTa EmLyeypaupEeva
"3 Garo
~ ~ ~ \ \ Ca Cc
avaToAns muA@vEs TPES, KaL amrO Boppa TUNWVES
13a éotw Tov dwoeKa dvdwy vidv “lopanr.
a \ \ / lo a \
Tpeis, Kal amo voToU TuAWVES TpELs, Kal aro édue-
14 u@v qTuA@VEs TpEis. “Kal TO TEiyos THs TOAEWS
12 ayyedous] angulos Prim‘*t (sed cf Prime™™) Ambr%44 | ovouara]+auvrwv S
syr&’ | emvyeypapmeva] yeypaymeva & syr8” arm eyyeypaumeva 18 | Twv dws. puro]
pr (ra) ovouara (A) Q 130 min* g vg (me) syrr Ar (om NP min?! Prim) | wwy] om
12 27 47 130 syrs" arm pr tw P x 7 49 gt 96 186 al | Icpand] pr rov 130 13 ava-
rokwy Q minfere3> Ar | om xa ter 1 186 al ygtdem tollips4 anons Prim | Boppa...vorou...
dug uw &*e-2 PQ minfereomn ygexcam me syrr arm4 anon*"s Prim Andr Ar] Boppa...ducnwv
...vorou A vg®™ et cum meonuBpias pro vorou 1 dvcuwy...Boppa...vorov gt arm! aeth
vorou...Boppa...ducuwy 98 vorov...dvcuwy...Boppa me
kal ovomata emvyeypappeva a eoTw
tov dddexa Pudov| Again the writer
is indebted to Ezekiel (xlviii. 31 ff. ai
muAa THS Toews Em GvVOpacw prey
tov “Iopand xrv.); cf. syn. Sohar 115.
27 “in atrio mundi futuri xii portae
quarum singulis inscriptum est nomen
quoddam e xii tribubus.” The O.T.
prophet allocates the gates to the
several Tribes (N., Reuben, Judah,
Levi; E., Joseph, Benjamin, Dan; 8.,
Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun; W., Gad,
Asher, Naphtali); but the Christian
Apocalyptist does not follow him in
this: the enumeration in c. vii. suffices.
The Seer’s object in referring to the
Tribes is simply to assert the con-
tinuity of the Christian Church with
the Church of the O.T. The new
Society inherits all that was _per-
manent in the number and order of
the Tribes, without their limitations ;
it is constituted ek maons dvAjs kal
yAooons (Vv. 9, Vii. 9), and the gate-
ways standing open on all sides
‘ represent its catholicity (cf Le. xiii.
29).
13. amo advatodAns muAdves Tpeis
xtA.] In Num. ii. 3 ff. the Tribes are
marshalled in a square the sides of
which look ESWN; the gates of
Ezekiel’s city which bear their names
follow the order NESW. St John’s
order, ENSW, not only differs from
both, but suggests that the Seer after
surveying the east and north walls
returns to his starting place in order
to examine those on the south and
west. It is difficult to understand
the purpose of this change, yet it
seems to be deliberate; see v. 19,
note.
°AmoO avatoAjs, amo Poppa krA.,
‘starting from the east, ‘from the
north, etc.; in Ezekiel the Lxx.
satisfactorily renders 1D" NNBON
ete. by ra mpos avarodas xrA. Archbp
Benson renders azo similarly here,
‘facing sunrise,’ ‘facing north’ ete.,
without explanation.
14. Kal TO Teixos Ths woAews Exov
Oewehiovs Saddexa] As there are
twelve gate-towers, so there are also
twelve foundation stones. The wall
is broken into twelve sections by the
twelve gates, and each section is seen
to rest on a single OeuéAvos—a vast
oblong block of worked and bevelled
stone, such as the stones which may
still be seen in the lower ranges of the
Herodian masonry at Jerusalem. For
Oewedtos see 2 Hsdr. y. 16 edwxev
Gepediovs Tod olkov Tov Beod Tod eis
"IepovoaAnu; I Cor. iii. 10 ws coos
dpxeréxtav Oeuédcov €Onxa, Heb. xi, 10 —
é£edéxeTo yap Ti Tous OepeAious ExovTav
wow. It is properly an adjective
(se. Aé6os), and in the plural may be
| XXI. 15]
|
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
287
/ > > > - >
éywy OeueNiovs dwoeka, Kal er avTw@v dwoeKa ovo-
- P) 7) ’ / 7 , /
MaTa TwWY OwoEKa aTTOTTOAWY TOU apYioU.
anon*s
either mase. or neuter ; ra OeyéAca is
frequent in the Lxx., and occurs in
» Acts xvi. 26,
To reixos...€xwy is placed by Archbp
_» Benson in his very short list of “ap-
parently real slips.” He adds also
xiv. 19, which is a fairly certain read-
ing, and on which see note ad /. "Eyov
may be due to an itacism in an early
copy, but in view of the many ano-
malies of the book it is rather to be
regarded as due to the autograph.
kal em avtav dadexa ovopata Tay
Sadexa aroord\wy krd.| Another series
of inscribed names; if the gateways
bear the names of the Twelve Tribes,
the foundation stones are distinguished
by those of the Twelve Apostles. On
the juxtaposition of these two dode-
cads see Mt. xix. 28 xaénoecbe Kai
vpeis emt Sadexa Opovous xpivovres Tas
Sadexa gvAdas tov “Iopand; in the
Apocalypse it has been suggested
already by the vision of the 24 Elders
(c. iv. 4, note). In Eph. ii. 20 the
Apostles and Prophets themselves
are a Oewedwos (€rocodounderres emt TO
OcneXio Tdv arogrodwy Kai mpopnrar,
évros dkpoywmaiov avtov Xpicrod
"Incod)—a train of thought which
goes back to our Lord’s promise to
Peter (Mt. xvi. 18) and, beyond it, to
Ps. exviii. 22, Isa. xxviii. 16; ef. Acts
iy. 11, and 1 Pet. ii. 6, with Dr Hort’s
note on the latter verse. The Apoca-
lyptist, as his wont is, seizes a current
idea and adapts it to his own pur-
pose. The Ai@os dxpoywraios does not
come into sight here; the Prophets
are not joined with the Apostles, as
by St Paul; the foundation stones are
_ those not of the Holy City, but of the
exterior wall, and they are not the
\ €
Skat 0 15
Aadov pet Euod elyey puEeTpoV KaNapyov ypvaodr,
14 exwy] exov N=" (om &*) 130 186 min?!*4 Ar | om dwéexa 1° 7 al" yg"'h*6 me aeth
'
Prim | om ew avrwy dwéexa 7 arm | ovouara] ovoua me | om dwiexa 3° vg syre™
15 om yerpoy 1 79 al me | om xadayov arm!
Apostles, but only bear their names.
As the wall gives form and compact-
ness to the City, so the Apostolic
Church is conditioned, through the
ages, by the preaching and work of
the Apostolate.
The Twelve Apostles are not in-
dividually named; it is the college
of the Apostles as a whole to which
reference is made; cf. Mt. xix. 28,
Acts vi. 2, 1 Cor. xv. 7. When Renan
observes (?Antechrist, p. 479), “ Paul
...na pas de place parmi les douze
apdtres de PAgneau, seule base de
VEglise de Dieu,” he overlooks this
fact. There is nothing to shew how
the number is made up, and it must
not be assumed that St Paul is ex-
cluded. On the other hand it is
certainly probable that St John refers
here to the original Apostolate, and
does not stop to consider the question
raised by the lapse of Judas.
15. Kat 6 Nad@v per’ euod elyev
pérpov KaXauov xp. ktA.] The measur-
ing of the City is here, as in ¢. xi. 1,
suggested by Ez. x. 3 ff. In xi. 1 the
earthly city is measured by the Seer
himself; to measure the City which
is from heaven requires the capacities
of an Angel, and it is done by the
Angel who had been talking with the
Seer about the City (6 Aaday per
€1L00, cf. v.90 €XaAnoev pet €pov). The
xaddauos Which the Angel carries is
not, as in the Seer’s case, a natural
reed, cut perhaps in the Jordan
valley (Mt. xi. 7), or in the valley of
the Upper Nile (Job xl 16), but a rod
of gold such as befitted an instrument
used in the service of God; ef. i. 12, y.
&, Vill. 3, 1X.. 53 xy. 7:
The Angel is commissioned to take
288
ef / \ / \ \ - ~;
iva petpnon Thy ToAW Kat TOUS TUA@Vas aUTHS kal
\ ~ na
10 TO TElyos aUTHS.
\ \ c 7 oA / \ \ fi
Kal TO PNKOS avTHS OTOV [Kat | TO WAaTOoSs.
15 merpynoet Q 7 | om Kae To TeLxos avTns Q 130 186 alfere50 Ay
auTNs TETP. KELTAL KaL TO LNKOS ocoy & | om Kae 3° SPQ minP435 Ar (hab A minmmAvid
vg me syr arm aeth Prim al) | to mXaros 1°]+avurns 7 syrs”
the measure of the City, its gate-
towers and its walls. The measure-
ments of the City are given in v. 16,
and those of the wall in v. 17 ; the gate-
towers are merely described (v. 21).
16. Kal 7 modus TeTpaywvos KeiTat
krA.] That the external walls form a
square whose sides face the four winds
appears from v. 12f. It is now seen
that the City itself is not only an
equilateral quadrangle, but a perfect
cube (cf. v. 17), length, breadth, and
height being equal.
The tetragon occurs more than once
in the legislation of Exodus. Both
the altar of burnt offering and the altar
of incense were of this form (Ex. xxvii.
I, Xxx. 2), and so was the High Priest’s
breastplate (2b. xxviii. 16, xxxvi. 16
=xxxix. 9); the feature reappears
in Ezekiel’s new city and temple
(Hz. xli. 21, xliii. 16, xlv. 1, xlviii. 20).
In Solomon’s Temple the Holy of
Holies was a perfect cube, 20 cubits
each way, cf. 3 Regn. vi. 19 (20) etkooe
TXELS pI)KOS, Kal Eikoou TXELS TATOS,
kal eikoot mXELS TO VIyos avTov—words
which may have suggested St John’s
TO pijkos Kat TO mAdros Kat TO Urpos
adrns ica eotiv; the New Jerusalem
answers as a whole to the aya ayioy
of the old city and therefore assumes
its shape. In ancient cities the four-
square form was not unusual. Arch-
bishop Benson, fresh from his tour
in North Africa, thought of Cirta,
the modern Constantine, “earth’s most
perfect city-throne” (Cyprian, pp. 368,
583) “située sur un cube rocheux”
(Tissot, cited in Apocalypse, p. 106).
Of Babylon Herodotus writes (i. 178):
Kéerat €v TEdi@ peyaha, péyabos €ovoa
ueTw@moy ekagTov elkoot Kat ékaTov
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
6 \eore / , =
*KaL 4 TOA TETPAYwVOS KELTaL,
[XXI. 15
\
Kal
16 Kat mots
atadiwy, ¢ovons Tetpaywvov, and &
similar account is given of Nineveh
by Diodorus Siculus (i. 3). As is well
known, the rectangular tetragon was
to Greek thinkers a symbol of perfec-
tion; see Simonides ap. Plat. Protag.
339 B Gvdp’ ayabov pev adabéws yevéo-
Oar xaderov, xepal Te Kat Toot Kat vo@
TeTpaywvor, avev \oyou Tervypévoy, and
cf. Arist. eth. Nic. i. 11, rhet. iii. 11;
similarly Hermas vis. 3, 5 of pev ovv
iGo. of Terpaywvor...ovTot eigw of
dmooroAot kal emioxorot kat didac-
KaAot kat Ovakovor of mopevOevtes KaTa
Tv oepvotnta Tov Geov. To this the
cube adds the suggestion of solidity,
stability, and permanence: cf. Andreas:
édSpardrnra dé SyAovv Aéyerat [6 KUBos];
Primasius sees in the cube-like form of
the Holy City the “soliditas veritatis
invictae.” The early commentators
allegorize freely: e.g. the anonymous
writer de monte Sion et Sina, 10:
“dicit Hierusalem Novam civitatem
quadratam per quattuor evangelia” ;
Victorinus: “civitatem ... quadratam
sanctorum adunatam turbam ostendit,
in quibus nullo modo fides fluctuare
potuit”; while Bede thinks of the
three dimensions as representing the __
“longitudo fidei,” the “latitudo cari- —
tatis,” and the “altitudo spei.” All
such speculations must be taken for
what they are worth. With regard to
the dimensions of the cube, though it __
is natural to see in them a forecast of
the extension, the comprehensiveness, _
and the elevation of Catholic Chris-
tianity, neither this nor any other
particular interpretation can safely
be pressed ; cf. Eph. iii. 18 ro wAdros
kal pcos kat dios Kat Ba@os, with
Dean Robinson’s note ad /. ‘’
XXI.17]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 289
, / \ aN = r / b) \ 7 : > iO
EMETPNOEV THY TONLY TW KANAULW €7l TTAOLWY OWOEKA
’ \ a ‘ \ / \ \ of
xiuadwv' TO piKos Kal TO mAaTOS Kal TO bryos
cod / > /
auTns loa ExT.
\ , / \ ~ ; ~
kal EMETPNTEV TO TELYOS aUTHS 17
\ / / - / >
€KaTOV TED TENAKOVTA TETTaAPWY TNX WV, MET POV av-
16°7Tw kaXauw] om arm‘ pr ev P x rr 12 31 32 79 | emt cradiwy RP 1 35 79 al?)
em otadious AQ 130 min?! Ar | xiAcadwv] om arm! pr cat Q + dwoexa (Q) minP!* syr
To wnkos 2°]+aurns 73 syré* arm‘ pr xa 38 vg" syr aeth c praeced coniung me
17 om euerpynoer Q 130 alferes? | recyos] xiAos (sic) &
0 Kat exarov trecoepaxovra A | mnxewy S
kal éuérpnoev thy TroAw...emi aota-
diay 8. yx. «rd.] Each side of the
cube measured 12,000 stades, which,
counting a stade as 606? feet, gives
the stupendous sum of nearly 1500
English miles. Such dimensions defy
imagination, and are permissible only
in the language of symbolism. Renan
(VAntechrist, p. 473) with truth calls
the Apocalypse “le parfait antipode
du chef-d’ceuvre grec,” but when he
proceeds, “sa Jérusalem céleste est
gauche, puérile, impossible,” he judges
the book by Greek standards, rather
than by those of Semitic thought. It
must indeed be confessed that these
measurements exceed the wildest
fancies of Jewish writers; cf. eg.
Orac. Sibyll. y. 251 dypt 5€ Kai “lorns
Teixyos jéya Kux\oaarres | vou’ aei-
povra ecaypis vedéwy epeServav. The
Rabbinical writers are content to
say that Jerusalem will reach to the
gates of Damascus, will cover as much
ground as the whole land of Israel,
and rise to the height of twelve miles
(Shir. R. 7. 5, Yalkut Shim. f. .57.
2, Baba bathra f. 75. 2, quoted by
Wetstein). But their city was but a
glorified Jerusalem ; a vastly greater
City, expressed in the terms of sym-
bolism, needed greater dimensions in
proportion to its magnificence.
"Eri oradioy, ‘at so many stades’ ;
the variant ¢. aradious offers the more
usual construction (cf. e.g. Dan. iii. 47
émt mXEUs).
17. Kat euérpnoev TO Teixos aris
xth.] The wall is found to measure
Ss. R.
€xaTov TEgcEpaKorTa TEgcapuy |
144 cubits, again a multiple of 12
(ef. vil. 4, xiv. 1; and Introduction,
p- exxxiv.), but falling far below the
dimensions of the City. Itis not clear
whether the writer means to give the
breadth or the height of the wall ; its
length, of course, is determined by the
cube which it surrounds. Babylon,
with a circuit of 480 stades, was en-
circled by a wall 50 ‘royal’ cubits
broad and 200 high (Herod. i. 178):
the porch of Solomon’s Temple, ac-
cording to the Chronicler (2 Chr. iii.
4), was 20 cubits wide and 120 high.
Judged by these standards, 144 cubits
would not be an inordinate breadth
for a wall intended to protect such a
city as the Apocalyptist has conceived.
But he probably intends to give its
height—ro vos immediately precedes
—and a wall 144 cubits = 216 feet
high, though in itself it might fairly
be called peya cai vwWndov (vc. 12), is
insignificant when compared with a
cube whose height is over 7,000,000
feet. But this great disproportion
may be the very point to which the
writer desires to call attention. The
walls of the City are not for defence
—for there is no enemy at large any
more (Isa. liv. 14)—but serve for
delimitation, marking the external
form of the ciritas Dei. And the
order and organization of the Church,
necessary as they are, fall infinitely
below the elevation of its spiritual
life.
petpov avéparov 6 é€atw ayyédou!
“Man’s measure which is angel's
19
290 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XXI. 17
18
/ ch. > ? / \ ¢ 2 / lon
18 Opwrov, 0 eat ayyedou. Kal 1 évOwmnots TOU
/ ~~ »! \ /
Telyous avTHS taoms, Kal 1} TONS XpuTlov xa0apov
19 Suowov vadw kabap@. oi Oeuedtor TOU TELYOUS TIS
18 cau 7 1° 8°* AP syr aeth anon™*] kar mv R* xa qv 1 Q min?! Andr Ar et ut vid
vg Prim | evdwunois 8° (ev Swuacr 8*) A 38 97 130] evdounors PQ 186 al?! Andr Ar | 7
rods] pr ody arm | xpvotov Kabapov syr®™ ex auro mundo yg%™ arm Prim | opoor]
ouoa 1 186 alParerid | vehw g 10 13 17 19 26 27 (29) 30 35 38 41 42 47 49 90 OF 94 96
(97) 98 130 | om xaBapw P 1g ot Gewedor] pr kar S* 1 7 35 49 79 amu ygcletollipss4, 5
me syr arm aeth fundamenta autem Prim
measure” (Benson). The measure-
ments taken by angelic hands are
such as are in common use among
men; no fantastic standards are to
be employed by the reader. There
is perhaps the further thought that
men and angels are cvvdovdot (XIX. 10,
xxii. 9), and men shall one day be
isdyyedor; there is no reason therefore
why angelic mensuration should differ
from human. Compare the warning
in c. xiii. 18 dpiOpos yap avOperov
éoriv, and see note there.
18. kai 7 évddpunows Tod Teixous av-
tis taoms] Only one other instance
is quoted of the literary use of év-
Sépnors (or evddunors—on the spelling
see WH.3, Notes p. 159, and cf. app.
crit. above). Josephus describing the
construction of the great mole at
Caesarea writes (antt. xv. 9. 6): 7
dé evddpnors (v0. evddpnors) doov iv
éBadXero Kata THs Oaracons diako-
cious mddas, Where the word appears
to mean simply ‘structure’ And so
Arethas here (‘évddpnow’ rv oixo-
Sony Aéyer), and the Latin versions,
which render the word aedijicatio ;
the Syriac versions give <m=man
(Syr.s™-) or <asmoman (Syr.). But
the verb évdopeiv is properly ‘to build
into’ (cf. Jos. antt. xv. 11. 5 rTotxov
clovas €xovros evdedounpevous), and such
a sense suits the present passage; 7
évddunows kTd. is apparently the equi-
valent of évedoumOn TO Teixer taones,
ie. the wall had taoms built into it,
it was cased with the precious stone,
so that it sparkled with its crystalline
radiance. Van Herwerden cites éy-
ddpnors (sic) from a late inscription
at Smyrna (Dittenberger, S7G.%, 583,
30), where it seems to mean the
materials of which a wall was built.
On iaoms see iv. 3, XXi. I1, notes.
kal 1) médis xpuciov Kabapov Gpotoy
ido xaGapo] In contrast with the
(?emerald) lustre of the outer wall,
the City itself shews like a mass of
gold—no gilded toy, but ‘pure gold,
like pure glass,’ ie. so pure that it
seemed to be transparent like the best
glass (see iv. 6, note). The same is
said in v. 21 of the street of the City ;
here it is the buildings or their towers
and roofs, seen high above the walls,
that are described. The writer pos-
sibly remembers the burnished gold of
the Herodian Temple, as he had seen
it at sunrise from the neighbourhood _
of Jerusalem: ef. Jos. B. J. v. 5. 6:
ovdév ovr’ eis uxas ovr cis ouparov —
ZemAnkw drédeuev TAAEL yap XpuTovd
oteBapais kexahuppevos mavrobev Uro Tas —
mpoéras avaro\as tup@deotarny aireman-
hey avyny...tois ye pny adixvoupevors —
Eévors réppwbev Spots Sper XLovos mApet
karedaivero: Kai yap Kaa pi) KexpvT@TO
Nevxéraros jv. The symbolism of the
double xaOapés has been well caught
by Bede: “nihil simulatum est et non ~
perspicuum in sanctis ecclesiae”—a
remark conspicuously exemplified in
the commentator’s own life.
19. of Oepehtoe Tod Tetxous T. 7. WavTE
id@ Tepio kexoopnpevot] The eye 0
the Seer returns to the foundation
stones of the outer wall (v. 14), and
he observes that they are decked
(kexoopnuevor, cf. v. 2) with precious
XXI. 19]
/ \ / , /
moAews TravTt NiOw Tysiw KEeKoTUNMEVOL’
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 291
0 BeuérAtos
6 mpwTos iaams, 6 devTEpos Tardetpos, 6 TpiToS
19 OM Kexoounuevoe g2 arm anon*’* Prim | om o Gex. o wp. cagms arm | o rpwros]
oes & | o devrepos] pr car 8 syr®” | cardgipos PQ cargnpos 186 | 0 rperos] pr xac N syré™
stones of every shade of colour, or
_ rather that each stone is itself one
— yastgem. The idea comes originally
) from Isa. liv. 11 (Sod éyad éroipatw oor
Gv@Opaxa tov AiPov cov Kai Ta OewéAua
cov cargetpoy; cf. Tobit xiii. 16 dre
olxodounOjoerat "Tepovoany carpeipw
kat opapayde, kat AiOm evripw Ta Teixn
Tov,...Kal ai marcia "I. BnpvdAA@ kai
GvOpaxt cai idm ex Sovpeip (corr. &f
’Odeip) WnporoynOjoorra ; for Rabbi-
nical illustrations see Schoettgen ad l.
But with the general conception of
a jewelled city St John combines his
recollections of the names and order
of the stones set in another sacred
terpaywvor, the High Priest’s breast-
plate (Ex. xxviii. 17 ff., xxxvi. 17 ff.
=Heb. xxxix. 10 ff.); cf. Ez. xxviii.
13, where the same list is partly used
in a description of the dress of the
King of Tyre. The twelve stones of
the breastplate are disposed in four
rows as follows: i. capdiov (DIN),
tomagtioy (NIDB), cpudpaydos (N73);
ii. avdpagé (13), aampetpos (NED),
taoms (BoM) ; lil. Acydpioy (P22),
ayartys (120%), dpedvoros (AEM) 5 iv
xpvroribos (ALA), BnpvdAXuov (any
ovixiov (DY), Comparing these with
the foundation stones in the Apoca-
lypse, it will be seen that, while eight
of the names are common to both
lists, the Apocalyptist omits dyé@paé,
— Aeydpiov, axyarns, and ov’xior, substi-
tuting yarxndar, ypvoorpacos, daxiwOos
and capdérvé—words unknown to the
Lxx. as the names of precious stones.
In the arrangement of the stones,
again, he differs from his model ; his
third and fourth rows answer roughly
to the third and fourth in the breast-
late, but his first and second reverse
e order of the first and second as
given in Exodus (see Enc. Bibl, 4811);
in other words he has started as in
v. 13 from the SE. corner of his city-
wall, and after traversing the east and
north sides has returned to the same
corner to examine the south and the
west.
The reader will find some curious
speculations on the relation of the
stones of the breastplate to the signs
of the zodiac on the one hand and
the twelve tribes on the other in
J. T. S. viii. p. 213 ff.
6 Oepedios 6 mparos tagomis KrA.] See
notes on iv. 3, xxi. 11, 18, and ef. Isa.
liv. 12 O@now ras émadkers cov taomw.
That the first foundation stone is of
the sort with which the whole wall
is cased (v. 18) shews how little our
writer studies effect, even in this
great picture of the New Jerusalem.
“O devrepos camgecpos: cf. Isa. liv. 11
iSod éyd érousalw oo....ta Bewedca wou
cargetpor, Tob. xiii. 16 olxoSounOjoera
‘lepovoadnn cardeipw, Shem. rabba 5
“aedificabit Hierosolyma lapide sap-
phiri.” The carg@etpos is mentioned
several times in the O.T.; the most
interesting examples are Ex. xxiv. 10
eldov Tov Tomov ov iotyxet 6 Beds Tov
*IopanA* Kai ra vmod trols modas avrot
woet Epyov mrAivOov cardeipov, and Ez.
i. 26, ix. 2, x. 1. As the margin of
R.V. suggests, the ancient ‘sapphire?
was probably dapis /azu/li; see Pliny,
HN. xxxiii. 21, xxxvii. 39, 54, who de-
scribes it as a sky-blue stone, flecked
with gold ; and cf. Epiphanius de
gemmis 5 ros caneipos moppupi-
{ov.. TOAAG 8€ yérn TovTOU Umdpxovow:
€ote yap 6 Baciixds ypvaooortryjs. ‘O
tpiros yxadknd@v. Xadk. is Gm. dey.
in Biblical Greek ; in Exodus dvépaé
occupies the corresponding place. The
word is supposed to denote a green
silicate of copper found in the mines
I9g—2
292
_ / /
20 yaAkynowv, 6 TETAPTOS Tuapayoos,
/ v4 / ef /
capdovvE, 6 ExTos Tapdiov, 6 EBdSouos yxpvTorsOos,
19 xadkndwy] xapxndwy 35 68 syr®” yadktdwy Q I 29 98 | cuapaydos] zmaragdus
20 capdovvé] capdiovvé A capdwrvé 29 31 48 79 | capdiov] capdcos rt 7 38
alfatmu sardius ygcle demlipss gnonse Prim sardinus yg?™*tl sardonius vg™
vee fu
near Chalcedon. In Pliny HZ. UN.
xxxvii. 18 “Chalcedonii nescio an in
totum exoleverint postquam metalla
aeris ibi defecerunt...fuere...colore in-
certi et virentium in caudis pavonum
columbarumque e collo plumis simi-
liter.” The rendering of the Armenian
version in cod. 1 (Conybeare, p. 56) is
‘turquoise.’ ‘“O rérapros cpapaydos.
Of the cudpaydos (Ex. Ul. cc., Ez. 1. ¢.,
Tob. xiii. 16, Judith x. 21, Esth. i. 6,
Sir. xxxv. 6 (xxxii. 8)) Pliny writes
(HN. xxxvii. 16): “Smaragdos vero
tanto libentius, quoniam nihil omnino
viridius comparatum illis viret.” Nero,
he adds, used it for the purpose of
a field-glass (“gladiatorum pugnas
spectabat smaragdo”), doubtless to
protect his eyes against the glare
of the sun; cf. Epiph. de gemm. 3
6 pev Nepwriavds puxpos éot TO elder,
apodpa xrwpifar, drecdns Kat duavyns.
In view of this evidence the cpapaydos
of the Apocalypse must be identified
with the emerald, or some other green
stone, and not with rock crystal (Zine.
Bibl. 4804f.). Cf. c. iv. 3, note.
20. 0 méurros capdorvé xtX.| The
capdovvé was a variety of onyx in
which the white was broken by layers
of red or brown. Cf. Pliny, H. NV.
xxxvil. 23 “Sardonyches olim ut ex
ipso nomine apparet intellegebantur
candore in sarda, hoe est, velut carne
ungui hominis imposita, et utroque
translucido.” The sardonyx was much
in request for cameos (King, £n-
graved Gems, pp. 55, 303), and was
highly valued; cf. Juvenal xiii. 138
“oemmaque princeps | sardonychum,
loculis quae custoditur eburnis.” ‘O
extos wapdtov: see ¢. iy. 3, note. ‘O
eBdou0s xypvadArdos, Pliny, HN.
XXxXViil. 42, describes these stones as
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXL 19
20 £ f
O TWEMTTOS
“aureo fulgore translucentes.” In the
Lxx. the word represents vv, ie.
the stone of Tarshish (Hz. x. 9) in Ex.
XXViii. and xxxvi. and Ez. xxviii., and
similarly in Aquila (Hz. i. 26, x. 9,
Dan. x. 6). The identification of the
ancient chrysolite is uncertain ; a yel-
low beryl and a gold-coloured jasper
much used in Egyptian art have been
suggested (Enc. Bibl. 819, Hastings,
D.B. iv. 620); Prof. Ridgeway holds
that the chrysolite of the breastplate
was the garnet. ‘O dydo0os BnpvAdos
(BnpvAdov Ex., Ez.; Bypvddos, Tob.).
The beryl, as Pliny ‘points out (ZN.
XXXvVii. 20), has much in common with
the emerald, but in colour the best
stones are blue or sea green: “pro-
batissimi sunt ex iis qui viriditatem
maris puri imitantur”: similarly
Epiphanius: yAavki{ov péy eort,
GaracooBadns. ‘O evatos romd{iov:
another greenstone—as Prof. Ridgeway
informs me, “a moss-green variety of
olivine, termed peridot.” It was highly
prized both by the Hebrews and in
the West; cf. Ps. exviii. (cxix.) 127
nyannoa Tas évroas cov UTEp TO xpuciov
kai rordtiov (='B 4 ro mafuov, cf. Ene.
Bibl. 4802), Job xxviii 19 ovk
iowOjoetar avT7 romaftoy Al@torias ; :
Hilary on Ps. d.c.: “praestat autem, b
ut ceteris metallis aur um, ita et aliis
lapidibus topazion, est enim ipse —
rarissimus et speciosissimus omnium” ; 2
Pliny H.W. xxxvii. 32 “egregia etiam- 4
nune topazio gloria est suo virente —
genere.” The green of the romagiov —
was of a golden hue, according to~
Strabo xvi. 770 Aidos dé €or Siahavys,
xpucoedés Siaddurav géyyos, and
Diod. Sic. viii. 39 Aidos...veh@ mapep- —
deprs, kal Oavpacrny eyxpycov mpoo-
ow mapexopevos. “O déxatos ypuco- —
XXI. 20]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
293
6 dydoo0s BrpuAXos, 6 €vaTos ToTatiov, 0 O€KaTos
ypucoTpacos
20 Bnpvdd\os N min™*!4] Bnpiddos A 29 Aipuddrwos Q AnpudAdos 7 31
6 évdeKatos vakwOos, 0 dwo€KaTos
79 92 186
AnprXos 1 BypvdAdov P | evvaros P 29 31 47 48 49 G8 130 186 al™ Ar | romafioy)
romavfiov P toradiov &* topadius vg*™ | xpusorpagos] xputorpacios R* Prim xpuco-
®pacwos 13 27 39 xpvcompacoy A xpvcorpagcos 7 (vg*™™) xpugoragos (-raggos) 2 29
30" (97) 98 130 xpusomacTos 40 50 92 vaxiwGos me
mTpagos. The xXpvoorpagos, which is
not mentioned in the Lxx., but
answers to the Acyvpiov of Ex., was
akin to the beryl, but of a paler green ;
Pliny, H.N. xxxvii. 32 “vicinum
genus huic est pallidius, et a qui-
busdam proprii generis existimatur
vocaturque chrysoprasus.” According
to King (Precious Stones, pp. 130, 163)
it is to be distinguished from the
modern chrysoprase, which is apple-
green, an agate coloured by oxide of
nickel. ‘O évdexaros vaxivOos. On
the word vaxiv6os see ix. 17, where
vaxivOiwos is associated with mupivos
and @ewdns, apparently meaning ‘of
the colour of blue smoke. In Ex.
the corresponding stone is the dark
red ayarns (cf. Enc. Bibl. 4812), but
in the Apocalypse at all events it is
safer to follow the account of Pliny
(“violaceus,” see below), and Epi-
phanius (vrromoppupiwr) ; "the modern
sapphire is said to be the stone
intended. ‘O dwdéxaros duéOvaros:
distinguished from the vaxwéos by
its greater brilliancy ; see Pliny 7ZN.
xxxvii. 41 “differentia haec, quod ille
emicans in amethysto fulgor violaceus
dilutus est in hyacintho”; Epiph.
de gemm. 9 ovtos Kata THy adTou Tepi-
depeay Proyilwy €ori Badews, 7 S€ avr
€oTt heuxorépa ek Tov pécov, olvwroy
aroré:movea eidos. The Libyan sort,
Epiphanius adds, éoriv vaxivOw xabapa
mapar\njowws.
Collecting results, we observe that
- the stones are in the main of four
colours, blue (cardeipos, vaxiwéos,
auebvoros), green (tacts (2), Xa dar,
opapaydos, BypvdXos, Tora{iov, xpuoo-
mpacos), red (capdorvé, capdiov), and
yellow (ypuc0Ac@os). But the stones
of the same general colour vary
greatly both in hue and brilliancy,
as the descriptions shew. In several
cases different shades of the same
colour appear to be arranged in
groups, e.g. the two reds are placed
together (5, 6), and the greens form
two sequences (3, 4 and 8, 9, 10); but
it is precarious to attach significance
to this order, which appears to depend
on an arbitrary modification of that
of the stones in the High Priest’s
breastplate. If we may ask what
purpose the Spirit of prophecy had in
this enumeration of precious stones
beyond the general design of connect-
ing the New Jerusalem with the
symbols of the Twelve Tribes, a key to
the most probable answer is supplied
by Clement of Alexandria, paed. ii. 12,
§ 119 ras dwdexa ths ovpavorddews
muAas Tyslots drecxaopévas AiBois TO
Tepiomtov THs amroarodiKhs darys
aivitres@at yapitos exdeyoueOa...cvpu8o-
Aixds Toros elkotws TeiyiCerar Ta
dylovy mods mvevpatixds olxodo-
poupern* mpos TO avOos oly Trav NiPwy
TO Gpipnror, To avOos Tb mvevparos, Td
axnparoy Kai dy.ov THs ova ias vevorKag,
He does not pursue the train of
thought, but it is easy to do so. The
Apostolic College itself was composed
of men of greatly varying capacities
and characters, and in passing under
the hand of the great dpyiréxray, Who
made them foundation stones of the
wall of the new City of God, no one of
these lost his own individuality. The
same is true of the entire building;
every colour, every shade of colour,
every degree of brilliancy is found
204
21 audfvcros. 7
20 apeBbvoros] apyedvorwvos R* aueOucos R°* 1 7 29 31 38 130 186 al” Ar xpuao-
21 om dwdexa 2° 8* (hab &**) Prim | ava] wa A 35 om 130 | es] +
kat P syrs™ | e& evos] pr ws PQ 79 92 | xpucrov xadapou syré¥ Prim
mpacos me
among the living stones which make
up the ideal City. The rodvmolkidos
copia tov Oeot (Eph. iii. 10) reflects
itself in the saints, but not wholly in
any one saint. The High Priest alone
wears all the colours on His breast;
of the rest it is said: Sduapécess yapio-
patev eiolv...dvapécers Svaxovay...
diaipécers evepynuatwr (cf. Bede ad 1.).
21. Kat of Sadexa muddves Swdexa
papyapira] From the foundation
stones the Seer’s eye turns back to
the gateways which divide them
(cv. 12 ff.). Of these also each is a
gem, not however a precious stone
as in Isa. liv. 12 Ono...ras midas cou
AiBous kpuoradAov, but a single pearl.
The pearl has no place in the O.T.
lists of jewels, though a reference to
it has been suspected in one or two
doubtful passages (see Enc. Bibl. ad
y.). But in N.T. times the dealer in
‘goodly pearls’ was not unknown on
the great roads of Galilee (Mt. xiii.
46), and the pearl was among the
treasured ornaments of the wealthier
class (Mt. vii. 6, 1 Tim. ii. 9). The
later Jews looked forward to a time
when pearls would abound in Israel;
Yalkut Shim. f. 54. 1 “fore ut limi-
tes Israelis repleantur gemmis et
margaritis, venturosque Israelitas et
inde accepturos quantum lubuerit.”
There is a remarkable parallel to the
present verse in Baba bathra, f. 75. 1
“ Deus adducet gemmas et margaritas
triginta cubitos longas totidemque
latas easque excavabit in altitudinem
viginti cubitorum et latitudinem de-
cem cubitorum, collocabitque in portis
Hierusalem.”
Bede finds a spiritual significance
in the gates of pearl: “sicut lua vera
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
Kat ot Oddexa muAwves SwoeKa pap-
yapirat: ava eis ExaotTos TwY TUAwWYWY AV €& évos
Mapyapitov’ Kal wAaTeia THs ToAEwS Xpuciov
[XXT. 20
.. Sanctis donavit lumen esse mundi,
sic et ipse cum sit margarita sin-
gularis...suos nihilominus margari-
tarum fulgori comparat.”
ava eis exaoros...nv €& évds papyapl-
tov] Hach gate-tower seemed to have
been carved out of a single monstrous
pearl. With this use of ava cf. the
use of xara in Me. xiv. 19 eis xara eis,
note, ‘Jo.’ viii. 9 eis xa@ eis, Rom. xii.
5 ro 8€ xa@ eis, and see Blass, Gr.
p.179; Abbott, Johannine Grammar,
§§ 1890, 2281. The punctuation of
Syr.s* shews that the translator had
before him eis dva eis in the present
place ; see Dr Gwynn’s note ad Z.
kai 1 tAarteia Tis modews xpuciov
kaOapév xth.] See v. 18, where the
same is said of the Holy City as a
whole. Acavyys brings out the special
point of xa@apos ; the gold was so pure
that men seemed to look into and
through its clear depths as they walked
upon it; the word is unknown to the
LXXx. and Gz. dey. in the N.T., but used
by Philo, and by Aquila in Proy. xvi.
5, Where the Lxx. has gavepa; Aq.
uses also dsavyaterv, diavyacua. For
mAareia see Me. vi. 56, D, and c. xxii.
1; the ideal City has no narrow popac
(Le. xiv. 21), but only the broad
thoroughfare of a perfect fellowshi
—how striking a feature those wilt j
understand who have threaded their —
way through the lanes of an Eastern
town; even in Tobit’s picture of a
restored Jerusalem these are not ab-—
sent, and he is content to present —
them in a new light: €potow raat
ai pipar avris “AdAnAovia (Tob. “xiv. —
18). '
Victorinus allegorizes: “plateae...
ostendunt corda ab omnibus mundata
XXI. 23]
Ka0apov ws vados diavyiis.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
295
\ \ > 7 >
kat paov OUK €looyv éy 22
coal \ / rf \ « / \ , ~
auTN* 0 yap KupLos O Geos 6 TavToKpaTwp vaos avTis
/ \ \ > /
€oTiV, Kal TO apviov.
\ t / , / ~
Skat n Tots OU ypelav ExEL 23
- « xa\ - / «/ / - ra
ToU rAlov ovdEe THs TEAHVNS, Wa Cawwow avTH* 7
‘
yap: doga Tov Beov épwrier avTyv, Kat 6 UYvOS
21 ws) xat 186 | vedos 7 8 13 (29) 35 (38) 39 41 49 91 94 96 (97) 98 130 186 al
ret ex Annst Ar
22 edov RP 1 7 130 186 al?! Andr Ar] «ov AQ g2 | 0 yap Kupios o
Beos] ore o kK. o O. R* ore Kupsos syr aeth IrsrexAnst | yaos aurns] pro A
23 Katy
mos]+avrn 38 97 syr | exev arm | dawwow (dawovew 186)]+ev R* 49 gt G6 186
al vg****™ (in ea) me | aurn (aurny 35 79 al) 7 yap] avrn yap 7 Q 130 min® arm‘ | 7
yap SAP min™ yg syr8¥] orc 7 [retex Anast
sordibus...perspicua luce fulgida ut
merito in iis deambulet Dominus.”
22. kal vaov ovx eidov ev avtj| The
City possesses no Sanctuary, for it is
itself a Holy of holies, as its cubic
form suggests (v. 16); cf. 2 Cor. vi. 16
nueis yap vaos Oeod ecpev (avros,
xabas elmev 6 Oeds Sri "Evorxnow ev
avrois. The Eternal Presence (7. 3)
renders the new Jerusalem one vast
vaos. There is therefore no conflict
between this verse and c. iii. 12 4
VikGv, TOUT avToy oTVAOY ev TO vae
Tov G00 pov, Which in the light of the
present passage is simply a promise
of permanent citizenship in the Holy
City. Nor do St John’s words here
condemn the present use or building
of magnificent churches. Material
sanctuaries, nevertheless, are a con-
fession that the perfect has not yet
come ; the ideal Church has no need
of them; cf. Andreas: ris yap xpeia
vaov aigOnrov Ti €xovay Tov Gedy hpov-
pov kat oxerny ;
6 yap xvpwos...vads aurns ¢oriv]
The Divine Presence in Itself consti-
tutes a Sanctuary which supersedes
material structures; cf. Jo. iv. 21
épxerat @pa Gre ovre €v TO Sper TOVTH
otre ev lepomoAvmos TpoTKUYNnTETE TO
marpi. For [6] xvpios 6 Geos 6 ravro-
kparap see i. 8, note ; it answers to the
minis ON MM. of the O.T., Who is
here significantly associated with the
Tamb; cf. vii. 9 f, xiv. 4, xxii.
1f. The revelation of the O.T. finds
its consummation in the Incarnate
Son ; the promise of God’s Presence
with His people is realized in the
Person of the sacrificed and exalted
Christ.
23. Kal 7 woAts ov ypeiay Exee TOU
jAiov xrA.] A second distinction of
the Holy City. As it needs no ma-
terial temple, since it is pervaded by
the Presence of God, so it needs no
created light, since the same Presence
irradiates it unceasingly. Cf. An-
dreas: €vOa yap o ths Sixacooiyns
vontos HAs, alaOnrav dwotnpey ov
xpeia. Sun and moon, the luminaries
of the first creation (Gen. i. 14), have
no place in the second; ef. Isa. lx.
19f. ov €otat gor Er 6 HArws eis Has
npépas, ovde avaroAr wednrvns Pwrret cor
THv vuKta, GAd’ Eotat cor Kipws das
aldvov. The thought recurs in ¢. xxii.
5 ovx €yovow xpeiay Pwrds Avxvov Kal
gwrds jAiov. No words could more
clearly demonstrate the purely spiri-
tual character of St John’s conception
of the New Jerusalem.
Fora Rabbinical parallel see Yalkut
Ruben, f.7. 3 “neque in mundo futuro
necesse habebunt lumen solis interdiu
et lumen lunae noctu.”
4 yap Sofa rod @eot xrd.] The
Divine Glory, the revelation of the
fulness of the Divine attributes, is the
Sun of the ideal order—‘“ lumen (as
Victorinus eloquently writes) cuius
296
co \ /
24 avTns TO apviov.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXI. 23
24 \ / \ 46 \
Kal TEPLTATYHOOVCLY Ta €UVYYH o.a
Lo A ae \ c a - ood ,
Tou QwTos avTns, Kal OL Baoirels THs yns pEepovow
\ A > - 2 5) / 25 \ e ~ WSR
25 TnHv do€av auTwY €ls auTnVY' Kat Ol muAwWVYES aUTHS
> \ lan € / \ \ > of > ~.
ov py KAErOw@ow, nmEepas, we§ yap OUK €OTaL EKEl
23 To apyioy] pr egtiv vg syré”
24 OM kat wepimaTyoovo...avTns arm | Ta €6vy]
+rwy cwfouevwy x (ex Andr comm ut vid) | ¢gepovow]+ avtw Q 130 alfe*> | ryy dogav)
+xac (rnv) Tyuny (Q) min™™" vg syr (Ar) | av7wy] rwv efywy Q 130 min®® me syr
25 nuepa S* (-pas &-*) | ecrac] qv arm? eorw arm*
splendorem nullus potuerit sensus
cogitare nec lingua proloqui” ; cf. Ps.
XXXV. (XXXVl.) 10 €y T@ hori gov
ovopueba pas. We expect the writer
to proceed, kal 1) ceAnvn avris To
apviov, but for 7 ceAjvy he writes o
Advxvos, perhaps because he shrank
from likening Christ to ‘the lesser light
(Gen. i. 16 tov hworhpa rov eacce),
perhaps because he wished to contrast
the one Lamp which illuminates the
ideal Church with the many Avxvia of
the churches on earth (i. 12, 20).
24. Kal mepiratnoovow ta On dia
Tov d@wros avtis xrd.| Based on Isa.
Ix. 3 kal mopevoovra Bacireis TH hori
cov, kat €6vn TH AapmporynTi cov. No
such world-wide influence was ever
the lot of the older Jerusalem. Rome
came nearer to the ideal in her re-
lation to the provinces of the Empire,
and her influence over the countries
where she exercised the rights of
suzerain. But the light of Rome was
in the end to go out in darkness, as
the Seer foresaw (xviil. 23). The
Church alone possesses an unfailing
source of illumination, which radiates
far beyond her borders. Nations not
yet Christian, or Christian chiefly in
name, reap the benefit of Christian
opinion and Christian standards of
life. Whatever there is in modern
life which promises~ amelioration of
social evils is probably to be ascribed
to the influence, direct or indirect, of
a dominant Christianity, even where
that influence is most stoutly denied.
On the other hand Christianity derives
certain advantages from contact with
the world. From the fourth century
the Church has received the tribute
of recognition from the State; the
kings of the earth—not as some of
the Latin commentators suggest, the
“reges spirituales” of her own body,
but secular princes—have heaped
honours upon her. So far history has
verified the Seer’s forecast, and the
fulfilment continues to this day. How
it will accomplish itself when the
ideals of the Church have been rea-
lized must be left to the future to
disclose. The words may have refer-
ence only to the present order, or they
may indicate some gracious purpose of
God towards humanity which has not
yet been revealed: cf. c. xxii. 2 Ta
guvAda tod ~vdov eis Oepareiay Tar
e6vev, and the note there.
25. Kal of muAa@ves adris ov jet) KAeEt-
cOdow npépas xtr.]| The Seer still
follows, and while he follows expands
Tsaiah (1x. 11 Kai avotyOnoovrat ai wuAat
cov Ova mavros, 74épas Kal vuKTOs ov KEL
cOnoovra). In the ideal City night is
unknown, because the sun of the Divine
Presence never sets ; cf. Isa. lx. 20 ov
yap Svcera 6 WAws oo...€oTar yap
Kupws cov das aidnorv. In the history
of nations, as in nature, darkness suc-
ceeds to light, civilization is followed
by outbursts of barbarism. In the
ideal Church no such relapses are —
possible ; the future holds no Dark
Ages for the City of God. Inc. vik 15 —
épas Kat vuxros Savours of the present
condition of the Church, and the vision
there is expressed in the terms of the
present.
ear er
XXI. 27] THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
297
\ A \ , \ \ \ ‘aa > - Z
*kal olaovow THY do€apv Kal THv Tyuny Tov eBvey 20
> , / a7 \ ’ \ > , ’ > \ -~ —
els auTNY. Kal OU jay eloeAOn eis auTHnY Tay 27
‘
\ \ ca / \ ~ \ e
kowov kai [6] mowy Bdeduvypa Kal yevOos, Et far ot
/ > ~ / ~ - - > /
yeypaumevor €v TH BiBriw THs CwHs Tov apviou.
26 totum versum om 1 | es avrnv]+iwa ewehwow Q min® Ar 27 eweddn]
eicehOwow | o rowy &* mine? syrr] mowy &-* A 18 41 68 92 faciens vg Ambr
anon*s Prim mou PQ 1 186 al™™ Andr Ar | BdeXvyua] pr wre &* | yeypau-
fevor] eyyeypaumevor rf 31 | OM Tys fwys syrs* Prim | rov aprov] r. ovpavov X om
Tre ex Annet
The gates of the New Jerusalem
stand open through the Eternal Day
to allow of the freest ingress and
egress, cf. Jo. x. g d¢ euov cay tis
eig€AOn...€loehevoerat Kai eEehevoerat ;
the cry émapOnre, mvAae aidvior (Ps.
XXxiii. (xxiv.) 7, 9) is heard no more at
the approach of the King, nor is there
any hasty closing of the portals as an
enemy is seen to be near. *Ex\eio@n
7 @vpa (Mt. xxv. 10) has reference to
other circumstances, which can never
occur in the ideal City.
26. Kal olaovow thy dd€av Kal rhy
Tiny Tav €Ovar eis ee) A further
presentation of the thought expressed
in v. 24; ef. Isa. lx. 5 peraSarei e’s oe
mAovTos Oadacons Kai €Ovayv Kai Aawv.
As Rome in her time attracted the
merchandise of the world (xviii. 11 ff.),
so in days to come all that is best in
human life will flow into the City of
God. The Seer foresees the conse-
cration to the service of Christ, in the
coming centuries, of art, literature,
and science, of national character and
power, of social and civic life.
27. Kal ov pr elaéXOn eis adtyy wav
xowov xtA.} In the ideal condition of
the Church the influx of the nations
with their several offerings will not
bring with it the elements of evil
which hitherto have been associated
with wholesale conversions. The open
gates of the City of Light exclude the
works of darkness; ris yap (Andreas
appositely asks) xowwvia dwri mpds
oxoros; Cf. Isa. xxxv. 8 ov py mapedd7
e€xet axa@aptos ; 7d. lii. 1 ovxére mpoore-
Onoerat SueAOeiv Sua cov arepitunros
cat axa@apros ; Ez. xliv.9. The reali-
zation of this vision of purity belongs
to the future, but not exclusively so ;
the remark of Primasius: “futuri tem-
poris circumscribit ecclesiam quando
non sicut nunc permixtos cum bonis
cohabitantes patitur malos” must be
taken with Bede’s reservation: “sed
et nunc omnis immundus et mendax
non est in ecclesia.” On xowor see
Me. vii. 2, note, and cf. Acts x.
14 may xowov nat axadaprov. Here
as in Me. vii. 20, 23 the word has
passed into an ethical meaning ; the
verdict by which Christ ‘cleansed all
meats’ (7b. 19) leaves moral pollution
the only true cower. ‘O mor BdeAvypa
kat Weidos. Babylon the Great was
full of BdeAvypara (xvii. 4); the New
Jerusalem has no place for the ¢3ée-
Avypeévos (xxi. 8). Falsehood, the anti-
thesis of 7) dAn@eca, is no less absolutely
excluded. The Apocalyptist, who had
experience of pagan life at Ephesus,
loses no opportunity of condemning
its insincerity; cf. xiv. 5, xxi. 8, xxii.
15. But as the last passage shews,
his exclusion of the insincere from the
City of God must be limited to those
who are consciously and contentedly
insincere ; 6 wowyv W. is to be inter-
preted as o Pier cai ror.
ef py of yeypaupévor xrd.] ‘but only
those whose names are inscribed ete.’; ©
ef. Dan. xii. 1. The exception refers
not to o roy 88. cai y., but to all
who seek to enter, as if the sentence
had run ov pn eicedA@n ovdeis, ei pr
O.Gke
208
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXIL. x
I*kat éde€év ot ToTamov VdaTos Cwrs apempov ws
/ - val -~
KpvoTanQov, EKTTOPEVOMEVOV EK TOU Opovou tou Oeou
\ - /
2 Kal ToU apviou.
2? iA ~ 7 baat \
eV MEOW THS TAATELAS AUTHS Kal
XXII 1 rorapov] pr xabapov 1+KxaGapov 7 26 31 32 35 38 46 49 79 Or 96 arm
Andr Ar | om Aaumpov 38 40 arm | Tov @povov] om Tov &
«tA. For the ‘ Book of Life’ see iil.
5, note, xx. 15, and for the qualifying
Tov apviov cf, xiii. 8, note.
XXIL 1. kat %evéév por rorapov
Udatos (wis xtv.] The Seer is now
shewn by the Angel (xxi. 9) the in-
terior of the City. The vision com-
bines that of Ezekiel xlvii. 1—12 with
the account of Eden in Gen. ii. 9 ff,
adding certain newfeatures. In Gen.
i. c. the river issues from Eden and
is parted into four heads; in Ezekiel
a stream issues from its source in
the Temple-rock, and running east-
wards presently becomes a river too
deep to be forded; the river makes
its way to the Dead Sea, which it con-
verts into fresh water, and on its banks
there grow fruit trees which bear
throughout the year. In St John’s
vision the river issues from the Throne
of God and of the Lamb, which has
taken the place of the Temple (cf. xxi.
22 with xxii. 3); and it waters not the
wilderness but the City itself (cf. Ps.
xly. (xlvi.) 5 rod rorapod Ta opynpara
evppaivovow tiv moAw Tov Geov), and
the fruit trees which grow on its
banks are identified with the Tree of
Life which grew in the primaeyal
Paradise.
For tdap (was see vii. 17, xxi. 6,
xxii. 17, notes. The conception of a
river of the water of life appears
already in Joel iii. 18 any e& otkov
Kupiov e&edevoerat, Zech. xiv. 8 Kai év
TH Nuepa exeivn e€chevoera VOwp (adv
ef "Tepovoahnp, and Ez. xlvii. 9 kal
éorTat maca Vox TOY Coov TOV €k-
Ceovron, émt mavta ef’ a ay enéXOn
€xet 0 mrorapuos, (noera; cf. Sanhedr.
f. 100. 1 “Deus producturus est
fluvium ex sancto sanctorum iuxta
quem omnia genera fructuum delica-
2 eupeow A | om aurns 186
torum erunt.” See especially Jo. vii. 38
6 muaTevar els ene, Kaas elev 7) ypahy,
ToTapol ek Tis Kotkias GvTOU pevoovoLw
vdatos (évros. The explanation which
follows ab. 39 (rovro 8€ eimev trept
TOU mvevparos ov €uweAhov apBavew
of mustevoarvres cis avrov) leaves no
doubt how the metaphor was un-
derstood by the school of St John,
and may therefore be taken to in-
terpret the present passage. The
River of Life which ‘gladdens the
City of God’ is the gift of the Spirit
which followed the Ascension and
which, once bestowed, remains with
the Church for ever (Jo. xiv. 16).
Aapmrpov ws kpvoraAXor (2. 1), sparkling
like rock crystal; ef. iv. 6 @ahacca...
opoia Kpvota\\@. "Exmopevopevoy €k
tov Opdévov xrA.: the River of the life-
giving Spirit issues forth out of the
Throne, or, as Andreas explains, é« rod
Ocovd Kal matpos éxropevopevoy, kat dia
Tov dpviov. The words, however, can-
not be used with any confidence in the
Filioque controversy, for it is the mis-
sion of the Spirit rather than His
eternal Procession which is in view
here, as indeed it probably is even in
Jo. xvi. 26. For the patristic inter-
pretation see History of the Doctrine
of the Procession, p. 8, note.
‘O O@povos tov Oeod Kai tod apviov
(we. 1, 3) is a startling expression ;
elsewhere the Lamb is év péo@ or
dva pécov tod Opovov (vy. 6, Vii 17),
and 6 kaOjpevos emt rod Opovov is the
Almighty Father as distinguished
from the Incarnate Son (v. 13, vi. 16,
vii. 10). But cf. iii. 21, where the
glorified Christ is represented as ‘the
Father’s avOpovos, and see note there.
2. €v peo@ Ths mAareias avThs Kat
tov moranov xrA.}] WH., following a
aiuto saint
|
|
XXII. 2) THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 299
-~ ~ , -~ \ , - / con -
Tov ToTauou évTevbev Kai exeiDev EvNov Cwns mo.ovy
\ , \ - / _ \
Kaprovs OwoeKa, KaTa pjva EkaaTov arrodiwovv Tov
\ > ~ \ / ~ / > /
Kaprrov avTou, kal Ta GUANA TOU EvAov Eis Oeparreiav
2 Tov woramou] pr ewe syr®" | evrevey cae execbev AQ (P hiat post ex.) 130 al’ me
syr Ar] evrevier x. evrevOev 1 35 49 79 91 186 al evdev x. evdev & (evfev 2° suppl N“*)
ex utraque parte fluminis vg Hil Ambr anon*s Cassiod al | in fvAov wns hiat &
mow SQ 130 186 min?! Andr Ar] row A 18 | xara] pr xac g8 syrt™ | unva (unvay
A)]+eva 1 186 ale Ar | exacrov] exacrw Q 39 40 exacros 2 8 16 38 130 al’? |
amodtéow A min™] arodidous SQ 130 186 alP'a> Ar amodidovra 1 2g | Tow Kapow]
Tous Kaprrous S% syr&* | rou EvAov] rwv Eviwy & | es Geparrecav] pr xarayyederac 11 31
32 33 Ar (ex Andr comm)
Matthaei, connect év péow rhs mh.
airys with v. 1 (cf. R.V. “he shewed
me a river...in the midst of the street
thereof”), and govern rov sorapnov
by evreiOev cai exeidev (R.V. “on this
side of the river and on that”). But
if the words ev peow «rd. belonged
to v. 1, they would more naturally
precede éSe:Fev than follow rod dpviov.
Moreover, tough the adverbs évreidev
kai exeiOev may have a prepositional
force (cf. e.g. Jos. ix. 6 (viii. 33) évOev
kal evOev (724 NID) Hs KeySwror,
Dan. xii. 5 Th. cis évretOev rov
xeous rod motauod), yet their posi-
tion after rov morayod suggests that
they are used here adverbially as in
Ex. xxvi. 13 émi ra mAayia THs oKnris
évOev xai évOev; Ez. xlvii. 7 (the basis’
of the present passage) dévdpa roa
opodpa évOev nai EvOev ; tb. 12 ent Tov
xetAous avrov évOev cai €véev. On the
whole, then, the usual punctuation
seems preferable, and we may trans-
late “between the street of the City
and the river, on this side and on
that”: for év péow = ava pécoyv cf. c. v. 6,
note. The picture presented is that
of a river flowing through the broad
street which intersects the city, a row
of trees being on either bank. The
precise phrase evret@ev kai exeidev is
quoted by Wetstein from Aelian V.4.
il. 4, ix. 34, xiii. 23.
EvAov (wns mowiv xaprovs Swdexa
xrA.] Cf. Ez. xlvii. 12 wai emi rot
xetAous adtod evOev xai EvOev- wav Evdov
Bpodomov...ovde pn éexAimn 6 Kaprros av-
TOU" THS KaLvOTNTOS aUTOU (GAXos* eis TOUS
pivas avrov, cf. M.T. yen?) T pwro-
Bodnoe. Andreas well remarks:
ov yap apaprias €oTat yxemsav exei,
pidAwr pony avayxalwv macxew Ta THs
Cans Sévdpa, xabas opayev onuepor.
For £vAov = dévdpor (vypov EvAoyr,
Le. xxiii. 31) and the phrase &. (a7js,
see ii. 7, note; like /Y in Gen. i. 11 f.,
&UXov is here clearly collective, since
there are trees on either side of the
river. Andreas: €60s 8€ ty ypapy
moAXaxyou avri EvA@v TodkAav EnxKos
EvXov care. The twelve fruits, one
for each month, are suggested by
Ezekiel 7c. and familiar to later
Jewish writers, e.g. Shemoth rabba
15 “tempore futuro... Deus faciet
arbores quae quovis mense fructus
ferant ; homo vero qui de illis comedet
sanabitur.” It is not clear whether
twelve crops of fruit are intended or
“twelve manner of fruits” (A.V., R.V.);
the latter idea lends itself well to
the symbolism of the passage, for
the one “fruit of the Spirit” is mani-
fold in its varieties (Gal. vy. 22).
The fruits of the Tree of Life are
doubtless life-supporting (Gen. iii
22) and intended for the service of
the citizens of the New Jerusalem ;
see vr. 14, and cf. Ez. xlvii. 12 fora 6
xapros avray els Bpaow, Enoch xxv. 5
6 Kaptros avrov Tois exAexrois eis (wry,
els Bopavy. But the tree is not only
“good for food” (Gen. iii. 6); its
300
3 Tov €Ovwv.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
\ co / > af af
3Kal wav KaTaQeua ovK EoTat ETL.
[XXII. 2
\
Kal
ec 7 _ ro \ ~ / m of \
6 Opovos Tov Beod Kai Tov dpviov ev a’TH ExTaL, Kal
€ a los / ~ Ne 3,
401 dovAOL avTOU AaTpEVTOVTW av’Tw@, *kat OWovTat
2 Twy €Ovwy] om Tw & pr ofGahywy me
3 Karabeua N° (karaypa &*) APQ
1 al? Andr Ar] xatavadeua S$ nullo suadente codice ut vid, nulla versione | er:] om
N* exer 1 7 38 52 186 syr8” Andr Ar | 0 @povos] om o & | Natpevovow 2 8 12 38 98
130 arm?
leaves have therapeutic properties
(Bz. Ul. c.); the xx. rendering dvd-
Baois avrav eis vyievay is obscure,
but our writer has access to another
version or to the Heb., and rightly
translates ABN 3n2Y) by kal ra
vada eis Gepareiav. The therapeutic
work of Christ (Le. ix. 11 rods xpetav
éxovras Oeparreias iaro) is continued on
its spiritual side at least by the Church,
and may find in a future order oppor-
tunities at present unsuspected. As
in ¢. xxi. 24, 26, the Seer seems to fore-
cast the presence of ¢6yn, nations not
yet included among the citizens of
the New Jerusalem, even after the
Parousia, but the inference is too
uncertain to be used for a dogmatic
purpose. He may refer only to the
functions of the Church in the present
state; so far as she fulfils her true
office she is the healer of the diseases
of humanity.
3. Kal way xardOepa ovk état err]
Karagepa is without example in
Biblical Greek, though xaraOeparifew
occurs in Mt. xxvi. 74 as the equivalent
of Me.’s avaOeyvaritev, and the noun
is used in Did. 16 cwdncovrat ard Tov
xataGépatos. It is perhaps somewhat
stronger than avaeua (Andreas: kar’
enitagw eipnobar vouitowev Katabepa),
an ‘execration’ and not simply a
‘ban.’ *Avadeua may be either the
sentence pronounced, as in the phrase
avadépart avabeparifey (Deut. xiii. 15 f,
Acts xxiii. 14), or the object on which
it is laid (Deut. vii. 26 BdeAdvypare
BdedAVEN, Gre avaOnpa (dvadepa, AF)
eoTwv), ef. Rom. ix. 3, I Cor. xii. 3, XVi.
22, Gal. i. 8 f. Probably the latter is
the meaning of xarafeya here; no
execrated or execrable person or thing
shall be found in the Holy City; cf.
v.15. The form of the thought is from
Zech. xiv. 11 avadepua (O30) OUK eaTat
€rTl, Kal kaTotnoer “lepovcadnp Terot-
Gorws. Tlay adds to the strength of
the negative; nothing of the sort
remains in the New Jerusalem ; con-
trast Gen. iii. 19.
kat 6 Opdvos tov Oeod xrd.| The
Throne of God, when first revealed
to the Seer, was seen through a door
opened in Heaven (iv. 1); now he
sees it in the Holy City which is
descending to the earth, and on it sits
not the Father only but the Incarnate
and glorified Son (2. 1, note). In
Christ the Church has within her
that which makes the chief glory of
Heaven, the revealed Presence of
God.
3, 4. Kal oi dodAor avrov Aatpevoou-
ow avT@ xtd.| To the final revelation
of God there corresponds a perfected
service ; where the Throne is always
in sight the service must be per-
petual: ef. vil. 15 cio évamiov tov
Opovov tov Oeod, kat harpevovcw ata
népas Kal vuxtos €v TH va@ avTov-
kat 6 KaOnpevos et Tov Opovov oxnvecet
émr avtovs—a Vision which is now seen
to find its fulfilment in the New
Jerusalem. On Aarpevew see the
note on the passage just quoted.
*Oworrat 76 mpdcwroyv avrod promises
to the Church in her ideal state a
privilege denied to the Lawgiver of —
the O.T.; cf. Ex. xxxiii. 20, 23 ov 7
durnon ideiv wou TO mpoowmov: ov yap
pny i8n avOpwros TO mpoo@mdoy pov Kal —
XXII. 5]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
301
\ / > col \ \ »/ ’ ~ ; ~
TO TPOTWTOY aVTOU, Kal TO OVOMa aUTOU él TwY
/ ce
METWT WV aUTOV.
5 \ \ ’ af 4 \ , <
Kal vuE OUK EOTal ETL, Kal OUK 5
of / \ / \ ~ e, / of
€exovtw xpeiav :wros AvyVoU Kat dws nAtov, ort
/ c \ ' s ’ > > / \ /
Kupwos 6 Beds pwrioe er aitous: Kal Baci\evoovew
’ \ I-A ~ ~ hs
ElS ‘TOUS AlLWYAS TWY AlLWYWwY.
4 emt Tov) pr xkac&
5 ovx eorac ert] oux eorat exec r 7 alts*™4 gyre” Andr Ar
ovk eoriv exec 186 ovk eorac exet ere Irst*Aaet ovx eorac tantum Q 130 min®Te” | ov,
exovow xpeav] ovy eLovow xp. A vg syrr Ambr anon™* ov xpea Q 7 8 38 130 al™
(arm!) neque opus erit Prim | gwros Avxvov NA 18 (38) 47 (79) vee**™ syr aeth Ambr
semel anon*’s Prim] om g¢wros PQ (1) 130 186 al?! Ambr># | gws AP rt 12 32 48
79] pwros 8 1 31 35 38 49 gt 96 al™ vgcllp> me syrr aeth | om nixov Q 2 7 8 16
30 39 51 92 94 97 98 130 al® | ore Kupios o Geos] o yap x. IrsrexAmmt | guzicer AP 12 42]
puree RQ x 130 186 al® gwrifer 31 32 48 79 al g vgsm™!lip5.6 syrr Ar | ex avrous]
om er PQ min‘reomn yg syrr arm”4 Andr Ar (hab SA 35 IrstexAn@t anon*s Prim
(super eos)) | BactNevovew TrerexAnast (arm!) | rwy awywy] Tov aiwvos me
Gjoera...oyrn Ta drigw pov, Td b€
Tmporwmov ov ovK dPOnoeral co. A
reversal of this positive bar to com-
plete fellowship with God seems to be
foreshadowed in Ps. xvi. (xvii.) 15 éyo
d€ €v Sixkacoc’yy opOnooua t@ mpoc-
ere gov: xoptaaOncopuat ev To op Ova
(PPI2) rHv Sdgav ov, but see Kirk-
patrick and Briggs ad/. To see God
is the reward of purity, and conversely
the sight of God in Christ will perfect
the process of purification (Mt. y. 8,
1 Jo. iii. 2 ff.).
Kal 70 dvoua avrov émi trav petorrwr
avrav, Cf. Andreas: dati rov ypucod
metddou ov madat 6 apyiepeds Eoper;
Bede: “confessio nominis sancti,
nune inter hostes servata, tune
Victores in patria glorificat.” Entire
consecration to the service of God
is however the leading idea of the
metaphor; see cc. iii, 12, xiv. 1,
notes,
5. wat w0& ovK €ora ett, Kai ovk
€xovow ypeiav xrd.] See xxi. 23, 25,
notes; the Seer repeats like a refrain
the absence of night in the ideal City,
and the supersession of light, natural
or artificial, by the revelation of the
glory of God. The more difficult read-
ing Pas yAlov (sc. ov Eyovow) adds
force to this refrain: ‘they have no
need of lamplight, and sunlight they
have none.’
Kat Baotievoovcw eis Tols aidvas Tov
aidvey contrasts the eternal reign of
the saints with the limited reign of
c. XX. 4 €BaciNevoay peta Tov ypiorou
xXAua €rn, tb. 6 Baoretoovow per
avroD ra yikia €ry. Potentially,
indeed, they were reigning even in
the first century (cf. v. 10 BaoiAevovow
€xt ths yns), but neither the first
century nor the fourth witnessed a
full or permanent realization of the
Regnum Dei, which is reserved for
the Church in her perfect state.
Perfect service will be accompanied
by perfect sovereignty—will be per-
fect sovereignty. The beauty of the
sequencedarpevoovow...SarXevoovrw
has been finely caught by the Gregorian
phrase “cui servire regnare est.”
Interpreters of the Apocalypse who
recognize its prophetic character
differ widely with regard to the
reference of this final vision. Does
the New Jerusalem belong wholly to
the future, or is its fulfilment to be
sought in the present life of the
Church? Augustine (de civ. Dei xx.
17) denounces the latter view in no
measured terms: “hoc de isto tempore
accipere quo regnat [se. ecclesia] cum
302 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XXII. 6
6 °Kal eimév prot OvrTot ot AOyou TigTOl Kal adn-
6 evrev] Neyer Q 130 alfere2° arm!
rege suo mille annis impudentiae
nimiae mihi videtur...quis vero tam
sit absurdus et obstinatissima conten-
tione vesanus, qui audeat affirmare in
huius mortalitatis aerumnis, non dico
populum sanctum, sed unumquemque
sanctorum...nullas habentem lacrymas
et dolores ?...In hoe quoque libro...
obscura multa dicuntur...verum in
his verbis ubi ait Absterget Deus
omnem lacrymam ab oculis eorum
etc., tanta luce dicta sunt de saeculo
futuro...ut nulla debeamus in litteris
sacris quaerere vel legere manifesta,
si haec putaverimus obscura.” Even
a stronger case might be made out
for a purely ‘futurist’ view; in its
favour may be urged the place which
the vision occupies in the order of the
Book (but see note on xx. 1); the
difficulty of finding an approximately
complete counterpart to it in the
history of the Christian Society; the
writer’s use of the future tense in xxi.
24 ff, xxii. 3 ff. On the other hand
it cannot be denied that there is
much in the picture which fulfils itself
to a greater or less extent in the
present experience of Christendom,
if allowance is made for the idealism
which characterizes the thought and
language of Apocalyptic prophecy.
Perhaps it is in this last considera-
tion that the solution of the difficulty
is to be found. The Holy City which
passes before the mind of St John is
the Ideal Church as conceived in the
purpose of God and to be realized in
His own time. So far as this con-
ception is purely spiritual, the powers
by which it can be converted into
actuality have been in the possession
of the Church from the first, and the
results are manifest in the moral
triumphs of Christianity. Already
the many colours of the New Jeru-
salem and the flashes of its crystal
luminary may be seen by those whose
eyes are not closed against the
heavenly vision; men slake their
thirst in the River, and nations find
healing in the leaves of the Tree.
But as a whole the ideal is still far
above us, nor will it be reached until
a new age has been inaugurated by
the Lord’s Return.
XXII. 6—20. Epmocur: Last
WORDS OF THE ANGEL, THE SEER, AND
THE Lorp.
6. Kaletrév pou Odror of Aoyot TioTot
xtA.| The visions of the Apocalypse
are now ended; they have reached
their climax in the New Jerusalem.
It remains for the Seer to report
the parting utterances of some of the
personae dramatis, and this is done
in the disjointed manner which char-
acterizes much of the latter portion of
the Book ; it is often difficult to dis-
tinguish the speakers, or to trace the
connexion of the thought.
The first speaker (vv. 6 f.) is doubt-
less the hierophant angel of xxi. 9,
15, xxii. 1. The sayings which he
pronounces to be ‘faithful and true’
(xxi. 5, note) are, as the sequel shews,
the teachings of the entire Book, and
not only the noble words with which
the last of its visions has just ended
(vv. 3—5). The «ai which follows is
quasi-‘ epexegetic’: these sayings are
faithful and true, seeing that they con-
stitute a message which the Almighty
Himself has sent through His angel.
There is a reference here, as in more
than one other phrase in the Epilogue,
to the Prologue (i. 1—3); the words
deiEae Tois SovAots avrod a Sei yeverOar —
év Tayer are repeated verbatim from —
i. 1. “O xvpuos 6 cos is doubtless the —
tr ee ae Te OG
Eternal Father, as in i. 8, iy. 8, xi. 17, s
XV. 3, XV 7, xviii 8, XIX. 6, XXL 220m
xxii.5. Here He is 6 deds ray rvevparav —
rév mpopynrav, the God from Whom —
XXII. 8]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
393
\ G / G \ -~ / ~
Givoi, Kai 6 Kupws 0 Oeos TwY mrvEevMAaTwY TwY
-~ / \ > - -
mpopntav amerterev TOV ayyeNov avTOU dEiEat
a b , > -~ a 3 =~ / é 2 4 / 7 ,
TOL ovAol auTou @ él YEVET alt €V Tayel. Kal {
\ of , , « - \ /
idou EpXOMat TAaNU. Makaplos O THPwV TOUS Aoyous
THS: TpopnTetas Tov 3iriov TovTov.
> 4 > /
8 Kayo lwav- &
6 o xupios SA 31 92] om o PQ 130 min” Andr Ar | rwv rvevpatuv tw mpopynTwr
SAPQ 130 min® yeerr"™ me syr (cum tov mvevuaros) arm* Prim Ar] rw aywy
mpopynrwr 1 79 al Andr’! tay mvevuarwy 7, ayiwy mpod. 35 68 syrt™ | arecreibev]+
pe &* (om &**) syr | om decEar rors SovAors avrov 130
7 om Kat 1 35 38 79 g2 al™
vg?e™ me arm Prim Ar | epxouac] epxovrac N°" epxerac 12 | raxu] e& Taxec 12 Syre™
8 xayw] cat eyw 1 al?! Ar eyw vyg*™™ ps6 me syrs¥
prophetic inspiration proceeds, Who
is the Source of prophetic gifts ; ef.
Arethas : rotro yap BovNera rapioray
$:a Tov ‘Kipios tray mvevpaterv, worepet
EXeyev ‘Kvptos tod mpodnrixod yapio-
patos. For mvevuara in this sense
ef. 1 Cor. xii. 10 diaxpicess mvevparor,
xiv. 12 (nd@rtai éore mvevpdrey, and
ib. 32 mveviuara mpopyntayv mpodnrais
vroracoera. The mvevpara rpodpnrar
are not to be identified with the érra
mvevpara of i. 4, ¥. 6, which are before
the Divine Throne, and are the Eyes
of the Lamb; they are the natural
faculties of the Prophets, raised and
quickened by the Holy Spirit, but
still under human control, and stand-
ing in a creaturely relation to God.
Cf. Num. xvi. 22, xxvii. 16 6 Oeds rév
mvevpatwv Kal maons (22?) oapkos,
where the phrase is used in reference
to human life in general. The Enochic
“Lord of the Spirits” (Enoch xxxvii. 2
et passim) has quite another meaning;
see Charles ad doc., and cf. 2 Mace. iii.
24 6 TaY mvevpaTtwy Kal maons eovcias
duvacrns.
It is noteworthy that even in the
visions of this book, which came to
him when he was apparently alone in
Fatmos, St John associates himself
with the whole body of the Christian
Prophets. The esprit de corps thus
revealed is interesting ; at the same
time it is to be observed that he does
not isvlate the prophetic order from
the rest of the Christian Society ; if
in the first instance the message
comes to the Prophets only, it comes
to them for the benefit of the Church
at large (see Mc. iv. 21 f., note); it is
their duty to communicate it to all
the Servants of God. For rpodirac
see x. 7, xi. 18, xvi. 6, xviii 20, 24,
xxii. 9; and for 8odAo, i. 1, ii. 20,
Vii. 3, XIX. 2, 5, xxii. 3, notes.
7. Kat dod Epxoua rayv xrr.]| The
Voice of Christ is heard behind, or
speaking through, the voice of His
angel. For this parenthetical /3od
€pxouae cf. xvi. 15, XXii. 12, 203; rayt,
suggested here by the Angel’s év
raye., is added in ii. 16, iii. 11, and
below vv. 12, 20. On €pyeo@at in this
Book see vi. 1, note.
The beatitude which follows is here,
as in xvi. 15, part of Christ’s utter-
ance; it is a repetition in a shorter
form of i. 3, so that the Book ends
as it began, with a felicitation of
its devout students. On 6 rppay
Primasius well observes: “‘servare’
dicit hic reverenter credere et pu-
rioris vitae proposito custodire.” Tod
BiBXiov rovrov points to the all but
completed roll on the Seer’s knee;
throughout the Apocalypse he has
represented himself as writing his
impressions at the time (cf. x. 4
RueAXov ypadew), and his task is now
nearly ended.
Sf. Kayo Iwavyns 6 dxovwy kat BSérav
ratra xth.] As at the beginning of
304 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [xxIEs
€ ’ / \ / - Aer 7
yns 0 a@kovwy kat BAETwWY Ta’UTAa. Kal OTE HKOVTOAa
\ of of > af a
kal €BAeWa, Eresa mpookvynca eurpoobey Twv
Toowv TOU aryyéAov TOU OeKYVOYTOS Mot TavTa.
9 %Kal Aéyer pot “Opa py avvdovAds cov ei Kal
Twv addeXpwv cov Tov mpopnTwY Kal TwV Tnpouv-
\ / - / 7 a a
Twv Tous AOyous Tov BiBAiov TovTOU: Te Gew
10 mpooKuvnoov. Kal eye por My oppayions TOUS
‘
8 0 axovwy kat BXerwy tavra AQ min*re4? yg syr arm Prim] o S\erew k. akovwy
rauta & 31 32 33 48 78 79 152 me syré” (aeth) Dionys Prim Ar | om xat ore 7K. k.
eBdea aeth | eBreWa] eBrerov A ecdov 16 35 38 94 98 ore cdov (vel ecdov) Q 130
minP!430 | ereca NA 1 16 30 35 38 68] erecov Q 130 min” Ar | rpooxuyycat] Kat
mpocexwynog arm | exmpoober] mpo A | Twy rodwy] om Twy A | dexvvoyros (A) Q min?!
Andr] dexvuvros & 2 4 7 9 10 26 27 49 50 96 97 al”? Ar g Aeyet] ery VE
syrr | opa un (opa’ wy...; 68 Byrr opa’ un’ 130)]+moqons 32 (et ut vid vg Aug Prim)
+ means eumporev mov Kat Mpogxuyynons arm+mpockuynons wor aeth | kat Tww THpovr-
Tw] om Kat I 4 IO Il 12 17 31 32* 37 47 48 49 91 94 96 Prim Ar | rous doyous]+
Ths Tpopyreas 38 vg"lelips4, 6 arm Prim
the Book (i. 1, 4, 9), the author gives
his name, without any distinguishing
itle, as Dionysius of Alexandria had
already observed (Kus. /Z. Z.vii.25): dre
pev ovv lwavyns éeotw 6 TaiTa ypaper,
avT@ Aéeyorte mustevTéov: rotos b€ ovTos
adyAov. The writer claims, however,
to be the Seer himself (0 dk. kai
Brérav); cf. Dan. xii. 5, 8, LXX. kat eiSov
éyd Aavnr...kal €yo AKovoa. Tavra,
the things which the Angel had just
shewn him (cf. infr. rod Secxviovrds
pot tava), i.e. the revelation of the
New Jerusalem. So astounding was
this whole vision, the crowning glory
of the Book, that the Seer forgets
the warning he has recently received
(xix. 10), and again prostrates himself
before the Angel. The commentators
offer alternative explanations, eg.
Primasius writes: “aut semel factum
iteravit...aut magno visionum stupore
perculsus adorare se iterum voluisse
confitetur.” There is nothing in the
context to justify the supposition
that St John believed himself to be
worshipping Christ ; though the angel
had spoken the words idod épyxopuac
raxv in the person of Christ, yet the
IO Tous Aoyous]+TouTous &* (corr ipse S*)
Seer knew him to be one of the
bearers of the Seven Bowls (xxi. 9).
Still less can it be maintained that it
is Christ Who refuses the worship;
here, as in c. xix., it is the cult of angelic
beings that the Apocalyptist wishes to
discourage by the example of his own
repeated lapse ; see notes on xix. IO.
Tov tnpovvrey xv. is repeated from
v. 7 and answers to ray éxovT@v thy
papruptay “Incov in xix. 10.
10. kal eye por My odpayions
rovs Adyous kTA.] The Angel con-
tinues; on this kai éeyer see xix. 9,
note. His instruction is exactly the
reverse of that which is given to
Daniel (viii, 26 °2 {7 OND ARS}
par ond. ef xii, g DNONN) OND
y2 Ay OMIT; Lxx. Kaduypov 7a
mpootaypara kat oppayioat TO BiBdiov
ws kaipod ovvreneias: Cf. v. 4). Butthe
circumstances are different—indeed,
they arereversed ; as Milligan well says,
“it was not a time” now “for sealing
up, but for breaking seals”; the end
was not, as in Daniel’s case (see Driver
on Dan. Z.c.), far off, but at hand,
almost within sight. Therefore the
XXII. 11]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
305
col , -~ «
Noyous THs mpodnTetas Tov /3Alov TovToV: 6
\ \ > / ?
Kaipos yap éyyus ext.
zx sf Oo ~ > /
O G0LKKMY a0iKnTaTWw ETI, II
IO 0 Katpos yap] o yap Kaspos 2 18 40 7g oT o Kaipos 1 49 91 al aeth Cypr Prim
o katpos tantum 4 16 29 39 48 68 Ar
ep Vienn ap Eus pr xa: 68 syrs” Prim
prophecy of this book is to be left
open for all who will to read; nay, the
hearing and reading of the book (i. 3,
xxii. 7), and so far as may be, the study
of its mysteries (xiii. 18, xvii. 9), are to
be warmly encouraged. The Incarna-
tion had brought the season for the
fulfilment of God’s purposes relative-
ly near, even before the end of the
first century; cf. i. 3, note. On the
practice of sealing books, to keep
their contents secret, see c. y. 1, note.
Only in reference to one detail in
this Book is the Seer directed Sqpa-
yioor...j17)...ypayys (X. 4); the rest is
for the ears and eyes of all Christians.
Il. 6 aduxav adixnoatw rt xrh.]
Daniel is still in view; cf. Dan. xii. 10
DPE ET. DSLAM, uxx.
€ws Gv...ayiacOdor modXoi, Kal ayuap-
Taocw of auaprodo! (Th. avounowow
dvonor); perhaps the Apocalyptist has
also in mind Ez. iii. 27 6 deovwy axoverw
xai 6 avevOayv avedeirw. In Daniel the
sense seems to be that the great trial
which Antiochus was the means of
bringing upon the Jewish people,
while it exercised a purifying influence
upon the faithful, would but confirm
the disloyal in their wickedness ; see
Driver ad loc. While this thought
may not be entirely absent from the
present passage, another is more
prominent. It is not only true that
the troubles of the last days will tend
to fix the character of each individual
according to the habits which he has
already formed, but there will come
a time when change will be impos-
sible—when no further opportunity
will be given for repentance on the
one hand or for apostasy on the other.
In the imagination of the Seer the
moment has been reached when the
Be Be
II 0 adicww adixncarw] o avouos avounsarw
Master of the house has arisen and
shut the door, and those that are with-
out will knock in vain (Mt. xxv. so,
Le. xiii. 25); men can then no longer
recede from the position which they
have chosen to take up. Cf. Andreas:
ws Gy eiroe "Exaoros TO apeoKoy avT@
Tomoatw: ov Bialw HY mpouipeow,
and the caution added by Arethas:
OU mpotporn TovTo, GAN’ éheyxos Tis
€xdoTouv mpos Ort Kat BovAciTo dpuns.
‘O adccav, he whose habit it is to do
wrong, ‘the wrong-doer,’ with special
reference perhaps to the persecutor
—so at least the sufferers in the
Viennese troubles understood it; ef.
Eus. HE. y. 1: tov myeuovos Kai rot
Snpov To Gpuowv eis muas adixws
emidecxvupevay picos, wa ypapn
mAnpwby ‘O dvopos dvounoatw ert Kai
6 Oixaos Sixawwbytw ér. ‘O pumapés,
the representative of another class,
the immoral pagan or reprobate ; the
adiuov may be scrupulously moral, the
pumapos disregards purity of life or
even common decency ; for the word
and its cognates see Zech. iii. 3
Sedvpévos ipvatia purapa (DN$3); Job
>
“P-
Xiv. 4 tis yap xa@apos €ara aro pirrou;
GAN’ ovfeis; Jac. L 21 drodeuevn
macay purapiay, With Dr Mayor's note.
The aorists (dd«noara, puravOnre,
not adixeirw, puTawécOw) indicate the
fixity of the state into which the
ad«ov and the purapés have entered ;
there is henceforth no break in the
downward course, which is indeed
viewed as a single act; cf. Blass, Gr.
p. 194f Fixity in good is in like
manner to be attained when the end
comes; the just (the opposite char-
acter to 6 d&«év) and the saint (the
opposite to 6 pumapos) will enter on a
permanent life of righteousness and
20
306 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XXIT. x1
BL ee \ ¢ On af Ne de OL
Kal 0 putapos putavOnTw ETL, Kal O OlkaLtos SiKaLo-
/ / / \ £ e/ € / U
CUNY ToMmoAaTW ETL, Kal O ayios ayiacOnTw ETL.
> \ lj / \ / > vod
12 "idoU epxouar Tayv, Kal 0 pioOos pov MET EfL0U,
13 drodovva ExaoTw ws TO Epyov éotlv aiTov. “Béya
II OM Kat o puTapos puravOnTw ert A I 20 21 33 35 68 97 (hab SQ min” yg
sytr) | puravOnrw & 18* 32 Or] puymapevdnrw 53™8 alPa3° Ar putapwintw 13 92 |
om ert 2°, 3°, 4° me | dixatocuyyy rroinoaTw] StkawOyTw 38 79 vgleliss®.® (iustificetur)
me*d ep Vienn ap Eus xadapicOnrw Or (cum o kafapos pro o dikazos) 12 Lov] pr
kat 1 aeth | arodovvat] amodobnva S* | ws To epyov eatw avrov NA 21 (38) syr] ws To
1) 13 30 35 49 91 92 94 96 97 98 alPia” (Andr)
(Ar) xara ta epya (vel ro epyov) avrov 79 vg me syr=¥ (aeth) Cypr anon™s Prim
13 eyw] + enue vgcledem fu* tollipss me arm? aeth
epy. eorat avtou (vel avrov era) Q (
of holiness. It is not, of course, im-
plied by the separate mention of o
dikavos and 6 dyws that righteousness
and holiness can be divorced; the
true adyios is always Sixaos, and the
Sikaos is, in the perfect state at least,
ays; the two qualities were united
in the Son of Man (Acts iii. 14 rov
dyov cai Sixacov), and will be united
in all who are finally His; but they
are kept apart here for the sake
of the antithesis to 6 dédudv, 6
purapos. For Sixacoodyny moumoara
the Viennese letter quoted above
has dtkarwOyj7o, a reading which Zahn
(Gesch. d. NTlichen Kanons, i. 201)
pronounces “gewiss urspriinglich,”
and which certainly has much to
recommend it; if we accept it, the
sense will be ‘let him be _ held
righteous’ (Vulg. zstificetur), which
corresponds with dyacénre, ‘let him
be held to be hallowed’ On the
other hand it is perhaps more
probable that duxaocvrvny mromodta,
which answers to ddunodrw as ayac-
Onrw to puravOjnrw, has been changed
to dccacwOjnto in order to balance
ayvac nro. Primasius strangely ren-
ders: “iustus autem iustiora faciat,
similiter et sanctus sanctiora,” al-
though above he rightly gives: “ qui
perseverant nocere noceant, et qui
in sordibus est sordescat adhuc.”
12. idod gpyoua tayv, Kal 6 pucOds
wou per enov KTA.] The Voice of Christ
comes in parenthetically, as in v. 7;
see note there. He speaks as the
Steward of the great Mua Oamodorns,
Who in the eventide of the world
will call the labourers to receive their
day’s wages (Mt. xx. 8); see xi. 18,
note. Though the picGds is one and
the same in all cases, its value to the
individual worker varies according to
the work he has done—a principle
which is steadily maintained through-
out Scripture (Ps. lxi. 13, Job xxxiv.
11-f, Isa. xl 14, lx, 11 (xx) Mie
xiii. 34, Rom. ii. 5, Apoc. iL 2350
xx. 12f.); cf. Clem Cor, xxxive@
Barn. xxi. 3, and see NV.Z. in the
Apostolic Fathers, pp. 17, 58. The
use of pcos to represent the gratui-
tous (Rom. vi. 23) and spiritual com- _
pensations of the future life belongs _
to the circle of ideas associated with
Kupwos, deomorns, dovdAos, epyarns. “O
puoOds pov, ‘the reward which it —
belongs to Me to give’ (2 Tim. iv. 8);
contrast 6 p. vuav, Mt. y. 12 (adréy,
Mt. vi. 2, 5, 163 avrov, Me. ix. 41),
‘the reward which ye (they, he) shall _
receive.’ Mer’ éyod, cf. Isa. xL 10 idov —
Kbpuos Kupios pera ioxvos & epxerau.. bod
6 po Bos avrov per avrod; tb. 1xil. 11 J
idod 6 oO coTnp got mapayéyovev éxav a:
éavtod puocbov. The inf. drroSobvat
expresses the purpose for whicli the ~
reward is brought (ef. Blass, Ga. —
p. 223), so that it is nearly equivalent :
to iva droé@; éxdot® strikes a note
=k
Q]
XXII, 14]
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
307
\ / \ \ Y € - \ € ” e
TO aNipa Kat TO W, 0 TPWTOS Kal O ETXATOS, 1
> \ \ \ /
apxn Kat TO TEAos.
“4 uakaplol ol mAUvovTES Tas 14
\ - aa of ‘ 5) / 5) - ’ \ \
oTo\as avTwY, va EgTa » EEOVTIA a’TwWY ETL TO
/ - ~ \ ~ - > / >
Evrov THs Cwijs, Kal Tois TuA@TW EiceMwoW Eis
13 To adda] ro a Q 130 min? | o mpwros Kat o exxaros] mpwros K. ecxaros A 37
8 9 21 22 0 mp. x. exxaros 96 post 7 apx. Kat ToT. pon 1 31 32 48 49 79 gr al arm?
Ar om me | 7 apxy kat To Te\os] apxn Kk. TeXos 1 al™ev Ar
14 ot 7AUvorTes Tas
orodas avrwy SA (7) 38 vg aeth* Ath’ Prim Fulg vg‘ !p*4.° (+in sanguine agni)]
ot movowvres Tas evTo\as avTov Q 130 al?! me syrr Tert (qui ex praeceptis agunt) Cypr
anon*s Prim’ Andr Ar oc tnpouvres T. €. avrov arm* | » efovcia avTwy)]+ws de 7
efovora &* (delevit S**)
often heard in this Book (ii. 23, vi. 11,
xxi. 13).
13. eyo Td dAda kai To db xtd.| Cf.
xxi. 6 eyd ro GAda Kal rd &, 7) apy?) Kal
70 TeAos, in Which is now inserted from
i. 17, li. 8, 6 mp@ros Kai o €ayxaros.
While 6 mpdros xrd. is applied only
to Christ, this is the only occasion on
which He receives the great title rd
adda cairo od. It is the crowning in-
stance in this Book of the attribution
of Divine prerogatives to the Incar-
nate Son; only o dv cai 6 Av seems to
be withheld from the Son, perhaps
because it represents the underived
Source of the Divine Life. On the
meaning of 7d adda xai 7d 6 as ap-
plied to our Lord ef. Tert. de monog.
5 (quoted in note on c. i. 8). The
phrase is applicable in many senses,
but perhaps it is used here with
special reference to our Lord’s place
in human history. As creation owed
its beginning to the Word of God, so
in His incarnate glory He will bring
it to its consummation by the Great
Award. He is the dpynyis xai reXew-
mys Of faith (Heb. xii. 2), and not less
truly the apy?) cai réXos of all life.
14. paxaptoe oi mAVVoVTEs Tas oTOAAS
avtov xrA.| The reading is not alto-
gether easy to determine. Perhaps
it is slightly more probable that
TIAYNONTECTACCTOAAC arose out of
TOIOYNTECTACETOAAC, than that the
reverse occurred ; on the other hand,
the documentary evidence is decidedly
in favour of the former, and it is against
the latter that the use of the Johan-
nine writings almost invariably sup-
ports the phrase rypeiy ras €vrodas (80
Jo. xiv. 15, 21, xv. 10, 1 Jo. iL 3f£, iii
22, 24, V. 3, Apoc. xii. 17, xiv. 12—the
sole exception is 1 Jo. y. 2, where
mow 7. €. occurs); moreover, the
prepossessions of the scribes would
have favoured sowitvres tas évToAds
rather than mAvvovres ras orodas.
Upon the whole, then, rAvvoyres «rk.
may with some confidence be pre-
ferred; and it yields an admirable
sense.
This, the final beatitude of the
Apocalypse, deals with the issues of
the higher life. They who wash the
robes of the inner life from the
purapia of the world by faith in the
Sacrifice of our Lord (vii. 14, note)
shall win the right of access to the
Tree of Life and of entrance into the
City of God ; paxapioe of mdUvorres...
is but another version of paxapior of
ca@apoi ty Kapdia, Gre adroit tov Bedy
oyorra, interpreted in the light of
the Cross. “Iva €orat...xai...elré\Ow-
ow: ‘blessed are they...that the right
shall be theirs...and they may enter’
(Benson)—a mixture of constructions
observed already in ¢. iii.g; the future
after iva is frequent in this Book (vi. 4,
II, ix. 5, 20, xiii. 12, xiv. 13), and if it
is to be distinguished in meaning from
the conjunctive, it may point to the
certainty, the actuality, of the result,
20-—2
308
15 THv moAw.
Me \ € a \ € > / \ lol
jTopvot Kat ot ovels Kat ot elowAdoAaTpal Kal Tas
15 mas]+o1 7 30* 31 32 38 79 186 al™ Andr Ar
while the conjunctive suggests that
there are conditions which must be
fulfilled first.
On the Tree of Life see v. 2, and
c. li. 7, notes. The Vision of the New
Jerusalem places the Paradise of God
in the heart of the City, so that right
of access to the Tree implies right of
entrance into the City, and the en-
trance must precede the access. If
in this passage the right of access is
mentioned first, it is probably with
the view of laying the emphasis upon
the greater right, which indeed in-
cludes all. On r. tuvAdow see xxi. 12:
the dative is instrumental, the gate-
towers being regarded as the means
of entrance.
15. ¢&@ of xvves xtA.] Benson:
‘out, ye dogs’—a bold and impressive
rendering, but scarcely admissible in
this context; the persons thus charac-
terized have already been cast out.
Primasius is more true to the mind of
the writer: “foris autem remanebunt
canes”; cf. Bede: “cuncta enim rabies
improborum et nunc intrinsecus ec-
clesiam tentat, sed cum intraverit
paterfamilias et sanctis secum ad
nuptias intrantibus clauserit ostium,
tune incipient foris stare et pulsare
ostium.” No one who has watched
the dogs that prowl in the quarters of
an Eastern city (Ps. lviii. (lix.) 7, 15)
will wonder at the contempt and dis-
gust which the word suggests to the
Oriental mind. For its application
to unclean or otherwise offensive per-
sons see Deut. xxiii. 18 (19) ov mpoc-
oicers picO@pa topyns ovde addaypya
xuvos (see Driver's note ad loc.) eis
rov oixkov Kupiov; Ps. xxi. (xxii.) 17
éxtkkwody pe KUves moAdoi; wb. 21
pioa...€k xelpos Kuvds THY povoyery
pov; Mt. vii. 6 py dSadre Td ayov Trois
xvoiv; Me. vii. 27 od yap éotw Kadov
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
15 2/ c / \ c \ \ c
EEw ol Kuves Kal ol Papsakol Kal Ot
‘when he says (de pud. 19): “non
ii. 12 wa xpiOdow martes of py moTEv-
[XXII. 14
AaBeiv rov Gptoy Trav Téxvwy Kat Tos
kuvapios Badeiv; Phil. ili. 3 BAemere
tous kvvas (see Lightfoot’s note). In
the last two passages at least reference
is made to the use of the term by the
Jews to denote the heathen or theGen-
tiles, of which Schoettgen ad loc. quotes
a typical example from Pirke R. Elie-
zer 29: “quicumque edit cum idolo-
latra idem est ac si ederet cum cane.
quis est canis? qui non circumcisus
est.” But in the present passage neither
Jews nor Gentiles as such are in view;
the kives (Syr.s*- <sl\ = ot Kowvoi)
are the ¢BdeAvypévor Of xxi. 8, ie. those
who had been defiled by long contact
with the foul vices which honeycombed
pagan society. These were not even
in St John’s day strictly limited to the
heathen (see ii. 14, 20 ff., note, and cf.
2 Cor. xii. 21); and he must have fore-
seen that as time went on, and the
Church grew in numbers, she would
lose in purity. Tertullian goes too far
enim de ethnicis videbitur sapere...
illorum est enim foras dari qui intus
fuerunt”; but Andreas is doubtiess
right: kdves d¢ ov povov oi avaideis Kat
dmorou...dAXa kal of pera TO Bartiopa
émiotpeportes eis Tov tovov éverov. On
of dappaxoi xrX. see xxi. 8, note; mas
dirav kat rody Weddos is a welcome —
interpretation of macw Tois yevdéow —
in the earlier list, which xxi. 27 6
motav Weddos has already supplied in
part. But 6 diddy goes deeper than —
6 motav ; he who loves falsehood is in
his nature akin to it, and has through ~
his love of it proved his affinity to
Satan, who is 6 warnp avrod (Jo. viii.
44); for him, while he is such, t 4
can be no entrance into the City, no
access to the Tree of Life; cf. 2 Th.
cavres TH adnOeia adda eVdoKnoarres
XXII. 16]
prov Kai rowy \/evbos.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
399
“éyw “Inoovs ereuyra Tov 16
ayyeXov ou papTupyoal vuiv TadTa emi Tais exKAy-
,
olas,
’ / ’ c AB 4 \ \ / Oar t
eyo Ell 7) piCa Kal TO yevos Aaveid green |
15 didwy xat wowy AQ min?! vg syrr anon** Prim Fulg] zowy cat pido © 11
31 32 33 35 48 Hipp Ath Ar om ¢i\wv car Me OM gGidwy car arm* om Kat Towy a2eth
16 eyw Inoovs] kat eyw arm* | ere RQ min?! syrr] ev A 18 21 38 79 vg arm Ath om
I 4 11 12 31 47 48 186 Ar | exxAnovas] pr erra Prim | Aavecd] pr rou 1 7 al
rH adixia. With roceivy Weddos compare
Jer. viii. 10 "PY Tey ADD; 1 Jo. i. 6
evdoueba kal ov rotovpev Tv adnOerav.
To ‘do the truth,’ or to ‘do falsehood,’
to ‘act a lie, are St John’s terms for
a life which is fundamentally sincere
or insincere. The rendering of A.V.,
R.Y. (text), “every one that maketh a
lie,” misses this point, probably out of
regard for the circumstance that Wed-
dos is anarthrous here (contrast Jo.
viii. 44, Rom. i. 25, Eph. iv. 25, 2 Th.
li. 11). But ro Wetdos would not have
suited this context, if it was the
writer's intention to represent the
insincere life as a single act, as if the
man’s whole existence had been a lie.
16. eye “Ingots erenwa Tov ayyedov
pou xtX.] Though the whole Book is
an amoxadvyis “Inootd Xpiorod (i. 1),
the revelation has hitherto been made
through the ministry of angels or in a
yision of the glorified Lord, or through
the Spirit in the mind of the Seer (ii. 7).
Now at length Jesus speaks in His
human personal name (¢ya “Incois, as
€y® “Iwavns in v. 8). He attests the
bona fides of His messenger: ‘it was I
Whe sent him; it ison My behalf that
he has spoken; his testimony is Mine’
"Emepya is used rather than dréoreia
(cf. i. 1 éonpavey drooreitas dia rod
ayyéXov avrov)—‘I sent,’ without the
accessory idea of a special commission
(ef. Westcott, Add. Note on John xx.
21); it is enough to say that the angel
eame from the Lord; by His angel
Jesus Himself had borne witness to
the members of the Asian Churches
(piv) and the contents of this Book
(raira) were thus ultimately from
Him. These communications, though
addressed primarily to the Christians
of Asia, had a wider purpose: they
were made emt rais éxxAnolas, with
reference to the needs of Christians
generally ; cf. the use of éwi in x. 11
dei oe madw mpodnrevoa éri avis Kat
€Overw kat yAwooais cai Sacirctow
mo\Aois, ‘in reference to peoples,’ etc.,
and see Jo. xii. 16. Al éxcAnoia are
not the Seven Churches only, but
the Christian societies throughout the
world, which in the next generation
were known in their aggregate as 7
kaOodixn éxxAnoia (Ign. Smyrn. 8. 2;
cf. Harnack, Mission u. Ausbreitung,
p- 293). The Apocalypse does not use
7 exkdnoia Of the whole Church, as
St Paul does (Col, Eph.; ef. Hort,
Ecclesia, p. 147 ff.); when St John
wishes to express the ideal unity of
Christendom, he does so by means
of a symbolical female figure, the
Mother (xii. 1 ff.) or the Wife or Bride
(xix., xxi., xxii.) of Christ.
€yod elye 1) pita cal ro yeévos Aaveid]
Cf. v. 5 6 Néwy 6 ex tis Pudfs “lovda,
» pita A.; and see note there. To #
pita the Seer now adds: «ai rd yévos.
Tévos does not here mean ‘race,’
‘family’ or ‘house,’ as in Acts iv. 6 éx
yévous apxtepatixod, tb. Vii. 13 To yevos
‘Ioojd; but ‘offspring,’ as in Acts
Xvii. 28f. ‘rot yap nai yévos éopér’-
yévos oly Umapyxovres tov Beod xrh.; cf
the similar use of genus in Verg. Aen.
iv. 12 “genus esse deorum.” Jesus is
not only the paSdsos éx ris pitns "leraal
(Isa. xi. 1), but He is at once the
paSsos and the pita, the Root and the
Offshoot, the Beginning and the End
of the whole economy associated with
the Davidic family. In the Messiah,
310
> \ € \ ¢€ - / 17 \ A r \
Ly. acTip O a ae O erode Kal TO oe ba
/ 5) ¢ >
1 vuudyn eyouoty Epyou: Kat O @kOvwy é\TaTW
"Epyou. Kal Oo duyov Ep
16 0 aornp] pr kat 7 35 49 79 186 syrs* | om o Naurpos me | o rpwwos] pr xa Ag
I7 Kat...epxou 1°] Kat Tvevpa aytov Kal o vuudtos o epxomevos arm! | To
TvevLa Kal n vu“n] wrevpa K. vuudy & (0) vuuduos x. (y) vundn Bed™4 (sponsus et
vg Prim
sponsa) | Neyovew] Aeyouca 130 edeyov 186 |
syrs” pr kat 33 46 vglefulipss syrr Prim Ar
the latest Scion of the House of
David, its earliest ideals and hopes
are realized.
6 doTnp 6 aumpos 6 mpwives| CF.
li, 28 déc@ aire tov dorépa Tov mpoi-
voy, & promise which is now inter-
preted. The Morning Star, the Lord’s
ultimate gift to the conqueror, is
Jesus Himself. Among the stars of
the spiritual firmament (i. 16, 20) He
is as the éwadopos (Job iii. 9, xi. 17,
XXXVliil. 12, xli. 9 (10)) or Paadopos
(2 Pet. i. 19), the brightest in the
whole galaxy, the Light which lightens
every man by its coming into the
world (Jo. i. 9); the Star of Dawn,
Whose coming precedes the sunrise
of the Day of God. The metaphor is
used by the son of Sirach in reference
to Simon the High Priest (Sir. lL. 6 as
dotnp éwbwos ev per vedpedns), and of
Mordecai in the Targum on Esther
(“apse Mardochai similis fuit Lucifero
splendenti inter stellas”); in Isa. xiv.
12 it occurs in a splendid dirge over
a fallen King of Babylon: wés ¢&é-
mTevev €k TOU ovpavod 6 éwaddpos 6
mpwt avaréeAdov. The Morning Star
of the Church shines to-day as brightly
as in the age of St John; He does
not fall or set.
17. kat TO rvedpa Kal 7) vYyudn éyou-
ow ”Epxov] The answer of the Church
to the Voice of Jesus in v. 12. To
mvevpa is probably not the Spirit
regarded as the indwelling life of the
Body of Christ, as in Eph. iv. 4 &
capa Kat éy mvedpa, but rather, in
accordance with the general use of
the Apocalypse, the Spirit of pro-
phecy, the Spirit in the prophetic
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXII 16
e
oO
OéXwv ANaBéerw
yer Oe 2
om xa 4° vg*™ anon*8 | o GeAwy] om g
order ; ‘the Spirit and the Bride’ is
thus practically equivalent to ‘the
Prophets and the Saints’ (xvi. 6,
xvii. 24). The Christian Prophets
inspired by the Spirit of Jesus, and
the whole Church—the Churches con-
sidered as an ideal unity—respond as
with one voice to the Lord’s great
announcement. It rouses in all Chris-
tians the desire, never long dormant,
for His Return. On 7 vipdn see xxi.
2, 9, notes; for ¢pyovu ef. vi. 1, note;
here it is obvious to supply Kupie
*Inood from v. 20. The reading implied
by the Armenian version (cod. 1) is
worthy of remark ; it seems to have
arisen from inability to interpret
vippyn in this connexion and a re-
miniscence of Mt. xxv. 1, 6, Io.
kal 6 dkovwy eimrarw” Epxov ktA.] The
call is to be taken up and repeated
by every hearer (i. 3, note) of this
Book; not only the Church in her
ideal unity, but each individual mem-
ber of every Christian congregation
where the book shall be read is
invited to demand the fulfilment of
the Lord’s promise idod épyopuat rayd.
In what follows there is a remarkable
change of reference; for 6 dupav
eitatw “Epyouv, St John writes 6 6.
epxéoO, i.e. instead of being bidden
to welcome the coming Christ, he
who is athirst is himself bidden to
come; he is welcomed to Christ in —
words which remind us of the Jo- —
hannine Gospel (Jo. vi. 35 6 épxopevos —
mpos €ué ov pt) Tewacyn, Kal 6 micTev@V
eis €ue ov pi) Supnoec we@rore ; Vii. 37
et Tis Supa, épyéoOw mpos pé kat muver@).
‘O d:Wéy contrasts happily with ovdeva
:
j
XXII. 18]
bdwp Coons dwpeav.
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN 311
ee \ \ ~~ 3 /
S wapTup@ €yw TavTl TW akovovTt 18
Tous Noryous THS TpognTetas TOU BuBXiou TOUTOU
17 Om dwpeay arm*
om Tw 8 49 79 91 96
evpovy duparvtra in the Oxyrhynehus
Sayings, though the latter is doubtless
relativ ely true. Here 6 8. is contrasted
with 6 dxovwr; he that still thirsts,
the eager enquirer who is seeking
after the salvation which is to be
found in the Church, the unbaptized
catechumen, cannot yet share in the
Church’s yearning for the Return of
the Lord ; he must first-come to the
Fountain of the Water of Life and
drink, before he can welcome Christ
Himself. “Epyéc6@ looks back to
Isa. lv. 1 DNB? 192 NOVPD. ‘0 aav
is wider than o dua, extending the
offer to any who are conscious of a
desire for the higher life; willingness to
receive the truth may exist where as
yet there is no thirst for it, and such
willingness is of God and a first step
towards eternal life: cf. Phil. ii 13
Oeds yap eotw 6 evepyav ev vpiv Kal TO
OéeXew Kai rd evepyeiv; Bede ad loc.:
“et ipsum enim velle Dei donum est.”
On AaBera Bdop (wns Swpeav, see XXi.
6, note; AaBerw suggests that though
the supply is gratuitous, the responsi-
bility of accepting and using it rests
with the individual ; cf. iii. 18, note.
18. peapTupe eyo jTavtTt TO akovorTe
xtd.] The Speaker is still surely
Jesus, and not, as many commenta-
tors have supposed, St John. Jesus
has borne testimony throughout the
Book by His angel, and now He bears
it in person. His testimony, which is
addressed to every hearer of the Book,
is 2 solemn protest against wilful
perversions of its teaching. The words
are doubtless suggested by the warn-
ing of Moses in Deut. iv. 2, ov mpoo-
Onoeobe mpos TO pHua 6 eyd evTeARopac
vpiv, Kal ovK dpeneire an’ avrov; id.
xii. 32 may pnua 0 eyo évr€ Nopat
vp snuepor, roto duAaky toreiv: ov
18 paprupw] waprupouat 11 3t 34 35 48 Ar | rw axovovTt]
mpoaOnaes €x avTd, ovd€ apedeis ar’
Prov. xxiv. 29 (xxx. 6) HI)
mpoaOns Tos Aoyors avroi, iva py)
eréyén oe cal Wevdns yern; cf. the
imprecation which Aristeas (ed.
Thackeray, § 34) supposes to have been
pronounced after the completion of the
first Greek version of the Pentateuch,
and the boast of Josephus, ¢ c. Ap.i.8:
djrAov & éorw EPY®; Tas Tpeis Tpoot-
gil Tols (dios ypappace: TowOUTOU yap
aidvos ndn TapwxnKoTos oUTE Tpog Gewai
Tis ovdev OvTE ahedeiv a’TaY ovTE peTa-
Oeivac reroAunxev. It was not uncom-
mon for writers to protect their works
by adding a solemn adjuration to the
scribes to correct the copies carefully,
and in no case to mutilate or inter-
a the original; cf. e.g. Irenaeus
. Eus. H. E. v. 20: opKiC oe Tor
eee To BiBAlov TovTo Kata
TOU Kupiou nuav “Inco Xpirrov Kat
kata ths evdokov mapovoias avtou Hs
€pxetae kpivat (avtas Kal vexpovs, iva
avTiBarns 6 pereypayw kai katopOwans,
Rufinus, prol. in libros rept apxov:
“omnem qui hos libros descripturus
est vel lecturus in conspectu Dei
Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti con-
testor...ne addat aliquid scripturae,
ne auferat, ne inserat, ne immutet;
sed conferat cum exemplaribus unde
scripserit,” ete. If the solemn warning
of the present verse was intended in
this sense, it has signally failed; for
in no other book of the N.T. is the
text so uncertain as in the Apocalypse.
But, like its archetype in Deutero-
nomy, it has a deeper reference; it
is no mere /apsus calami, no error of
> a
auToU ;
judgement or merely intellectual fault
which is condemned, but the delibe-
rate falsification or misinterpretation
of a Divine message. It is not the
letter of the Apocalypse, but its spirit
which is thus jealously guarded ; and
312 THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN [XXII 18
> / > On ee) b) is 2 0 / € é \ PDoe | > \
Eav Tl ETL 1] €7T QAUTA, ETLUHOEL O €OS €7 aAuUTOV
is TANYyas Tas yeypaupevas év TH BiBAiw ToUTw:
Tas ANY YEYPHUEE 4 ) TOUTE
\ / / 5) vo lod /
Skat é€av Tis apéeAn amo THv Noywy TOU BiBAtou
io hs ps > rae \ \ / > 5
THS Tpo@nTeEtas TauTns, apenret o Oeos To Mepos avToU
? \ ~ / a La \ > > / lod
amo tov EvNov THs Cwns Kal ék THS ToNEWS TIS
a / lol / #
dyias, Tov yeypampevwrw ev TH BiBAiw ToUTw.
lo lal i; of /
20 Eyer 6 papTtupwy TavTa Nai: éEpyoua Tay.
/ a} / land
aunv' epxou, Kkuple "Inco.
18 ed] erOnoe & (sed transiluit &* ab ery ad emiOnoet) 79 | emtOnoer] em-
Onoat 8 13 16 49 51 96 97 98 130 186 alPa!° apponat vgiP*+ anon*s | om em auto
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Ar 19 eav] av & | Noywy]+rourwy & | rou BiBALov rns rpopyreas TavTys| Tov
BiBXLov Tovrov A trys mpopyrevas Tov BiBALov TovTov 79 94 vg"Ps4 prophetiae huius (sine
tT. B.) vge™ Ambr | adeder] apedor 2 8 13 35 38 47 49 91 96 130 | Tou Evdov] Tov BiBdov
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20 Tavraj+evac &* me arm*|om va arm Prim cdov arm* | om auny & me arm*|
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38 48 55 79 94 me arm Ar
no honest copyist in days before the
invention of printing, no honest trans-
lator or interpreter of either those
times or our own, can incur the terrible
penalty. As Bede, with his usual
discernment, writes: “haec propter
falsatores dixit, non propter eos qui
simpliciter quod sentiunt dicunt.”
Nevertheless the warning, with its
danger signal on either hand, ought
to give pause to any who would lightly
handle the Apocalypse, and suggests
to those who venture upon handling
it at all Augustine’s prayer: “si qua
de meo, et Tu ignosce et Tui.”
‘ In en, ew ada, emiOnoes...€m avtov
tas mAnyds there is a play upon the
two meanings of émriAévac and aAn-
yn: ‘if any one shall lay (more) on
them (add to them), God will lay on
him the plagues (blows) described in
this Book. Cf. Acts xvi. 23 modXdas
5€ émidévres avtois mAnyds. “Adedei
TO 4€pos avrod amo Tov EvAov is another
way of saying dd. am avrod 76 pépos
avrov to ev to EUAw; the portion
which the man had once possessed in
the Tree is regarded as taken from it,
i.e. he has no longer any rights in it;
cf. xxi. 8, and Acts viii. 21 ov« éorw
gor pepis ovd€ KAjpos ev TO hoyo
tolt®. Tar yeypaupevey: not as Vg.
“et de his quae scripta sunt,” but in
apposition to rod EvAov ris Cwhjs, THs
Todews Ths ayias; ef. ras mAnyas Tas
yeypappeévas (supra). Consciously to
rob this Book of any part of its
essential teaching is to rob oneself of
the bliss which it promises: to add
to its teaching is to incur the visita-
tions which it threatens. For either
act, if deliberate, proclaims a will
which is out of harmony with the Will
of God and with His ordering of the
world; and the rebellious will, while
it continues such, cannot receive the
things of the Spirit of God here or
hereafter. The warning is addressed
to Christians who by their attitude —
towards this Book shew themselves —
to be unworthy of their inheritance.
20. éyet 6 paptupdv ravta Nat:
épxouat raxv ktd.] To His solemn tes-
timony in reference to the use of the —
Book the Lord adds a last word in ~
answer to the call of the Church.
XXII. 21}
are
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
313
/ rc > = - t ,
H yapis Tot Kupiov “Incod peta Twv adyiwv. 21
21 om totum versum Prim | rov xupiov Ingou] tov Xporov 12 20 31 32 49 Ar—
Xpiorov Q 130 min?! g vg me syrr arm aeth Andr | pera tw ayiwy & g] peta TavTww
A vg*™ pera tmaytwy Tw ayiwy Q 130 186 alP'49 (me) syrr arm Andr Ar pera rav-
Tu vuwy ygtlefudemiips aeth | in fine aunv hab XQ min‘reomnvid yg me syr arm! aeth
(om A 79 vg Ar)
The Spirit and the Bride and the
loyal hearers of the Book had bidden
Him ‘come, and to their "Epyou He
replies Nai, épxyouai, ‘yea, I am com-
ing, and coming quickly’; on which the
Seer, speaking both for the Prophets
and for the whole Church, responds,
‘Amen, so be it: come, Lord Jesus.’
On vai, aunv see i. 7, note; here vai
expresses the Lord’s assent to the
call "Epyov, and aury, the absolute
faith in His word of the Seer and
those whom he represents, and their
content with the prospect of His
Coming; cf. 2 Tim. iv. 8 racw rois
Hyannxoot Thy emupdveray avrov. Kupios
*Ingovs (1 Cor. xii. 3) occurs in this
Book only here and in the next verse ;
it belongs to the language of devotion,
which is appropriate to the context.
21. THE FINAL BENEDICTION.
7 Xapts Tov Kupiov “Inood pera rav
ayiwov] An ending of this kind is
unusual in Apocalypses, as Bousset
points out; but it is suitable to an
Apocalypse which is also a letter to
the Churches (i. 4, note), designed to
be read in the congregation. An
Apocalypse in its inner character, a
prophecy in its purpose, the Book is
in its literary form an Epistle, and
therefore begins and ends with the
epistolary forms familiar to the Asian
Churches through the Epistles of St
Paul. All the thirteen Epistles of
St Paul end with a benediction, con-
structed on the same general lines, but
varying in detail. The Pauline parting
benediction begins invariably with 7
xapis, which is followed (except in
Eph., Col, and the Pastorals) by rod
kupiov [nav] “Inoov [Xpiorod]; the
ending is either pe tudy (Rom.,
1 Cor, 1 Thess. Col, Pastorals),
or peta mdvtav vyov (2 Cor., 2 Th.,
and in substance, Eph.), or pera rot
mvevparos vuov (Gal, Phil. Philem.).
Hebrews follows the Pauline model
with 7 ydapis pera mavrey vor, but no
such form appears in the Catholic
Epistles ; the nearest to it is in 1 Peter,
which ends elpyyn viv raow Trois ev
Xpwreo. St John follows St Paul
in the opening words (7 yapis rot
kupiov “Incov); in the latter part of
the sentence the mss. offer a choice
between perd mdyrey and pera trav
ayiov, for pera mavtwy Tay ayiwy is a
conflation, and pera ravr@y var a cor-
rection from St Paul. On the whole
the preference should probably be
given tothenon-Pauline pera rév ayiay,
although it has the support of but
one of the uncial mss. (N); not only
is it less likely to have suggested itself
to a copyist than pera ravtwr, but it
is in close accordance with the writer's
usual phraseology; of aywe is his
constant term for the members of
the Churches (viii. 3f., xi. 18, xiii. 7,
10, xiv. 12, xvi. 6, xvii. 6, xviii. 20, 24,
xix. 8, xx. 9). The saints, the men
of consecrated lives, are, in the Apo-
calyptist’s view, the men for whose
advantage the whole course of human
history is being carried to its end;
who are destined as a body to survive
the wreck of cities and empires, and
in the end to dominate a new world.
But the grace of the Lord Jesus is the
oniy source of their strength, and
the guarantee of their triumph; and
the last words of the Apocalypse are
at once a reminder of this primary
condition of success, and a prayer
that it may be realized in the ex-
314
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN
[XXII ar
Subser amoxadvyis (-Wes &) Iwavvou SA 130 Tedos THs amoxaduWews Tov ayLov
Iwavvou rou evayyeMorou 2 55 TeAos TyS TOU aryiov Iwayvou Tov Beodoyou Peas amroKadu-
ews 98 exnpwbn 7 aroxadruyis Iwavvou Tov evayyedoTou kat Geodoyou 186 nil habent
subseriptum Q 7 30 32 38 47 48 49 50 90 91 94 96 97 al?! hiant ad fin P 8 14 28 29
87 93 95 al?
perience of the baptized, both in the
cities of Asia and throughout the
world.
Supsorrption. Only two of the
uncials give a subscription to the
Book; & repeats ’Azoxdduyfis ‘lwavvov
(for ’AzroxaAvyes surely is both here
and at the head of the pages in Na
mere itacism), and A, which had
*Aroxddvyis Only in the title, now
agrees with &. The forms offered
by some cursives and yersions add
nothing to our knowledge of the
Book or its writer.
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS USED IN THE APOCALYPSE
OF ST JOHN AS PRINTED IN THIS EDITION.
An asterisk denotes that a word is not used elsewhere in the N.T.; a §, that it
is used elsewhere in the N.T. but once, or by but one other writer.
*PABadSav ix. 11
i. ix.) ay TI, Xi. 7, XVI 8, Xx.
dyahXugv xix. 7
dyarav teen, 21. 9; xii.
ayarn ii. 4, 19
dyyedos i. 1, 20, ii. 1, 8, 4 2 18, 1. I;
5) 7) 14) Ve 2, II, vii. 1, 2 bis, 11,
mt 2.3. 4, 5, 6, 8, TO; 12, 13; 3% 7;
> 13, 14 bis, 5, X. I, 5, 7, 8, 9; 10,
xin 15, XU. 7 bis, 9, Xiv. 6, 8, 9, 10,
15, 17; 18, 19, XV. I, 6,7 7,8, EVI. %5.55
Evi. I, 7, XV. J, 21, xix. 17, XX. 1,
xxl. 9, 12, 17; xx1..0;°8, xO
Gyidtey xxii. 11
Gyvos iii. 7, iv. 8 ter, v. 8, vi. 10, viii.
3, 4, X1. 2, 18, xili. 7, 10, Xiv. 10, 12,
Xvi. 6, XVii. 6, xviii. 20, 24, pe 8,
=x. 6, 9s. XX1. 2, 10, XXil. II, 19, 2
dyopatew i lii. 18, V. 9, xiii. 17, xiv. i a:
“clea iI
EI, XX 9
SaSeav v. 9, Xiv. 3, XV. 3
Siatbds meme Vie. XX, XU. -10, Xix. ro,
xxii,
rae ie a Wastes 3X5 X3, Ig
Suxetv ii. rx, vi. 6, Vii. 2, 3, ix. 4, 10,
19, Xi. 5 bis, xxii. rr bis
§dSiknpa xviii. 5
deros iv. 7, Vill 13, Xil. 314
ayp ix. 2, ie 17
Alyortos xi.
otpe 1k 5, V: x Vl. 10, 12, Vil. 14, Viil.
u, 8, xi. 6, Xil. II, Xiv. 20, xvi. 3, 4,
6 bis, xvii. 6 bis, xviii. 24, xix. 2, 13
alvety xix. 5
alpew xX 5, Xvi 21
aloxvvy ili. 18
§alxpodrwola xiii, 10 bis
aloyv i. 6 bis, 18 bis, iv. g dis, 10 bis,
vy. 13 bis, vil. 12 bis, x. 6 bis, Xi. 15
bis, xiv. 11 bis, xv. 7 bis, xix. 3 bis,
xx. 10 bis, xxii. 5 bis
alwvios xiv. 6
axdbapros XVi. 13, XVil. 4, xviil. 2 dis
“dkpatew xiv. 15
axohovbety VLi\8, X1V« 45'S, Oy 1a; Eke Ae
dKovew i. 3, 10, li. 7, 11, 17, 29, ill. 3,
6, 13, 20, 22, 1V. I, Ve U1, 13s Wisk, ts
5, 0; 7, Vil. 4, Vill. 13, 1x 13, 16, 20,
Xs 45505 12 Sil; (TO, cn 9 ee
2 bis, 13, XVi. I, 5, 7, XVili. 4, 22 bts,
23, Xix. 1,6, XXL 3, xxil. 8 bis, 17, 18
“dkpatos xiv. 10
dxpls ix. 3, 7
ddnbivds i Hi, 7, 14; vi. 10, XV. 3, XVL 7,
KIK= 52,20, X05 XxL. 5) exit. 6
GAG. ii. 4, 6, g bis, 14, 20, ili. 4, 9, ix.
5, X. 7, 9, XVil. 12, XX. 6
*dAAnArovid XIX. I, 3, 4, 6
dAAnAwy vi. 4, Xi. 10
a ii. 24, Vi. 4, Vil. 2, vill. 3, X. 1,
3, Xili, rr, Xiv. 6, 8, 9, 15, 17,
a XV. I, XVU. IO, XVI. I, 4, XX. 12
GAvois Xx. I
*ddda i. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. 13
Gpapria i. 5, xviii. 4, 5
*dpébvoros xxi. 20
dpyy i. 6, 7,_ iii. ra, Ve
XIX. 4, XXil. 20
Gppos xii. 18, xx. 8
Gptredos xiv. 18, 19
*“dpwpoy xviii. 13
Gpewpos Xiv. 5
dy il. 25, Xiv. 4
dvd iv. 8, vil. 17, xxi. 21
dvaBalvey LV. Xy, Wile: 2y. Vib. as) eee
Xl. 7, 1a O68, XD 3) 1, SIV Ae
Xvil. 8, XIX. 3, XX. 9
dvaywaorkey aE
dvataveyv Vi. 11, XiVv. 13
avatravois iv. 8, xiv. 11
dvacracis Xx. 5, 6
dvaroAr Vil. 2, XVI. 12, xxi. 13
Gvenos Vi. 13, Vii. 1 dis
I4, Vil. 12 dis,
316
dvtip xxi, 2
dvOpwros i. 13, lv. 7, Vill. IT, 1X. 4, 5;
63775210, 15,-19; 20; Xi 13,)XUll. 903,
18, xiv. 4, 14, XVi. 2, 8, 9, 18, 21 bis,
XVill. 13, XX1. 3, 17
dvotyew il. 7 ve 8, 20, iv. I, V. 2, 35
41 5, 9, Vie I, 35 59 7) 9 12, Vill. 1,
ix. 2, X. 2, 8. XUa0; Xi 16, x111-96,
XO, Gy 2sbe 1 2.ec) 10) (HS
* Avrltas ii. 13
dgvos i fil VIE Va 2; 4510; A, XV: O
ar” dpte (see under a6, cptt)
drapxy XIV. 4
darépxerOat ix. 12, X. 9, Xl. 14, Xi. 17,
Sob Fy wall NR Beets Tin
dmurros xxi. 8
amé i. 4 bis, 5, iii. 12, vi. 16 bis, vii. 2,
ix. 6, 18, xii. 6, 14, xiii. 8, xiv. 3, 4,
13, 20, XVi. 12, 17, 18, XVii. 8, XViil.
10, 14 bis, 15 bis, 17, XIX. 5, XX. 11,
X12 rOy 13 quater, Xxii. 19 bis
amrod.sovar xviii. 6 bis, xxii. 2, 12
dmrobyijoKew iii, 2, vill. 9, 11, ix. 6,
Mvo (1S, Avis 1s
dmokddviis i. 1
dmoxplverOar Vii. 13
daoxre(vew ii, 13, 23, Vi. 8, 11, ix. 5,
15, 18, 20, Xi. 5, 7, 13, xiii. 10 dis,
155 xix. 21
amoAAtya, Xvili. 14
* Arro\A\toy ix. II
dtooté\Aew i. I, V. 6, xxii. 6
améorokos ii. 2, XViii. 20, xxi. 14
dmropépew xvii. 3, XXxi. 10
§drrox wplfeo Bar Niaeia
draAeua, VIN oy) Oe
“Ap xvi. 16
dpyipeos 1x. 20
doyvpos XVili. 12
dpvOwety vil.
dpOuds V. 11, Vii. 4, ix. 16 bis, xiii. 17,
is} (LAD eA, ay Peters!
“dpkos xiii. 2
§dppa ix. 9
dpvetoBar i Leni soe lias
§dpviov v. 6, 8, 12, 13, Vi. 1, 16, Vii. 9,
Meh ius Wh Sabb ae, ating Eh soy mobs ie
4 bis, Lo, Xv. 3, KVli. 14 bis, xix. 750;
xxi. Q, 14, 22, 23, 27, XXil. 1, 3
Gpmdtew Xxil. 5
dponv xii. 5, 13
dpre xil. 10, XIV. 13
dpxaios EGle Oya Rees
dpxy THUG Vy 50-0 (i S.9.0h1 13 1)
seney i. 5
§ “Aoip vil. 6
“Acta i. 4
dorip i. 16, 20 bis, ii. 1, 28, iii. 1, vi.
eeu toh, sey eels abe ae, Sab is
Xxii. 16
dorpatry iV. 5, Will. 5, XL 10, SvinI0
§doxnpooivy xvi. 15
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
avAr xi. 2
§avAnrys xviii. 22
airdés nom., ili. 20, Vi. 11, Xil. 11, Xiv.
10,17, XVil. II, XVill. 6, XIX. ayes
XXI. 3 Dis, 475 other cases, passim
avrov viii. 6 (abrovs), Xvili. 7 (abrqy)
dhaipety xxii. 19 bis
ddrévar li. 4, 20, Xi.
dxpv li. 10, 25, 26, Vil. 3, Xil. 11, Xiv.
20, XV. 8, XVil. 17, XVill. 5, KX. 3; 5
*dipuvOos Vill. 11 bis
BaPvdov xiv. 8, xvi. 19, xvii. 5, XVili.
2, 10, 21
ae ii, 24
ohadp ii, 14
*Badak ii. 14
BddAewy ii. 10, 14, 22, 24, IV. 10, Vie 13;
Viii. 5, 7) 8, xii. 4,9 27, 10, TS sels
16, Xiv. 16, 19 bis, xvili. 19, 21 bis,
Kix. 20, ZX. 3, 10, 94;0me
Bdmrev xix. 13
Bdpos ii. 24
Bacav(few 1x. 5, xi. 10, xii. 2, xiv. 10,
XX. 10
*Bacavirpds ix. 5 bis, xiv. 11, XVili. 7,
Io, 15
Bacrcla i. 6, 9, V. 10, Xi, 15, Xil. 10,
Xvi. 10, XVii. 12, 17, 18
PaorAevew v. To, Xi. 15, 17, XIX. 6, xx.
A510; SRL
Baowrevs i. 5, Vi. 15, 1X. 11, X. II, XV.
3, XVI. 12, 14, XVil. 2, 10, 12 bis, 14
bis, 18, Xvill. 3, 9, xix. 16 bis, 18, 19,
KXi. 24
BaclAwooa xviii. 7
Baordfew ii, 2, 3, xvii. 7
*Bdrpaxos xvi. 13
BdeAvypa xvii. 4, 5, XXi. 27
§PdeAtooer Oat xxi. 8
_ Beveapely vii. 8
*Bripuvddos xxi. 20
*BiBraplStov x. 2, 9, 10
BuBAlov i. 11, V. I, 2, 35 4) 5, 8; 9, Vie
14, X. 8, xiii. 8, xvil. 8, =x. 12)/ten,
Xxl. 27, Xxil. 7, 9, 10, 18 bis, 19 bis
B(BAos ili. 5, XX. 15
PrAacdnypetv xiii. 6, XVi. g, II, 21
Pracdypla ii. 9, xiii. 1, 5, 6, XVil. 3
Prérewv i. 11, 12, iii, 18, V. 3, 4, 1X. 20,
xi. O Xvi. 15, XVii. 8, xviii. 9, 18,
xxii. 8 bis
Bondeiv xii. 16
§Boppas xxi. 13
*Bérpus xiv. 18
Bpéxew xi. 6
Bpovri iv. 5, vi. 1, Vill. 5, X. 3, 4 bis,
xi. 19, XlV. 2, XVi. io jmime
*Bdoowos xvili. 12, 16, xix. 8 bis, 7
*Ta6 vii.
yapos XIX. 7, 9
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
yap 13, 01s 2, 1X 19 bis, xiil. 18, xiv.
4) 135 UI S RVIN.| Nya RiKe Og Os
<1) I, 22, 23, 25, XXil. 10
yaoryp xii. 2
yéepew 1980, 4Sy We. 85) K¥s. 7). XVils 35-4,
xxi, g
yeplfew viii. 5, xv. 8
yévos xxii. 16
a] iS, Ws XO, V. 3 0is, 6, 10, 13,088,
ow SAB CS EP 15, V1. I er, 2,3;
vill. 5, 7 bis, 13, 1X. 1, 3 bis, 4, X. 2,
sn0; 0, X14, 0, 10 a 18, Xil. 4, 9,
Tams x0) Otis, xUl. 3, 8, 11, 12, 13;
14 bis, xiv. 3, 6, 7, 15, 16 bis, 18, 19
ieee xvi. T,.2, 168, XV. 2 bis, 5, 8,
18, XVlil. 1, 3 bis, 9, I1, 23, 24, XiX.
a, 19, XX. 8, 9, 11, XXi. £ ae 2
yiveoGat i. 1, 9, 10, 18, 19, ii. 8, 10, iii.
Alvear, a, Vi. 12 ter, VI. I, 5, 7, 8,
TX; X1. 13 Ois, 15 bis, TOje Alice se 10;
xvi. 2, 3, 4, 10, 17, 18 quater, 10,
MylU. a, XX 6, xxii. 6
yiveokev ii. 23, 24, iii. 3, 9
§yAukts x. 9, 10
yAooos v. 9, vil. 9, X. 11, xi. g, xiii. 7,
Ziy, %, XVL 10, XVil. 15
yvepun xvii. 13, 17 bis
§yopos xviii. 11, 12
ypddev i. 3, 11, 19, ii. 1, 8, 12, 17, 18,
le Ts°7) 12, 14, V. I, X. 4 bis, xiii. 8,
RUNS) 03, XV, 5, 8, Xix. 9s 12, 16,
XX. 12, 15, Xxi. 5) 275 xxil. 18, 19
yenyopetv ill. 2, 3, XVi. 15
Yerves iil. 17, XVI. 15, xvii. 16
Syupvorns iil. 18
ite 20, ix. 8, xii. I, 45 6; T3814.
Pay 20, £7; XIV. 4, XVi. 3, 4,6, 7.9,
18, XiX. 7, XXl. 9
*Toy xx. 8
yovla vii. 1, xx. 8
Satpoviov ix. 20, xvi. 14, XViii. 2
Sdkpvov vil. 17, xxi. 4
AavelS ili. 7, v. 5 xxii. 16
Sé i. 14, Ds 5, xix. 12, xxi. 8
Seti. 1, iv. 1, x. x1, xi. 5, xiii. 10, xvii.
10, XX. 3, Xxil. 6
Seaxview i. 1, iv. 1, xvii. 1, xxi. 9, 10,
xrii..7, 6, 8
Se.Aos xxi. 8
Sety ix. 14, XX. 2
Seumvetv ill. 20
Setrrvov xix. 9 17
Séka li. 10, xil. 3, xiii, 1 bis, xvii. 3, 7,
12 dis, 16
Sékartos xi. 13, xxi. 20
SévBpov vii. 1, 3, viii. 7, ix. 4
SeEtds i. 16, 17, 20, ii, 1, V. 1, 7, X. 2, 5,
xiii. 16
Seomérys vi. 10
Setpo, Sedre xvii. 1, xix. 17, xxi. go
317
Sedrepos ii. 11, iv. 7, vi. 3 bis, viii. 8,
Xl. Td; X1¥- y XW 3, Bike 3) eee Oy
14, xxi. 8,
Syvapiov vi. 6 by
Bid. (1) with gen. i. 1, xxi. 24; (2) with
ace, i. 9, li. a iv. 11, Vi. 9 bis, vii.
15, Xi. yx Dis, 12, Xili. 14, XVIL 7,
XvVlil. 8, 10, 15, xx. 4 bis
SidBodos ii. ro, xii, 9, 12, XX. 2, 10
*Siddypa xii. 3, Xiii. 1, XIX. 12
SiadyKy xi. 19
Stakovla ii. 19
Stakdovor xi. 3, xii. 6
*Stavyrs xxi. 21
Siapie(pew vill. g, xi.
SiSackey ii. 14, 20
SiSaxy ii. 14, 15, 24
SSdvar i. 1, ii. 71 10, 17, 21, 23, 26,
28, ll. 8, Q, 21; 1V- 9, V1. 4, 4 Dis, 8,
Vf, Vil. 2, Vill, 2,3 Ut8, 2X> sees
Che Up her mnd.h > lh yr oe 2
4, 5 bis, 7 bis, 14, 15 bis, 16, xiv. 7,
XV. 7.XV1-. 6,18, 0, 10; Ve eae
bis, XVlll. 7, ix. 7, 8; XX. 4, 130i,
xxi. 6
S(katos XV. 3, XVI. 5, 7, XIX. 2, XXil. 11
Stkatoovvy xix. 11, XXxil. 11
Sikatwna Xv. 4, xix. 8
*Simrdovv xviii. 6
SumAovs xviii. 6 dis
*Stopuptds ix. ae
§dlotopos i. 16, ii. 12
Subav Vii. 16, xxi. 6, xxii. 17
Stoke xii. 13
18 bis
S6£a i. 6, iv. 9, 11, V. 12, 13, Vil. 12, Xi.
13, XIV. 7, XY. 8, XVl. 0, XVUL x, XIX.
I, 7, XX. II, 23, 24, 26
Sofdfav xv. 4, xviii. 7
SovAos i. 1 bis, li. 20, Vi. 15, Vil. 3,
X.\7,°X1, 18; Fl: 10) 20a; eee
18, xxii. 3, 6
*Spdkov xii. 3, 4, 7 dis, 9, 13, 16, 17
xiii. 2, 4, If, XVi. 13, XX. 2
$Spéravoy Xiv. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 bis, 19
Svvapis i. 16, ili. 8, iv. 11, V. 12, Vil.
12, XL 17, Xil. 10, XIU 2, XV. 8, xvii.
13, Xviii. 3, ae I
StwacGar ii. 2, ili. 8, v. 3, vi. 17, vil. 9,
ix. 20, Xlli. 4, re xiv. 3, xv. 8
Sto ix. 12, Xl. 2, 3, 4 dis, 10, xii. 14,
XIU} F. oT 1, XIX. 90
Svorpr XXi, 13
Sa5exa vii. 5 ter, 6 ter, 7 ter, 8 ter, xii.
I, XXi. 12 ter, 14 ter, 16, 21 bis, xxii. 2
*SwSékatos XXi. 20
Swpedy xxi. 6, XXII. 17
Sapov xi. 10
édy iii. 3, 19, 2
with pH, Ue =
éavrod li. 2, 9, 2
XIX. 7
. 6, xxii. 18, 19:
22, lil. 3, Xill. 15
pill. Q; Vi E5) X= 35 '%s
.
318
€BSopos viii. 1, X. 7, Xi. 15, XVi. 17,
Xxi. 20
§'EBpaicrt ix. 11, xvi. 16
éyyvs i. 3, xxii. 10
Evetpew xi 1
“eyxplew ii. 18
éyo nom., i. 8, 9, 175, li. 6, 23, 27, lil. 9,
19; 21, XVil.\Y, X16 018, XXil.'8, 13,
16 bis, 18; other cases, passim
@vos ii. 26, y. 9, Vii. 9, X. II, xi. 2, 9,
18, Xil.-5, XUil./7, xiv. 6,'S, XV, 3) 4,
XVi. 19, XVil. 15, XVili. 3, 23, Xix. 15,
EX. 3, 8, xxl. 24, 26, xxii. 2
et pt] il. 5, 16, 17, 1X. 4, Xill. 17, Xiv. 3,
XIX, 12, Xxi. 27; e¥ 7s xi. 5 bis, xill.
Q, 10 bis, XIV. 0," 11, EX. 15
eiSwdd8utos ii. 14, 20
§eiSwAoAdrpys xxi. 8, xxii. 15
elSmAov ix. 20
elkooe i iv. 4 bis, Io, v. 8, xi. 16, xix. 4
eikoy Xlil. 14, 15 ter, xiv. Q, II, XV. 2,
Re Zoe MIKA 20; XK 4.
eipl passim
cimrety Vil. 14, XVii. 7, xxi. 5, 6, xxii. 6,
17
clpyvy The Vals
eis 1. 6, 11 octies, ay li. 10, 22 bis, i Iv. 9,
TO3) Vs O; 13, Vi. 13, 15 bis, Vii. 12, Vill.
5, 7) 8, 11, 1X. 1, 3, 7, 9; 15, 26. bo OF
xi. 6, 9, 12, 15; xii. 4, > 9 13;
14 bis, xiil. 3, 6, Io bis, ee "xiv. UL,
19 bis, XV. 7, 8, XVI. I, 2, 3, 4, 14, 16,
19, XVil. 3, 8, 11, 17, XVill. 21, XIX. 3,
9, 17, 20, XX. 3, 8, 10 673, 14, 15, XXi-
24, 26, 27, Xxll. 2, 5, 14
eis iv. 8 bis, V. 5, Vi. 1 bis, Vil. 13, Viii.
13, 1X. 12, 13, xiii. 3, xv. 7, XVii. 1,
IO, 12, 13, 17, XVill. 8, 10, 16, 19,
21, XIX. 17, Xxl. 9, 21
eloépxer Oar li. 20, xi. rr, xv. 8, xxi.
275 Xxil. Iq
eK, € i. 55000) dls Bs. 75 105 Io, II, 21, 22,
lil. 5, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, iv. 5, ¥. 5 bis,
7 Q; Vi. 1 08, 4, LO, 14, Vil. 4, 5 ter,
6 ter, 7 ter, 8 ter, 9, 13) 14, 17, Viil.
Ay bs LO; FT, 133k. 1, 2 Vis, 3, 15) 17,
18 bis, 20, 21 quater, X. 1, 4, 8, Io,
mG. Cy, Qs II, 12, Kale PLs5 LOSI ere
3, II, 13, Xiv. 2, 8, 10, 13 bis, 15, 17,
18, 20, Xv. 2 ter, 6, Fey is: bis, Xvi. I,
NO) CMNCeTs ts ter, 17, 21 bis, xvii. 13
2, 6 bis, 8, 11, Xvili. 1 bis, 3 bis, 4 ter,
12> 1,120, X1X.-2, 05.20 01S, XX.0, 75
D502 pomKd 25 3/4, 36,20, TO, any XM.
tipy ai)
ekagros li. 23, V. 8, Vi. 11, XX. 13, Xxi.
21, XXil. 2, 12
exatov vii. 4, Xiv. 1, 3, xxi. 17
éxBadAew xi. 2
€kOuKety Vi. IO, Xix. 2
éxet li. 14, xii.
exel . 6 bis, 14, xxi. 25
éxetOey Xxii.- 2
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
éxeivos ix. 6, xi. 13
§éxkevrety i, 7
éxxAnoia i. 4, 11, 20 bis, ii. 1, 7, 8, 11,
12, 17, 18, 23, 20, ills 0310; 1y5 emis
22, Xxli, 16
éxAekTés Xvii. 14
extropever Oar i. 16, iv. 5, ix. 17, 18, Xi.
5, Xvi. 14, XIX. 15, xxii, 1
exTos Vi. 12, ix. 13, 14, XVL 12, XXL 20
éxxelv xvi. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, Io, 12, 17
édala xi. 4
Aavov vi. 6, Xvill. 13
eAéyxewv iil. 19
§éAewos iii. 17
éhedBepos vi. 15, Xill. 16, xix. 18
*eXehdytivos Xvill. 12
§eAXiooew vi. 14
S€\kos Xvi. 2, IT
“EMagyixds ix. "22
*epety ili, 16
épds li. 20
§éutropos xyili. 3, II, 15, 23
éumpoo Sev iv. 6, xix. 10, xxii. 8
SupoBos xo 113
EVI, Teese ee 10 bis, 13, 15, 16 bis,
li. I ter, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16, 18, 23, 24,
273 iii. 1, 4 bis, 5, 7, 12, 14, 21 Dis, iv.
2 bis, 6, V. 2, 3, 6 bis, g, 13 bis, Vi.
ae 8 ter, vii. 9, 14, 15, Vil iy 9, Ge
13, 1x. 6, 10, II, 17, 19 tT, 20, X. 2,
6 quater, 7, 8, 9, 10, XL 1, 6, 11, 12,
13 bis, 15, 19 bis, Xil. I, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8,
10, I2, Xlii. 6, 8, 10 bis, 12, XIV. 2, 5,
6, 7, 9, 10 bis, 13, 14, 15, 17, XY. I bis,
5, Xvi. 3, 8, XVIL 3, 4, 10, XVille ae
7, 8 bis, 16, 19 bis, 22 ter, 23 ter,
24, X1X. 1, 2; Ue bis, 17 ter,
20 bis, 21, XX. 6, 8, 12) 33 01s) nes
xxi. 8, 10, 22, 27, XXll. 2, 3, 6, 18, 19
évatos Xxi. 20
SévdéxaTos XXi. 20
evSvew i. 13, XV. 6, xix. 14
*eySouryous xxi. 18
éviauTds ix. 15
évrev0ey xxii. 2
evToAy xii. 17, XiV. 12
évatiov i. 4, li. 14, ili. 2, 5 bis, 8, 9,
iv. 5, 6, robis, v. 8, Vil. 9 ‘bis, ‘i, £5,
Vill. 2, 3, 4, 1X. 13, Xl. 4, 16, Xil. 4, IO,
Xili. 12, 13, 14, Xlv. 3 bis, 10 bis, XV.
4, XVi. 19, XiX. 20, XX, 12
€€ iv. 8, xiii. 18
*éfaxdovor xiii. 18, xiv. 20
éfadelpe ili. 5, vil. 17, XXi. 4
efépxer Oar iii. 12, Vi 2, 4, ix. 3, xiv.
15, 17, 18, 20, XV. 6, XVi. 17, XVill. 4
KIX. 5, 21, xx. 8 Pu
eEjkovTa xi. 3, xii, 6, xiii. 18
éovela ii. 26, vi. 8, ix. 3 bis, 10, 19, Xi.
6 bis, xii. 10, xiil. 2, 4, 5, 7, 125 “a
18, XVi. Q, XVil. 12, 13, XVI a, oe
xxii. 14
~~
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
tw iii. 12, xxii. 15
twSey xi. 2, xiv. 20
émdyw vi. 8, xx. 3
érl (1) with gen., 1. 20, ii. 26, ill. 10 bis,
IV. 10, V- I, 3, 7, 10, 13 bis, Vi. 10,
16, Vii. I, 3, 15, Vill. 3, 13, 1X. 4, 11,
175 x. 2 bis, 5 bis, 8 bis, xi. 6, 8, 10 bis,
xii. 1, xiii. 1, 8, 14 bis, 16, xiv. 1, 6, 9,
14, 15, 16, 18, xvi. 18, xvii. 1, 8, 9,
18, xvili. 24, Xix. 19, 21, XX. 6, II,
ports Sa. 10, XX. 43 (2) with dat.,
iv. 9, V- 13, vii. 10, 1X. 14, X 11, Xi.
10, Xil. 17, XViil. 20, XiX. 4, 14, XXi.
5 x2, XxiL 16; (3) with acc.,i. 7, 17,
ii. » 24, Ul. 3, 12, 20, iv. 2, 4 bis, v.
“e vie 2, 45 5, 8, 16, Vil. I bis, II, 15,
70). Vill. 3, 10 bis, pts Ty > Cah yap oe
11 bis, 16 bis, xii. 3 bis, 18, xiii. 1, is
16, Xiv. 1, 6 bis, 9, 14, 16, XV. 2, Xvi.
2, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, 21, XVil. 3, 5,
manevill, ©, II, 17, 19, XIX. II, 12,
16 bis, ieeexXT.04 LE%, 9, XX1. IO;
Xxil. 5, 14, 18 bis
lserpend xviii. 19
i a pdde xxi. 12
pety ix, 6
a ar xviii. 14
émum(rrew xi. 11
érirtpéery i. 12 bis
éruriBévar xxii. 18 bis
énra i. 4 bis, II, 12, 16, 20 sexies, ii.
1 bis, ili. 1 bis, iv. 5 dis, Va E5r5y Oter,
Vi. I, Vill. 2 bis, 6 bis, x. 3, 4 bis, xi. 13,
xii. 3 bis, Xiiil. 1, Xv. I, 6 bis, 7 bis,
8 bis, xvi. 1 bis, xvii. 1 bis, 3, 7, 9 dis,
2 Io, II, xxi. g ter
wav li, 23
-sariaton Xviiil, 17
Epyov ii. 2, 5,6, 19 bis, 22, 23, 26, il. 1,
2, 8, 15, 1X. 20, Xiv. 13, XV. 3, XVi.
It, Xvili. 6, XX. 12, 13, XXil. 12
epety vi. 11, Vii. 14, ix. 4, XVii. 7, Xix. 3
tpnpos xii. 6, 14, Xvil. 3
épnpovy xvii. 16, xviii. 16, 19
Stprov i. 14
tpxerGar i. 4, 7, 8, ii. 5, 16, iii, 10, 11,
lv. 8, v. 7, Vi- I, 3) 5) 7) 17> Vii. 13,
14, Viii. 3, Tera Xi. 14, 18, xiv. FE
15, XVi. 15, XVil. 1, 10 bis, XViil. 10, xix.
XXi. Q, xXxll, 7, 12, 17 ter, 20 bis
iol au, 14, 20, X. 10, xvi. 16,
xix. 18
%rxaros i. 17, ii
Xxil. 13
towbey iv. 8, v.
&re il. 12, Vi. 11, Vil. 16, ix. 12, xii. 8,
XVill. 21, 22 ter, 23 bis, Xx. 3, XXi. 1,
4 bis, Xxil. 3, 5, 11 quater”
éroupdfew viii. 6, ix. 7, 15, xii. 6, xvi.
12, =a be 7. xxi. 2
Eros 3X. 2, 3, 4) § 6, 7
evayyeAifav x. 7, xiv. 6
B; 19,) XV. Ty XXL 9;
319
evayyéAtov xiv. 6
ebBéws iv. 2
evAoyla vy. 12, 13, Vil. 12
ciploxey ii. 2, iil. 2, V. 4, ix. 6, xii. 8,
Xiv. 5, XVi. 20, XVilL 14, 21, 22, 24,
> tty) ey A
evdpalverar xi. 10, xii. 12, XViil. 20
*Evopdrns ix. 14, Xvi. 12
evxapirrety xi 57
e aptor(a iv. g, vil. 12
ebavupos x. 2
“Ederos iL rr, i, 1
gxew i. 16, 18, il. 3, 4) Pigs 7, 10, 11, 12,
14 bis, 15, 17, 18, 24, 25, 29, lll.
1 bis, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, ce 17, 22, lv. 7,
8 bis, v. 6, 8, Vi. 2, 5.9, ViL 2, Vili.
3, 6, g, ix. 3+ 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 bis, 14,
17, 19, X. 2, XL 6 bis, xii. 2, 3» 6, 12 bis,
07, X11: 1, Qj 1X, E45 7s, LSy Rivers
II, 14, 17, 18 bis, xv. 1, 2, 6, xvi. 2,
);, XVIle Ty) 35. 4517510). X35 Top eV
19, XIX. 10, 12, 16, XX. 1, 6 bis, xxi. g,
11, 12 bis, 14, 15, 23, XXU. 5
éxOpds xi. 5, 12
éws VL 10, II
§ZaPovdwy vii. 8
*teords lil 15 bis, 10
“{nAevev ill. 1
{pv 1. 18 bis, 11. 8, iii. 1, i
a, x. 6. x1: 14, Xv.
4, 5
{nreiv ix. 6
{uyds vi. 5
ton i. 7, To, 1-5, Vil. 27, XL. cep ee
8, XV1. 3, XV. &, XK £2, 15, 3x8,
27, XXIL I, 2, 14, 17, 19
tovy i. 13, XV. 6
{oov iv. 6, 7 quater, 8, 9, ¥. 6. & zr.
14, Vi. I, 3, 556, 7, Vi IX, KA¥. 3,
XV. 7, MIX. 4
j ili. 15, Xili. 16, 17 dis, xiv. 9.
Hkew il. 25, ili. 2 bis, g, XV. 4, xviii. 8
MAtos i. 16, Vi. 12, Vil. 2, 16, viii. 12,
ix. 2, X. 1, XU 3, XVi. 8, 12, Xix. 17,
Xxi. 23, Xxil. 5
tpets i. 5 ter, 6
jpépa i. 10, li. 10, 13, iv. 8, vi. 17, Vii.
, Vill. 12, 1x. 6, 15, X. 7, ZL. 356, 9,
II, Xii. 6, 10, XIV. II, XVi. 14, XVLIL
8, XX. 10, XXL 45
_Tiptors xi. 9, II, Mil. 14
nplwpoyv vill. 1
O@dAacoa iv. 6, v. 13, vil 1, 2, 3, viii.
8 bis, 9, X- 2, 5 6, 8, xii. 12, 18, xiui
I, XIV. 7, XV. 2 bis, xvi. 3 bis, xviii.
175 19, 21, XX. 8,13) ZxL-2
Odvartos i. 18, ii. 10, II, 23, vi. § dis,
ix. 6 bis, Xil. 11, Xili. 3 bis, 12, xviii.
8, xx. 6, 13, 14 Lis, xxi. * 8
V. g, 10, Vil.
7, XIX. 20, XX.
320
$Gatua xvii. 6
Oaupdtey xiii. 3, xvii. 6, 7, 8
Qavpactds XV. I, 3
§Ociov ix. 17, 18, XIV. 10, XIX. 20, XX. IO,
xxi. 8
*GewSnys 1x. 17
Ore Ii. 21, xi. 5 dis, 6, XXiL 17
BeAnpa iv. 11
OepeAtos xxi. 14, 19 dis
Océs i. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, ii. 7, 18, il. 1, 2,
12 quater, 14, lv. 5, 8, 11, V. 6, 9, 10,
Vi. Q, Vil. 2, 3, 10, II, 12, 15, 17, Vill. 2,
Ay 1X 4, 13) X= Fo Zl- 1, 11, 13, 10 bis,
17, 19, Xi. 5, 6, 10 bis, 17, xiii. 6,
XIV. 4, 7, 10, 12, 19, XV. I, 2, 3 Dis, 7,
Siwy Ey 9s. Q5 a, 4, 110, 28, KVL.
17 bis, xviil. 5, 8, 20, XiX. I, 4, 5, 6,
Q, 10, 13, 15, 17, XX. 4, 6, XXL. 2,
3 bis, 7, 10, II, 22, 23, XXll. I, 3, 5,
6, 9, 18, 19
S0cpare(a Xxil. 2
Ocparrevery xiii. 3, 12
Oep(fery xiv. 15 bis, 16
Oepropds xiv. 15
Oewpety xi. II, 12
Onplov vi. 8, xi. 7, xiii. 1, 2, 3, 4 ter,
II, 12 bis, 14 bis, 15 ter, 17, 18, Xiv.
Q, II, XV. 2, XVi. 2, 10, 13, XVii. 3, 7,
8 bis, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, xix. 19,
20 bis, XX. 4, 10
Mbps i. g, ii. 9, 10, 22, vil. 14
Oplé i. 14, ix. 8
Opdvos i. 4, ii. 13, iii. 21 dis, iv. 2 dis,
3, 4 ter, 5 bis, 6 ter, 9, 10 dis, V. I,
6, 7, II, 13, Vi. 16, Vil. 9, 10, 11 bis,
15 Oisy 175 Vill. 25 Xi. 26, Xil. 5, Kill.
2, XIV. 3, XVi. 10, 17, XIX. 4, 5, XX. 4,
Mipil2, XXio Son, SR. 1513
§Ovdrepa i. 11, li. 18, 24
*QUivov xviii. 12
SOuplapa v. 8, viii, 3, 4, XVill. 13
Ovpds xii. 12, xiv. 8, Io, 19, XV. I, 7;
xvi. I, 19, XViil. 3, XIX. 15
Bupa iii, 8, 20 bis, iv. I
Suovacrrptov Vi. 9g, Vili. 3 bis, 5, ix. 13,
Daly Vip Ny ike) 2-606 17)
§Odpak ix. g bis, 17
aos iv. 3, xxi. 11, 18, 19
iSety 1. 2512, 07, 10, 20, 1.2, 9,913;
Lys TOs Aly L5G, 159 FY, IV Hp We My 2,
6, 11, Vi. I, 2, 5, 8, 9, 12, Vil. 1, 2, 9,
Carls CA webee hee eye si eat
12, 08), Mills 05° O TL, RVs MOGs tA,
KV sezs 5) XV Use XVlle 9510) O%S, 10,
NOE wisp (oy Muacope-qpltly Vey Uy Sobel:
I 20 Fy TOs Ry Cyd Ly E25. KIL,
25 22
Sov i. 7, 18, ii. 10, 22, iil. 8, 9 dis, 20,
iv. I, 2, V. 5, Vi. 2, 5, 8, vil. Q, ix.
12, Xi. 14, Xl. 3, XIV. 1, 14, XVL 15,
XIX. IT, XXl. 3, 5, XX1. 7. [2
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
*'TefaBed ii. 20
iepevs i. 6, V. 10, Xx. 6
*TepovoeaAyp ill. 12, XXi. 2, Io
*Inoods i. 1, 2, 5, 9 bis, xii. 17, Xiv. 12,
XVil. 6, xix. 10 bis, XX. 4, XXil. 16, 20,
21
ipadrioy iii. 4, 5, 18, iv.
135) 10
tva ii. 10, 21, iii. g, 11, 18 ter, Vi. 2, 4,
II, Vill. 3,6, 12) 1K. 5, U5 Stags ©;
14, I5, Xlli, 12, 13, 15 bis, 16, Xiv.
13, XVi. 12, xix. 8, 15, 18, XX1 15,
23, xxii. 14; Wa pH iii. 18, Vil. 1,
vili. 12, ix. 4, 5, 20, Xi. 6, Xili. 17,
Xvi. 15, XVill. 4 bis, XZ. 3
*TovSaios ii. g, ili. 9
*TovSas Vv. 5, Vii. 5
*tarmucos 1x. 16
§artros Vi. 2, 4, 5, 8, ix. 7, 9, 17 bis, 19,
XIV. 20, XVill. 13, XiX. II, 14, 18, 19, 21
*{pis iv. 3, xX. I
Uros xxi. 16
*"Ioparr ii. 14, Vii. 4, XXi. 12
*Iocaxdp Vil. 7
iordvat lili. 20, v. 6, Vi. 17, Vil. I, 9, 11,
viii. 2, 3, X- 5, 8, Xi. 4, IX, Xil. 4, 18,
xiv. I, XV- 2, XVili. 10, 15, 17, XIX.
Fee Sei}
ioxvew xii. 8
ioxupds V. 2, Vi. 15, X I, Xvili. 2, 8,
10; 210, oa Oe
ioxds V. 12, Wil./ rage
Iwdvyns i. 1, 4, 9, Xxil. 8
*Iworp vii. 8
4, Xvi. 15, XIX.
kaSapés xv. 6, xix. 8,14, xxi. 18 dis, 21
KaOyoOat iv. 2, 3, 45 9, 10, V- I, 7; 13;
vi. 2, 4, 5, 8, 16, Vil. 10, 15, ib
xi. 16, Xiv. 6, 14, 15) 00, <vileuioes
9, 15; xviii. ¥, XIX. 4, II, 18, 10, 21,
XX, 11, =X. 5
Kafe iil 21 bis, xx. 4
Kal passim ~
kalew iv. 5, Vili. 8, 10, xix. 20, xxi. 8
ko.vés ii. 17, iii. 12 bis, V. 9, XIV. 3,
xxi. 1 bis, 2, 5
katpds i, 3, Xi. 18, xii. 12, 14 ter, xxii. 10
KakKoS li. 2, XV1. 2
kdAapos Xi. 1, Xxi. 15, 16
kaheiv i. 9, Xi. 8, xii. g, Xvi. 16, Xix. 9,
ety Ft)
§kapivos i. 15, ix. 2
Skamvos Vill. 4, ix. 2 ter, 3, 17, 18,
xiv. 11, xv. 8, xviii. 9, 18, 1x. 3
kapSla ii, 23, xvii. 17, XVill. 7
kapTés Xxil. 2 bis
kara (1) with gen., ii. 4, 14, 205 (2) with —
acc., ii. 23, iv. 8, Xvili. 6, XX. 12,"13,
Xxil. 2
xaraBalvey iii. 12, X. I, Xil. 12, Xi”
13, Xvi, 21, XVili., 1, KX. I, Qs xxi.
2, 10
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
karaBoAy xiii. 8, xvii. 8
*xaraSepa xxii. 3
katrakaley viii. 7 ter, xvil. 16, xvili. 8
Katamivey xil. 16
*xaraodpaylteyv v.
Kater Oley x. Qs 10, Kies) X14, (xk,9
kaTnyopeiv Xil. 10
x al Lal xii. 10
KarouKety ii. 13 bis, iii. 10, vi. 10, Viil.
Tavext JO Ot¢,, XUi, 8, 12, 14 dis,
xvii. 2, 8
§karouknrrpiov xviii. 2
*xadpa vil. 16, xvi. 9
Kauparitey xvi. 8, 9
KetoOar iv. 2, xxi. 16
_Kéevtpov ix. Io
*Kepapixds li. 27
*Kepavvovat X1V. 10, xviii. 6 bis
*xépas v. 6, ix. 13, Xil. 3, xiii. 1 Dis, 11,
Xvil. 3, 7, 12, 16
kehadr 1. 14, iv. 4, ix. 7, 17 bis, 19, X.
Peretl- 153028, X11. ¥ Dis, 3, XIV. 14,
Vil. 3, 7, 9, XViil. 19, xix. 12
tooey Vv. 2
6s xi. 19°
gxibdoa y. 8, xiv. 2, xv. 2
§xbap(lev Xivs 2
*KBapwSos xiv. 2, xviii. 22
xuvely ii. 5, Vie 14
*Kivvdpwpoy XVill, 13
kAalew Vv. 4, 5, XVill. 9, II, 15, 19
KAclay ili. 7 bis, 8, xi. 6, Xx. 3, XXi. 25
KAcis i. 18, fis 7,3. 1, XX I
*Khéppa ix. 21 .
KAérrys ili. 3, Xvi. 15
kAnpovopety xxi. 7
kAnrés Xvil. 14
KAlvy ii. 22
Kothla x. 9, 10
Kowds xxi. 27
KOKktvos XVii. 3, 4 Xviiil. 12, 16
KoAAao Gat xviil.
*kodAovpioy iii. 1
Komigy ii. 3
Kérros ii. 2, xiv. 13
KémrecOat i. 7, Xvili. 9
Koopety Xxi. 2, 19
Kdopos Xi. 15, Xili. 8, xvii. 8
kpdlew vi. 10, Vil. 2, 10, x. 3 bis, xii. 2,
XIV. 15, Xvili. 2, 18, 19, xix. 17
Kparelv Higety 13; 14, I5; 25) Tbe Sy ee
Vil. 1, XX. 2
Kpdtos 1. 6, V. 13
_Keavyy ae 4
*xp.Or vi.
Kplpo. wii I, XVill. 20, XX. 4
Kplvew vi. 10, xi. 18, xvi. 5, xviii. 8,
amix. 9, II, XX. 12, 13
Kplowg Xiv. 7, XVi. 7, XViil,
Kpovety ili. 20
Kpvmrev ii. 17, vi. 15, 16
*kpvoradAilay xxi, 11
SR.
20.) Xtk.no
*xptoraddos iv. 6, xxii.
KTHVOoS XVI 13
xtifev iv. ri bis, x. 6
Ktlois lil, 14
ktiopa Vv. 13, Vill. g
§xuBepvtjrns Xvili. 17
§xukAevev xx. g
*xuxAd0ev iv. 3, 4, 8
KUKXos iv. 6, V. II, Vil. 1
§xupiakds i. 10
ktpvos i. 8, iv. 8, 11, Vii. 14, Xi. 4, 8,
15, 17, XiV. 13, XV. 3, 4, XVi- 7,
xvii. 14 bis, xvii. 8, xix. 6, 16 bis,
XXi. 22, Xxil. 5, 6, 20, 21
KUwv xxii. 15
Aodetv i. 12, iv. 1, x. 3, 4 dis, 8, xii
5, II, 15, XVil, 1, XXi. 9, 15
AapBdvew li. 17, 27, il. 3, 11, iv. 11,
Vv. 7, 8, 9, 12, Vie 4, Vill. 5, X. 8, 9,
10, Xi. 17, XIV. 9, II, XvVil. 12 bis,
Xviil. 4 xix. 20, Xx. 4, XX. I7
Aaptds iv. 5, Vili. 10
Aapmpdés xv. 6, Xviii. 14, xix. 8, xxii.
I, 16
§Aaobdikla i. rr, ili. 14
dads V. 9, Vil. 9, x. II, XL. 9, x84,
xiv. 6; Xvi: 16, 3VUL 4, 35k
arpeverw Nil. 15, XXil. 3
Adyew i. 8, 11, 17, ii. 1, 2, 7 8, say i=
12, 17, 18, 20, 24 bis, 29, ili. 1, 6,
7» 9» 13, 14, 17, 22, iv. 1, 3 Io, Vv. 5,
9, 12, S E45 Wis Ibn 5, 6; 7, 10,
16; Vil. 3, FO, 12). 3, Val. TG, ca,
ix, 14, X. 4, 8, g bis, eye Mey ae a a
17, Xil. 10, Xill. 4, 14, Xv. 7, 8, 9,
13 bis, 18, XV. 3, XVl. I, 5, 75 17,
CVs Fy 05) RV ay Me ip Io, 16, 18,
IQ, 21%, XK. I, 4; 5, 6; 9: Dis, XO,
17, XXl. 3, 5; Qs ZEUe 9 1O, 17, 20
Aevei vii. 7
§Aevkalvey vii. 14
Aevkds i. 14 dis, il. 17, iii. 4, 5, 18, iv. 4-
Vi. 2, II, VH. 9, 13, X1V¥s¥4) Kigeikly
14 bis, XX. II
Adwv iv. 7, V. 5, ix. 8, a .2
§Anvds Xiv. 19, 20 bis, xix. ere
§A(Bavos xviil. 13
ce ranted Wills 3, 15
AlBivos ix. 20
AlBog iv. 3, Xvii. 4, Xviii. 12,
Xxl. 11 bis, 19
§Al(pvy XIX. 20, XX. 10, 14 dis, 15, xxi. 8
Autos vi. 8, xvill. 8
§Xlvov xv. 6
*Aumapés Xvill. 14
Adyos i. 2, 3, 9, lil. 8, 10, Vi. g, ii. II,
EVil. 17, XIX. 9, 13, XX. 4, XXL 5,
xxii. 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, 19
Aourds ii. 24, iii. 2, viii. 13, ix. 20,
Xi«T3) Hi 17; x ares
Abe i. 5, V. 2, IX. 14, 15, EX. 35 7
16, 21,
21
322
Aux via i. 12, 13, 20 bis, Ty Bye Ce 5, zdiey)
Aixvos xviii, 23, XXi. 23, XXil. 5
*Maycdav bi 16
*“Mayoy xx.
pakdptos 1. 2 xiv. 13, XVi. 15, xix. 9,
6G (Hy sosth yy, Tir
ee KVAll TOs) dinghy
avarons vil. 6
“pavOdvev xiv. 3
pavve li. 17
papyaplrns xvii. 4, xviii. 12, 16, xxi.
aI bis
“poppapos XVill. 12
paptupety i. 2, xxii. 16, 18,
paptupta i. 2, 9, Vi. 9, xi. 7 a ais
17, XIX. 10 bis, XX. 4
PapTuptov V5
paprus i. 5, ii. 13, iii, 14, xi. 3, xvil. 6
“pardaoGar xvi. Io
Spacrds i. 13
Box apa vi. 4, Xill, 10, 14
péyas i. ro, ii. 22, V. 2, 12, Vi. 4, 10,
12, 13, 17; vii. 2, 10, 14, vili. 8, Io,
Hay 3b. ey Fe) yy oe 3; X28, 11, 12,0035
15, 17, 18, 19, Xil. 1, 3, 9, 10, 12,
Day) MAll. 2, 5,435 10, XIV. 2517, 703005
15, NSF EO, Ve Dy = 3, KV, 9, 12,
ily sbrfy ite) bis, 19 bis, 21 bis, xvil. 1,
5, 6, 18, XVill. 1, 2,-10, 16, 18, 19,
ii. BIbe Ti Oye tf (Hd lite 2 oS uty
II, 12, xxi. 3, I0, 12
Speytordy vi. 15, XV. 23
peOvery xvii. 2, 6
pédas Vi. 5, 12
péAL V. 9, 10
pédAeww 1 19, li. 10 bis, iii. 2, 10, 16,
WISE, Ville 3, Xuqe 7 kiL aR CVA
péverv XVil. Io
Epos xvi. 19, Xx. 6, xxl. 8, xxii. 19
péoos i. 13, il. 1, iv. 6, v. 6 bis, vi. 6,
vii. 17, eas G)
*peroupdynia. viii. 13, xiv. 6, xix. 5
pera (1) with gen., 1. 7, 12, li. 16, 2
ill. 4, 20 bis, 21 Dis, Ave Ts Wis Os) Xs 3.
xi. 7, xii. 7, 9, 17, Xlil. 4, 7, Xiv. I,
45 13, KVI10) 05025. 12,004 02S, Vile 3,
Q, X1x. 19 bis, 20, XX. 4, 6, Xxi. 3 ter,
Q, 15, XXil. 12, 213 (2) with ace.,
i, 19, iv. £ bis, Vil. 1, 9, ix. 12, Yak, jtits
EV. 5; SAME Ty Feb.G 1p 7.0.55)
peravoeiv ii. 5 bis, 16, 21, 22, ili. 3,
19, 1X. 20, 21, KVIeaO, eK
perpety Xi. I, 2, XXi. 15, 16, 17
_pétpov XXl. 15, 17
*pérwmov vil. 3, ix. 4, Xili.
on XVil. 5, XX. 4, XXll. 4
pi i. 17, ii. 10, ili, 3, V. 5, vi. 6, Vil. 3,
ope 7h ab Hp, pate 155, XIX. IO, XXil.
9, 10; preceded by oi, ii. 11, iil. 3, 5,
12, ix. Heshecky 2Setth Vie ieee
22 ter, 23 bis, XX1. 25, 27
16; XIVs. I,
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
pydels Ike on
§pq Kos xxi. 16 bis
Maile ix. 5, 10, 15, Xi. 2, Xlil. 5, Xxil. 2
*pnpds xix. 16
pyre vil. 1 bis, 3 bis
BNTHP XVil. 5
puyvuvaL Vill. 7, XV. 2
pixpés iii, 8, vi. 11, xi. 18, xiii. 16,
XIX. 5, 18, XK. 3, I2
pysvrorKer Bat xvi. 19
proety ii. 6 bis, xvii. 16, xviii. 2
vrGés xi. 18, xxii. 12
§Mixand xii. 7
HVABO xi. g_
pvnpovetew ii. 5, iii. 3, xviii. 5
OLX eveLv ii. 22
§poduvery i ili: 4, XIv.4
HSvos XV. 4
_BOoxes, iv. 7.
*povotkds Xvili. 22
*uuKkaoGat x. 3
*utAwvos Xvili. 21
pudos xviii. 22
pupids v. 11 bis, ix. 16
popov XVili. 13
votrpiov i. 20, X. 7, XVil. 5, 7
ovens xv. 3
val i. 7, XIV. 13, XVi. 7, XXii. 20
vads iil, (2,0 Vile. 15; Ximenemees 19 bis,
Xiv. 15, 17, XV. 5, 6, 8 bis, xvi. I,
17, Xxi. 22 bis
§vavrns Xvill. 17
vexpos Ie 5; 175 18, il. 8; dicey tees
xiv. 13, XVi. 3, XX. 5, 12 bis, 13 bis
vebéAn i. 7, X. I, Xi. 12, Xiv. 14 bis,
15, 16
§NepOareip vii. 6
*vepos ii. 23
§vqwos i. 9, Vi. 14, XVI. 20
ery ii. 7, 11, 17, 26, ili. 5, 12, 21 bis,
. 5, Vi. 2 bis, xi. 7, Kil. IT, xill. 4,
KV. 2,-XVil, 14, <hleey
*Nukodatrys li. 6, 15
voros Xxi. 13
vots xili, 18, Xvil.
vipoy xvili. 23, XX1. 2, 9, Xxil. 17
vupptos xvill. 23
vv§ iv. 8, vil. 15, Vill. 12, xii. 10, xiv.
II, XX, 10, XXL 25, RxILeS
énpatvery xiv. 15, XVl. 12
§EvAWwos ix. 20 =
Etdov ii. 7, xviii. 12 bis, xxii, 2 Dis,
I4, 19
6 passim a
Sy8o0s xvii. 11, XXi. 20 ne
8Se ii. 1, 8, 12, 18, iii. 75 ee
oSnyetv vil. 17,
686s xv. 3, XVi. 12
68ovs ix. 8
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS 323
olkoupévy iii. ro, xii. g, Xvi. 14
olvos vi. 6, xiv. 8, 10, XVi. 19, XVii. 2,
Ras NS, XIX. D5
olos xvi. 18
OAlyos li. 14, ili. 4, il, 12, xvii. 10
Sdos ili. 10, vi. 12, xii. g, xiii. 3,
xvi. 36
*oduvos Vi. 13
Opvie x. 6
Spovos i. 13, 15, ii. 18, iv. 3 bis, 6,
7 ter, ix. 7 bis, 10, 19, Xi. 1, Xiil. 2,
Aout, 21V. XA, XVI. 18, xxl. 11, 18
§opolwpa ix. 7
Opolws il. 15, Vill. 12
opodroyety iil. 5
dvopa ii. 3, 13, 17, lil. 1, 4, 5 bis, 8,
12 ter, vi. 8, Vill. 11, 1x. 11 bis, xi.
13, 18, xXili. 1, 6, 8, 17 bis, xiv. x bis,
Mieexv.n2, 45 XVil.-Q, XV. 3, 5,. 8,
xx, 02, 13, 16, XXl. 12, 14, xxi. 4
§dfts i. 16, li. 12, xiv. 14, 17, 18 bis,
ab eg
bmurbev iv. 6, v.
omiow i. 10, xii. 15, xiii. 3
Strov ii. 13 bis, xi. 8, xii. 6, 14, Xiv. 4,
xvii. 9) XX. 10
*“dardipa xviii. 14
opqv i. 7, xi 19, xii. 1, 3, XIX. Io,
Xxli. 4, 9
Sdpacts iv. 3 bis, ix. 17
Spyy vi. 16, 17, Xi. 18, Xiv. 10, XVi. 19,
xix. 15
Spyiter Bar xi. 18, xii. 17
“Sppynpa xviii. 21
*Spveov xviii, 2, xix. 17, 21
Spos vi. 14, 15, 16, viii. 8, xiv. 1,
Xvi. 20, XVii. 9, XXi. Io
Ss i. 1 bis, 2, 4, 11, 19 ter, 20, li. 6, 7,
8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 25 bis, ili. 2, 4, 8,
Il, iv. I bis, GA VA GR GE tes ae 6 Cr
Vil. 2, 9, Vill. 2, ix. 20 bis, x. 4, 5,
GSS: xii. 5, 16, xiii. 2, 8, r2, 14 bis,
xiv. 4, 8, xvi. 14, 18, xvii. 2, 8 bis,
Weta, t5, 16, 18, Xvill. 6, 19, xix.
Tayea0y XX. 2,5, It, XX1, 8, 12, 17,
xxii. 6
Soerdkts xi. 6
Sovos XV. 4, XV. 5
Soros i. 2, li, 24, Ui. 19, xiii. 15, xviii.
7, 17, xxi. 16
Boris i. 7, 12, ii. 24, ix. 4, Xi. 8, Mii. 13,
Xvil. 12, Xix. 2, Xx. 4
Sray iv. 9, viii. 1, ix. 5, x. 7, xi. 7,
Hi. 4, XV. 10, XVili. 9, xx. 7
em ky, VW» 8, Vie I, 3, 5) 7) 9» 12)
X. 3, 4) 10, xi. ¥3) Xx11..8
Gre il. 2, 4, 6, 14, 20, 23, ili. 1 bis, 4,
8, 9, 10, t5, 16, 17 bis, iv. 11, V. 4,9,
vi. 17, Vil. 17, Vili. 11, x. 6, Xi. 2,
Tomily, Xi. Yo; 12 bis, 13, Xili.. 4,
Rive 16 0ts, 18, XV. 1, 4 ter, Xvi.
5,0, 21, XVil. 8, 14, XVill. 3, 5, 7 dis,
, Io, II, 16, 19, 20, 23 bis, xix.
2 bis, 6, 7, XXl- 4, 5, XXiL. §
od xvii. 15
ov, otk, ovX ii. 2 dis, 3 9, 13, 21,
24 ter, lil. 2, 4, 8, 9, 17, iv. 8, Vi.
10, Vil. 16, 1x. 4,'6, 20, 21, xi. 9, xil.
811; XU 8, x1: hy 5s, LG, Ne 9;
II, 18, 20, xvii. 8 ter, 11, XVill. 7»
xx. 4 bis, 5, 6, 11, 15, XX1. 1, 4 dis,
22, 23, 25 bis, XXil. 3, 5 bis
ovat vili. 13 ter, ix. 12 bis, xi, 14 bis,
xil. 12, XVili. 10 bis, 16 bis, 19 bis
ovdé v. 3 ter, vil. 16 ter, ix. 4 bis, 20,
X15 105) XXaq Ag kkie as
ovdels ii. 17, iil. 7 bis, 8, 17, V. 3, 4, Vii.
Oy Zlva03>, XV- 0, X¥INL. Tk see
ovKére X. 6, XVill. II, I4
obv i. 19, ii. 5, 16, iii. 3 bis, 19
ovmw XVii. 10, 12
*ovpda ix. ro bis, 19 bis, xii. 4
ovpavés iii. 12, iv. 1, 2, V. 3, 13, Vi. 13,
yy Lg OD COMMS bce Ch ME Lex
$7 X1..05 12018, Tape T5410) RAL eae
Ay 7o103 10>, 12,¢X0. OF Taye eee
13, 17, XV. 1, 5, XVlo El, 21, XVUl Ky
4, 53 205. X1Ker Uy Tly Lg, EKs Eee
XX; 10ts; 2.810
ovs ii. 7, II, 17, 29, ili. 6, 13, 22, Xili. g
ovre ili. 15 bis, 16 bis, Vv. 4, ix. 20 ter,
21 ter, xxi. + ter
odros i. 1g, li. 6, 24, iv. I, 2, Vil. I,
0; £3, 145 ae ix. 12, 18, 20, xi. 4 ter,
6, 10, Xil. 12, Xiv. 4 ter, XV. 5, XVi. 5,
9, VU 135 14,10, 2vL) r. Gee
XIX. I, 9, XX. 3, 5, 6, 14, XXL § iS
7, xxii. 6, 7, 8 bis, 9, 10, 16, 18 b
19 bis, 20
oro(s) li. 15, ill. 5, 16, ix. 17, xi 5,
xvi. 18, Xvili. 21
SdeXov lil. 15
seme i. 7, 14, li, 18, iii. 18, iv. 6,
Sieve O57 Vilop ty, ek ra ee
&his IX. 19, Xil. 9, 14, Is, xx, 2
OxAos Vil. g, XVil. 15, XIX. 1, 6
Sos 1. 16
madeve ili. 19
matey ix. §
madd x. 8, 11
§mavrokpatwp i. 8, iv. 8, xi. 17, XV. 3,
XVI. 7, 14, XixX. 6, 15, XXi. 22
mapa (t) with gen., li. 27, iii, 18;
(2) with dat., li. 13
mapadecos ii. 7
mapSaXis xiii. 2
mapeivat xvii. §
TrapesBoArr XX. 9
trapBévos Xiv. 4
mwas i. 7 bis, li. 23, iv. 11, Vv. 6, 9,
FQVUtS; Wig tas 15, Wiis. Iv 4:9, Ul,
16, 17, Vili. 3, 7, Ix. 4 bis, xi. 6, xii.
55 xill.”7,'8, 12, 16, Xiv. 6, 8) awe,
*
2i—2
324
Xvi. 3, 20, XVili. 2 bis, 3, 12 ter, 14,
17 bis, 19, 22 bis, 23, 24, XIX. 5, 17;
19; 21; XX1'4, 5,°8, 10,27; =S1l5,3;
15, 18
Tao XELv ii. 10
maragoey Xi. 6, XIX. 15
§raretv xi. 2, Xiv. 20, XIX. 15
matyp i. 6, li. 27, ill, 5, 21, Xiv. 1
*IIdtpos i. 9
mewav vii. 16
Trevpate ii. 2, IO, lii. Io
Teipacp.os iii. ro
*aredex (Lew EX. 4
Téptrely i. 11, li. 10, Xi. 10, Xiv. 15, 18,
xxii. 16
*qéumrros Vi. g, ix. I, Xvi.
mevOciy XVili. I1, 15, 19
§révOos, xviii. 7 bis, 8, xxi. 4
aévre ix. 5, 10, XVll. [0
*Tlépyapov i. ri, ii, 12
mepl acc. XV.
meptBddAew ili. 5, 18, iv. 4, vii. 9, 13,
XK. Kp Rl 3, al. 1, RV. 45 RVs 10,
2a0-G) “hy UG)
mrepiLsvyvc Gar i, 13, Xv. 6
mepirareiy li. 1, iil. 4, ix. 20, Xvi. 15,
Xxi. 24_
mérecOau iv. 7, Vili. 13, xii. 14, xiv. 6,
xix. 17
métpa, vi. 15, 16
7nyT vii. 17, Vili. 10, xiv. I> Xvi. 4,
(xx. 6
™HXYS xxi. 17
mudtew xix. 20
§muKpaivev Vill. II, X- 9, Io
mively Xiv. 10, ae 6, xviii. 3
mimrew i, 17, li. 5, iv. Io, v. 8, 14,
vi. 13, 16, Vii. I1, 16, Vili. 10 bis,
rb:eyinn taba 13) 16, xiv. 8 bis, xvi. 19,
XVil, I0, XVili. 2 bis, xix. 4, I0,
xxii. 8
mioris ii. 13, 19, Xili. 10, Xiv. 12
morés i. 5, ii, 10, 13, iii. 14, Xvi. 14,
xix, II, XXl. 5, Xxll. 6
Tava ii, 20, Xii. g, Xili. 14, XVili. 23,
24D. Glo POS, GH fey iC)
wAateta xi. 8, XXi. 21, XXii. 2
§aAdros XX. 9, xxi. 16 bis
mheivy Xvili. 17
aelwv ii. 19
TAnyr ix. 18, 20, Xi. 6, xiii. 3, 12, 14,
xv. I, 6, 8, Xvi. 9, 21 bis, Xvili. 4,
8, xxi. 0; xxii. 18
mArY li. 25
_TAnpoty ill. 2, Vi, 11
*adyooev vill. 12
thoiov vill. 9, xviii. 19
TAoveS ii. g, ili. 17, Vi. 15, Xlii, 16
mwovtety iii. 17, 18, xviii. 3, 15, 19
amAotToS VY. 12, XVill. 16
SrA tvew vii. 14, xxii. 14
awvedpa i. 4, 10, ii. 7, 11, 17, 20, iii. 1,
10, Xxi. 20
*,
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
6, 135 22, iV. -2, 55 Vo ©, Xisemmy ates
I5, XIV. 13, XVi. 13, 14, XVii. 3, XVII.
2, KiX. 10, XX1, 10) KXII> Oyen
§irvevpatikas xi. 8
avetv Vil. 1
*wo8mpys i. 13
woQev ii. 5, Vii. 13
tmovety i. 6, il. 5, ili. g, 12, V. 10, xi. 7,
il. 15, 17, Xill. 5, 7, 12 bis, 13 bis,
14 bis, 15, 16, Kiv. 7, XVi- 14, XVil.
16, 17 bis, xix. 19, 20, Ex 5ya7y
xxii. 2, II, 15
Trowpatvery ii. 27, Vii. 17, Mills 5, Size 5
toios iil. 3
§trodepety il. 16, xii. 7 bis, xiii. 4, xvii.
14, XIX.
modewos 1X. 7, Q, Xi. 7, Xil. 7, 17,
Xill. 7, XVi. 14, XIX. 19, EX. 8
modus iii. 12, xi. 2, 8, 13, XiV. 20,
xvi. 19 bis, xvii. 18, Xvill. 10, 16, 18,
a 21, EX. Q, XXi. 2, 10, 14, 15, 16 bis,
8, 19, 21, 23, XXil. I4, 19
monte i. 15, V. 4, II, Vil. 9, viii. 3, 11,
ix.-9, X. TI, XIV, @, XVil.) &, seieennes
6 bis, 1
Tovnpés a 2
§mévos XVi. 10, 11, XXl. 4
topvela ii, 21, ix. 21, xiv. 8, Xvil. 2, 4,
xviii. 3, Xix. 2
Topveveuy | ii, 14, 20, XVii. 2, Xviil. 3, 9
Topvy Evil. 1, 5, 15, 16, Kix. 2
TOpvos xxi. 8, xxii, 15
Topdvpa, XVUi. 12
§tropupeos xvii. 4, XVili. 16
WoTapos Vill. To, 1X. 14, Xi. 15, 16,
RVI. 4, 12; XXi. 108
*roTapopspntos xil. 15
more Vi. 10
Totrpiovy Xiv. 10,
xvii. 6
motifey xiv. 8
mov ll. 13
Trovs Te 15, 17, il. 18, iil. 9, X- I, 2,
xi. 11, Xil, 1, Xill..2, x1 YO) xen
mpecBirepos iv. 4, 10, Vv. 5, 6, 8, II,
14, Vil. 11, 13, Xi. 16, Xiv. 3, XIX. 4
mpdBarov Xviil. 13_
mpds (1) with dat., i. 13; (2) with acc.,
i. 17, ili. 20, x. 9, xii. 5 bus, 12)
xiii, 6
TPOT EXT v. 8, vill. 3, 4
mpookvvety iii. 9, iv. 10, V. 14, Vil. II,
ix. 20, xi. 1, 16, xiil, 4 bis, 8, 12,
15, Ziv. 7, 9, II, XV. 4, XVI. 2, XIX, 4
10 bis, 20, KX. 4, xxii. 8, 9.
mpdowrrov iv. 7, Vi. 16, Vil. 11, 1X. 7 018,
x. I, Xi. 16, Kil, 14, XX. II, XXI1H
mpopyrtela i. 3, Xi. 6, XIX. IO, XXIl. 7,
10, 18, 19
mpodnretew X. JT Steg ae
mpopttns x. 7, xi. 10, 18, XVi. 6,
XViil, 20, 24, XXli. 6, 9
xvi. 19, XVile 4
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
§mpodrtis ii. 20
*mpwivos ii, 28, xxii. 160
Tparos ke 17; Udy 5; 8, VOs sl; 7)
Will, ¥, ill. 12 Dis, xvi. 2, 2%. 5, 6,
EXi. T, 4, 19, XXU. 13
TPWTOTOKOS 1,5
arépvt iv. 8, ix. g, xii. 14
mra@pa xi. 8, g bis
§rrwxela ii. 9
atwxés iii. 17, xiii. 16
avAw@y xxi. 12 bis, 13 quater, 15, 21 bis,
25, XXil. 14
mip i. 14, li. 18, ili. 18, iv. 5, vill. 5,
7, 8, 1X. 17, 18, X. I, Xi. 5, Xiil. 13,
mv. 10, 18, XV. 2, xvi. 8, xvii. 16,
XViii. 8, XiX. 12, 20, XX. 9, Io, 14 bis,
4 pap.2.0 at
*qripivos ix. 17
Tepotobat 3 i, 15, iii, 18
*aruppos Vi. 4, Xil. 3
§tripwois xviii. g, 18
moheiy xiii. 17
mas lil, 3
papSos ii. 27, xi. 1, xii. 5, xix. 15
*palvey xix. 13
*péSq xviii. 13
pita v. 5, xxii. 16
spoupale irO, 41. 12; 16, Vi. 8, XIX. 15,
* Poupiy vii. 5
*puTratverBar xxii. 11
§putrapés xxii. 11
waKkos Vi. 12, xi. 3
odAmvyé i. 10, iv. 1, viii. 2, 6, 13, ix. 14
oaAdmifew vill. 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, ix. 1,
Tsk Vy XL. 15
*cahmirrys XVili. 22
“xdmpetpos Xxi. 19
*Zdpbdes Fount Wile Ty 4:
*sdpBvov iv. 3, xxi. 20
*wapSovv— xxi. 20
odp— xvii. 16, xix.
cwaravas, 6 ii. g, 13 bis,
xx, 2, 7
oelav Vi. 13
Tacos vi. 12,
bits 18 bis
Mi. 12, Vill. 12, Xii. I, XXl. 23
oenl ahts XVili. 13
onpatvey i. I
onpetov xii. 1, 3, xiii, 13, 14, XV. 1,
FVi. 14, Xix. 20
§ovyy vill. 1
Sovdnpeos ii. 27, ix. 9, xii.
*o(Snpos XViii. 12
*oiptkds Xvili. 12
otros vi. 6, xviii. 13
Xiéy xiv. 1
okavSaXov ii. 14
oKevos li. 27, XVili. 12 dis
8 quinguies, 21
24, lll. g, Xl. g,
Will.) 5; Xl.) 13 Dts, | 19,
5, xx) 5
oKnvy xiii. 6, xv. 5, xxi. 3
§oKknvovy Vii. 15, Xii. 12, xiii. 6, xxi. 3
§oaxoprilos ix. 3, 5, 10
okor(fey viii. 12
SoKorovy ix. 2, XVi. 10
“opapdydwvos iv."
“opdpaySos xxi. 19
*Zpuipva i. 2H ii. 8
Xddopa xi.
copla vy. 5 vii.
oméppa Xil. 17
omyAavov Vi. 15
otddios xiv. 20, xxi. 16
oravpovy xi. 8
oradvAry xiv. 18
orépavos li. 10, iii. 11, iv. 4, 10, Vi. 2,
ogy oie tine ee oh
atn8os xv. 6
ornpl(tey ili. 2
@Tohy Vi. 1%, V..9, 13, 14, xen
oropa i. 16, ii. 16, iii. 16, ix. 17, 18,
19, X- 9, 10, Xl. 5, Xii. 15, 16 bis, xiii.
2) bis; 5,6; XIV. 5, XVl--13 ter, AIG.
21
orpateuysa ix. 16, xix. 14, 19 bis
otpéhey xi. 6
“oTpyviay xviii. 7, 9
“etprvos xviil. 3
orvhos Mt Teo xe]
CUills Le el. X75 ve ek ken viee
cases passim
OuKT Vi. 13
cupBovreve iii, 18
Lupedy vil. 7
ovvayev Xvi. 14, 16, 17, 19, xx. 8
ovvaywyr li. 9, ili.
otvSovhos vi. 11, =
SovuvkKoivwvely XVili. 4
Souvkowwevds i. 9
ouvtp(Bev li. 27
ovpety xii. 4
§opatev v. 6, 9, 12,
XVill. 24
opddpa Xvi. 21
oppayltey vil. 3, 4 bis, 5, 8, X. 4, XX
3S ¥Xi- 6 TO
odpayls Vv. 1, 2, 5, 9, Vi. I, 3, 5) 7s 9s
BAy: Wilco: B., Walls. .2y TE. 2
oopa xviii. 13
owrnpla vil. 10, Xil. 10, XIX. 1
12, xii. 18, Xvil. g
14; other
IO, XXli. 9
Vi 4, Oy Xie ae
§tadaltwpos iii, 17
*radavtiatos Xvi. 21
Tadxos i. 1, XXxil. 6
Tax ii. 16, ll. 11, XL 14, XXL 7, 12,
20
Te xix. 18
TeLYOS XXL. 12) 14, 15, 075
vékvov ll. 23, Xil. 4, 5
rTedcly X. 7, Xi. 7, XV. 1, 8, XVil 17, XX.
a) GEL
Té&os li. 26, xxi. 6, xx!i. 13
18, 19
326
téroapes iv. 4 bis, 6, 8, 0, Vv. 6, 8 dis,
TWA Maly he Oy aake quay ody rin (agin) Tbe
Wl Te esa) KO), SAN uth Lay eye Uf
Ring O18) |XX. 0; RRs 7
TeroEepakovTG Vii. 4, Xi. 2, Xili. 5, Xiv.
iy By 28016 iy
rérapTos iv. 7, vi. 7 bis, 8, viii. 12, Xvi.
8, Xxl. 19
*rerpd-ywvos xxi. 16
§réxvn Xvill. 22
tTexvitns XVili. 22
THALKoUTOS xvi. 18
Typeiv i. 3, li. 26, ili. 3, 8, 10 dis, xii.
17, Xiv. 12, XVi. 15, Xxli. 7, 9
TUlévar 1. 17, X. 2, Xi. Q
Tlkrew Xil. 2, 4 bis, 5, 13
TUL OLVs) Oy EI.) Veli 2, 13, Wil. 12, x1,
20
Tiw.os XVii. 4, XVill. 12 bis, 16, Xxi. II,
oo)
*ruptdtTns XVili. 19
tls il. 7, II, 17, 29, ili. 6, 13, 22, V. 2;
Vi. 17, Vil. 13, Xill. 4 bis, XY. 4, XVii.
7, Xvill. 18
Tig lil. 20, Xi. 5 bis, xiil. g, 10 bis, 17,
XIV. Q, II, XX. 15, Xxil. 18, 19
*rétov V1. 2
*romdatvoy Xxi. 20
TémroS li. 5, Vi. 14, Xli. 6, 8, 14, XVi. 16,
PQvinls lyf) 3645. ln
TomovTos Xvili. 7, 16
tpeis vi. 6, Vill. 13, ix. 18, Xi. 9, IT,
Xvi. 13, 19, Xxl. 13 quater
Tpéperv xis (a
TpEXELv IX. Q
tplros iv. 7, Vi. 5 bis, vill. 7 bis, 8,
g bis, 10 bis, 11, 12 quinquies, ix.
15, 18, xi. 14, Xil. 4, XiV. 9, XVi. 4,
XX. 19
*rp(xwwos vi. 12
§tpvydv xiv. 18, 19
Tuphds iil. 17
*danlvOivos ix. 17
*Ddkuv00s xxi. 20
*bddwos iv. 6, xv. 2 bis
*bados xxi. 18, 21
USwp i. 15, vil. 17, viii. ro, rr dis, xi. 6,
xii. 15, xiv. 2, 7, XVI. 4, 5, 12, XVii.
I, 15, Xix. 6, Xxl. 6, xxil. 1, 17
berds xi. 6
Ue ei, eA as Ail ys abla 35 pay
14, XO: yy ie)
dpeis i. 4, 9, ll. To
bmdyew X/ 185 Xlll. 10, —<iv. 4) Xvi. 1,
KV, ne
bd with gen., Vi. 8, 13
brokdre V. 3, 13, Vi. g, xii. 1 :
ropovy i. 9, ii. 2, 3, 19, iii, ro, xiii.
IO, XIV. 12
mAcos xxi. 10, 12
os XXl1. 16
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS
datver i 1. 16, Vili. 12, XVill. 23, XXI. 23
“pavepodv iii. 18, XV. 4
Spappaxta ix. 21, Xvill. 23
*dappaKds ped cahy 9.0.05 87
épey Xi. 24, 26
i edie: ix. 6, Xli. 6, Xvi. 90, coca
P0elpey xix. 2
*diddyn v. 8, Xv. rE XVi. I, 2, 3, 4, 8,
10, 12, 17, XVil. I, Xxi. Q
*Puraderpia i. rr, iii. 7
ptdcty lil. 19, Xxil. 15
PACE i. 14, li. 18, XIX. 12
oPeto Oar i. 17, ii. 10, xi. 18, xiv. 7,
Ve A exons
6Bos xi. 11, Xviil. 10, 15
§dotvig vil. g
doveds xxl. 8, xxii, 15
ovos ix. 21
péap ix. 1, 2 ter
gvdaky ii. 10, Xvili. 2 bis, xx. 7
pvdy i. 7, V. 5, 9, Vil. 4, 5 ter, 6 ter,
7 ter, 8 ter, 9, Xi. .9, Xi. 7, cchvenGs
Od, 17)
vAAov Xxil. 2
ee xiv. 18
govy i. 10, 12, 15 bis, lii. 20, iv. Ay 5s
Ve 2, 11, 12; Wlenls 6, 7, 10, Vil.) 2}
IO, Vill. 5, 13 bis, ix. 9 bis, 13, X. 3 bis,
Hip pene) SIG 12iy tS. 1g, Xii. Io, Xiv.
2 quater, 7, 9, 13, 15, 18, Xvi. : iis
18, XViii. 2, 4, 22 bis, 23, XIX. I, 5,
6 ter, 17; XXiae
gos xviii. 23, XXl. 24, XXil. 5
§pootyp XXi. II
gport({ey Xvill. 1, XXi. 23, XXil. 5
Xatpev xis 20; Soka
*xddata viii. 7, xi. 19, Xvi. 21 bis
§xadwvds Xiv. 20
*xaAKeos ix. 20
*xadkydev xxi. 19
*xadkorlBavos i. 15, li. 18
XoAKds Xvili, 12
§Xdpaypa xiii. 16, 17, xiv. 9, 11, XVi. 2,
XIX, 20, XX. 4
Xdpus Fan Bae. @. ct
xelp i. 16, Vi. 5, Vil. 9, Vili. 4, 1x. 20,
X. 2, 5, 8, IO, xill. 16, Xiv. 9, I4,
Xvil. 4, XIX. 2, XX. 1, 4
Xmpa Xvi. 7
xtAlapxos Vi. 15, xix. 18
xrds Ve )00 bis, vil, 4, 5 ter, 6 ter,
7 ter, 8 ter, Xi. 13, X1V..1; 3) ee
ay iol xi. 3, xii. 6, xiv. 20, Xxeaueem
4) 5) 6, 7
§xtov Ms 14
*xAvapés ill. 16
§xAwpos Vi. 8; Villo yamine
*xotvé vi. 6 bis
Xoptaterv xix. 21
XOpTos Vili. 7, 1X. 4
§xots xviii. 10
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS 327
xpela iii. ¥, Xxi. 23, xxii. 5 puxy vi. 9, viii. 9, xii, 11, xvi. 3,
xpiorés i. 1, 2, 5, Xi. 15, Xii. 10, XViil. 13, 14, XX. 4
Xx. 4, 6 Syuxpés iil. 15 bis, 16
Xpdovos ii. 21, vi. 11, x. 6, xx. 3
moogeoe 1; 12, 13, 20, iL. 3, 1V..4, “di. 8, xxi. 6, xxii. 13
VY. 8, Vili. 3 bis, ix. 13, 20, xiv. 14, OSe iv. 1, xi. 12, xiii. 10, 18, xiv. 12,
xv. 6, 7, XVii. 4, xxi. 15 xvii. 9
Xpuotov lil, 18, Xvii. 4, Xvili. 16, xxi, § @5rj v. 9, xiv. 3 bis, xv. 3 bis
18, 21 §w8lvew xii. 2
*xpvedr.Bos Xxi. 20 dpa ill. 3, 10, ix. 15, Xi. 13, XIV. 7,
“Xpuodtpagos xxi. 20 15, XVil. 12, Xviii. ro, 16, 19
_Xpveds ix. 7, xviii. 12 ws i. 10, 14 ter, 15 bis, 16, 17, ii. 18,
*xpvoovy xvii. 4, xviii. 16 24, 27 bis, Il. 3, a1, IV. I, 6,°7, ¥eG,
YP Avis Ty10; Xs mabe ye Pe pa phe)
eSerGar iii. 9 8, 10, ix. 2, 3,5, 7 bis, 8 bis, g bis,
§wWevSrs ii. 2, xxi. 8 17, Xa X bts; y, 9, To, Xil. 15, XiiL
vdorpodiytys XVi. 13, XIX. 20, XX. 2 bis, 3, I1, Xiv. 2 ter, 3, XV. 2,
10 XV1. 3, 13; 15, af, XVil- 12) xVUL6,
OS0s Xiv. 5, xxi. 27, xxii. 15 21, UX. 1,0 ters: 2,0 Xs Oy eee
§imo(lev xiii. 18 TE DU py XR Ls, Ea
pos li. 17 bis orep X. 3
INDEX TO THE INTRODUCTION AND NOTES.
Abaddon, cxxii, clvi, 119, 260
‘abomination of desolation,’ Ixxx
Abyss, the, 114, 260f.
accusative of time, sof.
adjuration, 311 f.
Agabus, xviii
Alcasar, ccy, ccxiv
Alcuin, cciv
Alford, xliv, cevi
Alleluia, the Easter, 242
Alogi, the, cxi ff.
Alpha, the, and the O., 1of., 279f., 307
altar, the celestial, 89 f., 108 f., 191, 203
Ambrosius Ansbertus, cciii
amen, 10, 84
Amphilochius, exvi
anabaticon Pauli, xxxi
anacoluthon, cxxili, 46, 57, 100
Andreas, xxxiii, excix, ccxi
angelology, clxix f.
angels, the: as ministers of prayer,
108; number, 82; ‘measure,’ 289 f. ;
worship, 248, 304; angels of the
Churches, 21f., 43, 107f.; of the
waters, 202; the Seven, 7f., 107
Anselm of Havilberg and A. of Laon, eciv
anthropomorphism, 67
Antichrist, the, Ixxviii ff., Ixxxiii f.,
cevii ff., 161 f., 169, 173, 257
Antioch, school of, cxvii; prophecy at,
XViil
Antipas, xe, 35 f.
aorist, use of the, 3, 50, 64, 77, 79, 1435
155 f., 189, 245, 305 f.
apocalypse, the gift of, xxii ff. ; how dis-
tinguished from prophecy, xxiii, xxvii
Apocalypse, the: circulation, cvii ff. ;
contents, xxxiiiff.; date, lxxx, xcix ff. ;
destination, ly ff. ; divisions, xxxviiff. ;
form, xlif., liv, xciv; plan, xxix ft.;
progress, xlii ff.; purpose, xciv ff.,
7; relation to older apocalypses,
xxviii ff., liiif., elviii; theories of com-
posite origin, xlix ff. ; title, xxii; unity,
xlviff., civ
Apocalypse, the: author, exxii, clxxiy ff.,
11 f.; doctrine, clix ff. ; symbolism,
exxxi ff.; text, clxxxvi ff.; use of O.T.,
exxxix ff.; vocabulary, etc., exx ff.
— capitulation, xxxiii ff. ; ‘hypothe-
ses,’ stichometry, place among N.T.
books, exvii; lateness of generalaccept-
ance, exyiii f.
Apocalypses, canonical (O.T.), xxiv;
uncanonical: Jewish, xxiv ff., elviii;
Christian, xxxi f.
Apollonius of Tyana, xcii, 171, 206;
A. the anti-Montanist, cix
Apostles, 25, 238
apotheosis, 1xxxvi fi.
apposition, 217
Apringius, ccii f.
Arabic versions, cxcy
Arethas, cxcix f.
Ark of the Covenant, 39, 144f.
Armenian version, cxciv, 249, 292, 310
armies in heaven, 253 f.
Artemis, lix f., Ixxvii
artizans, lxxxvii, 240
Ascension, the, 151
Ascension of Isaiah, xxvi
Asia: A. Minor, lx; A. in the O.T., lvi;
A. in the N.T., ibid., 4; Province of,
lv ff.; its cities, lvii ff., 14, 22, ete.;
Imperial worship in, Ixxxvyii ff.; Jews
in, lxvi f.
Asiarchs, the, Ixxxix
Asklepios, lxii, Ixxvii, elxviii, 34
Assumption of Moses, xxvi
asyndeton, 203
Athanasius, cxviii =a
Auberlen, cexv, cexviili
Augustea, the, Ixi, lxiv, lxxxix, 164, 171
Augustine, ccx, 265f.; Pseudo-Augus-
tine, exciii, ccli x
oe
’"ABaddwy, exxii, clvi, 119 f.
aBvocos, 115
dyad\nav, 245 f.
ayarav, 7, 63
nail dins 5
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
dydwn, 42
ytos, 53, 203, 238
dyopdtew, 81, 178
adixetvy, 33, 305
derés, 158
anp, 115
aluara, 203, 241
alvety With dat., 245
alpew Thy xelpa, 128 f.
aloxivn, 209
dxudavewv, 191
dkotbwy, 6, 3, 310f.
dxparov, 185
adnbivbs, 53
a\Anrovia, 242
advats, 260
ada, 76, 10 f., 307
auébveros, 293
dun, 9, 10, 244; 6, 59) 84
&uwhov, 234
diuwuos, 180 f.
ava els, 2943 dva péoov, 105
dvdBa, 66°
dvaywioxwry, 6, xevili, 3
dvaratooua, 187 f.
avOpwros, 118
dvolyew 7d ordua, 165
dé.os, 51, 81
admrapx7, 180
dwrexravOnv, 36
dr7\Oa, CXXli, 130
dmiotos, 282
dé, 124, 1783 dd 6 wr, 53 ard avaro\Gr,
96, 286
dmodaveiy éx, 113
amokahvrrew, amokaNuyis, xxii f., 1 f.
amoxplverOat, 102
dmoxtelvew év OavaTw, 44
dmoxrévvetOa, 92
*Amo\Nwy, 6, xxii, 119 f.
dmocré\\ew, 2, 309
dropépew, 214
“Ap Mayeduv, exxii, elvi, 209 f.
adpkos, 162
dpviov, exxvii, 78
dpxatos, 154
apx%, 5of., 279 f.
*Agla, 7, 4
dorip, 112
adoxnnotivn, 209
avAnri}s, 239
dgeis, 42; adixes, 26
Gxpt, 333; a. Gavdrov, 156
ayw@os, 112
Babylon, a synonym for Rome, ceviii ff.,
183, 227
Balaam and Balak, Ixxv, exxxii, 36 f., 39
Baptism, 97, 103
Barhebraeus, exvi
barley, the food of the poor, 88
Barnabas, Epistle of, eviii, 278
329
Barsalibi, exiii, cc
Baruch, Apocalypse of, xxv f.
battles, Apocalyptic, 208, 257, 269 f.
bear, the, 162
beast of the Abyss, 137; from the sea,
Ixxx f., 161 ff.; from the earth, xci,
168 ff.; the scarlet, 214 f.; ‘before
the beast,’ 170; ‘mark of the b.,’
173 f.; number of the b., exxxviii,
175 f.; throne of the b., 204; inter-
pretation of the Apocalyptic beaste,
lxxx ff., ccvii ff.; the beasts and the
Lamb, 177
beatification of martyrs, 263 f.
beatitudes, 3, 187, 209, 247, 263, 307
Beatus, cciil f.
Bede, cciii
beheading, a Roman punishment, 262
Beliar, 163, 25
‘beloved city, the,’ 269
benediction, forms of, at end of an
Epistle, 313 f.
Bengel, xliv f., cexiv
Benson, Archbp, xli, cxxiv f., cexvili
Berengaud, eciv, cexi f.
birds of prey, 259
‘blasphemy, names of,’ 161 f, 165 f.
Bleek, xlv, cevi
blood, rain of, tro
bloodshed caused by Rome, 241
book of life, 52, 167, 272; books of judge-
ment, 272; sealed book, 75f.; open
book, 126 f.
Bossuet, cev, cexiv
Bousset, li, cevi
bow, used by the Parthians, 86
boycotting, 174
‘breadth of the earth, the,’ 268 f.
breastplate, the High Priest’s, 291
Bride, the, 310; bridal ornaments, 277
Bruno, eciv
burial office, anthem in the, 187
Babéa, oxxii, 45 f.
Badr\ew, 44
Bacavifew, 116 f.
Baoirela, 8, 12, 155
Baoirets ris yijs, ol, O4
Baordfew, 25
Bd&vypa, 216; Sdeduxrds, 282
BipuNos, 292
BiSNlov, 14, 75, 93; AiBrASdpioy, 126 f.
Bérpus, rgo f.
Bicowos, 236, 247
Caesar-cult, the, lxi, lxxxvi ff., 164 f.,
166, 170 f., 203
Caligula, lxxix f., lxxxvii
‘camp of the saints, the,’ 269
canticles, the, 195
capitula, Xxxvi
Carthage, Co. of, exviii
330
Cassiodorius, cciii
celibacy, 179
Cerinthus, cxiii
change no longer possible, 305 f.
chapters, Xxxvl
chariots, 118 f.
Charles, xxv, clviii, ccxvii, 264 f.
Chase, Bp, on Iren. v. 30. 3, evi
Cherubim, the, 72
Chiliastic controversy, cxii ff., 264 ff.
Christ, the restorer of prophecy, xvii f.;
the Priest-King, 15 ff.; the Reaper,
188 ff.; the Conqueror, 250 ff.; His
relation to the Spirit, 48, 79, 298;
to God, 50; His evangelistic and
pastoral work, 254
Christianity, expansion of, 259, 296
Christianity in Asia at the time of the
Apocalypse, lxxxiii ff.
Christology, clxf., 2, 16, 20, 41f., 59f.,
DOSS Oi on yi
Chrysostom, cxvii
Church, the, a kingdom and priesthood,
9g, 81 f.; in the wilderness, 158; in
its relations with the Empire, 163;
destined to be predominant, 46 f.,
262 ff. ; doctrine of, elxvi f.
churches, the, of Asia, Ixxiff., xe f.,
xev, 4f., 14; of South Gaul, cix; of
the Empire, 309
circulation, early, of the Apocalypse,
evii ff.
citrus wood, 233
city, the holy, 133, 284ff.; the great,
137 f.; the beloved, 269
Claromontane list, the, cxviii
Claudius, lxxix, lxxxvii, ecx, 220
Clement of Alexandria, clxxvii, clxxx,
exevi, ccvili
Colossians, the Ep. to the, lxix, elvii, 59
colours, symbolism of, 293 f.
commandments of God, keeping the,
160, 307
commentaries, Greek, cxeviiff.; Syriac,
ec; Latin, ec ff.; modern, eciv ff.
commune Asiae, lxxxix
composite character ascribed to Apoca-
lypse, xlix ff.
conditions of men, 94
conquerors, the martyrs as, 194
consecration of art and letters, 207
Constantinople, exvii, cexi, 27 f., 211
constructions, 6, 19, 21, 27, 37, 68, 100,
106, 167 f., 284 f., 287, 298 f.
conventus, lvii, 1xi
Corinth, prophecy at, xv
corn, scarcity of in Domitian’s reign, 88
courts, the outer and inner, 133
Creation, the, 71 f.
crown of life, 33 ; crowns cast down, 74
cube, a perfect, 288 f.
cursive MSS., clxxxvi ff.
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
Cyprian, cxiv, 27
Cyril of Jerusalem, cxv
XaAkndwy, 291 f.
XaAKoNlBavos, 17
Xdpayya, 173
Xapis Kal elphvn, 5
xruddes XiAddwv, 82
x'Alapxos, 94, 256
xAvapés, 60
xAwpds, 88
xotmé, 87 f.
Xovs, 237
xXploros, 6, 262 f.
Xpuody, CXXil, 16; ypvoéwy, CXXIi
XpuddALAos, 292
Xpvcbmpacos, 293
Dan, tribe of, 98
Daniel as an apocalyptic writer, xxiv;
largely used in the Apocalypse, cliii ;
Greek versions of, ely f.
date of the Apocalypse, xcix ff.; of the
vision in ¢. xxi, 227
dative, use of the, 10g, 308
Day, the Great, 95
dea Roma, \xxxvi, lxxxix
Death of Christ, the, 7 f., 81 f., 108
death, the second, 33, 274; death and
Hades, 20, 89, 273; d. preferred to
life, 117
De Boor, clxxix; De Wette, xlif., ccyv
deceit, the chief work of Satan, 261
decree of the Council of Jerusalem, the,
46
‘deep things,’ 45 f.
delatores, Ci, 155
delays of vengeance, go ff.
demons, 125, 227; demonology, clxx f.
deterioration of the Church, 308
deus et dominus noster, Christian coun-
terpart of, 245
diadems, many, 251
dies irae, 143
dimensions of the holy city, 287 fi.
Dionysius of Alexandria, xxxiii, exiii ff.,
elxxyi
diptychs, 140
dirges on Babylon, 231 ff.
doctrine of the Apocalypse, clix ff.
dogs, 308
‘doing’ the truth, 309
Domitia, lzxxviii
Domitian, lxxxv ff., xevii, xcix, 164, 171, _
221, 225
Domitilla, Ixxxv
door, open, 54, 66 <
doxology, forms of, 7 ff., 73 £., 80 if
toi ff,
dust cast on the head, 237
Oaiudviov, 125, 227
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 33!
de?, 2, 261
Seidds, Sela, 281 f.
belEw, 66
deorérns, go
OidBodos, 154
Siddnua, 74, 149) 251
Siaxovia, 42
Stavyhs, 294
Orapelpew, -pecOar, 112, 144
Orddvat, 55, 2253 ddd, 55;
223 f.; €560n, 247
Orkalwua, 197, 247
Simdobvy Suma, 230 f.
Siopupiddes pupudwy, CXXXV, 122
Slorouos, 18
dar, 6, 310 f.
SuwKew, 157
d6fa, 73
OodNos, 2, 244
bpdxwr, 149
Spéravov, 188 £,
Ovvy, 25
Swpedv, 280
drddace,
eagle’s wings, 158
earth, four Bomuers of the, 95 f.; kings of
the, 256
earthquakes, Ixivf., g2ff., ryof., 210f.
east, the kings from the, 205 f.
Ebedjesu, Cxiv, exvi
eclipses, g2 f.
Eden, rivers of, 298 —
effigies, 170 f.
Egypt, 138; plagues of, 200 fi.
Egyptian versions, exci
Elders, the twenty-four, 69
Eliakim, 53 f.
Elijah, ceviii ff., 136, 140, 146, 152
Emperor-worship, see Caesar-cult ;
images of the Emperor, 171; the
eight Emperors, 220 f.
empires, the two, Ixxviii, 1xxxi
English versions, early, excv
Enoch, xxivf., clviii, ceviii ff., 140, 146;
Book of, xxiv f. ; Secrets of, xxv
Ephesians, Ep. to ‘the, Ixix f., lxxi
Ephesus, xix f., lix ff. lxviii ‘ft., Ixxxix,
23 ff.
FEpiphanius, exi f.
episodes, xl f., 95
Epistles, endings of the, 313 f.
epistolary form of fc Apocalypse, xli,
a¥oexCly, 4 iI... 312
Erasmus, Luther, aad Calvin, views of,
on the ‘Apocalypse, exvili
Erbes, |
eschatology, elxxi f.
Esdras, fourth book of, xxvi, 92
Ethiopie version, exey
Eucharist, the, 39, 64, 84, 103, 152, 178
Euphrates, the, 121, 205 f.
Eusebius, eviii ff., exvi, elxxvi ff.
evangelium aeternum, ccxii, 182
Ewald, xliv, cevi
Exodus, the, 195
eyes, the, of Christ, elxv, 16 f., 79
Ezekiel’s vision, rivers of, 298
€Bdedvyuévos, 282
€Bpaigrl, cxxvil, 119
éyxplew, 62
el with aD +, 135 £.; ef pH, 1165 el dé
MN, 27) 38
eldwrd0uTov, Ixxv f., 37, 43 f.
eldwroddrpns, 282
elxwy, 171
elpnka, 1023; elpnxay, 243
els, 113, 120; els xa’ els, 72
elaépxerbat apbs Twa, 64
elyav, CXxii
éx with part. gen., 85
éxdixelv, QI, 243
éxkAnaola, al, clxvi, 309
éxNexTds, 224
EKXEETE, 200
éhéyxew, 63
éepavTwos, 233
EX\xos, 201
éuvncOny pass., 211
év, of price, 8; év Neuxots, 513 é&v péoy,
774., 105, 298 f. ; év mvevpart, 13, 2143
év Ttaxel, 23 é€v “Inoov, 12
éviver@a, 198
évdadunots, 290
évrevdev x. éxetBev, 299
évwmiov, CXXVii
ékexévrngav, CXXvii, Q f.
éleOe, 229
éfovgla, 22
eml, 67, 107f.; él cradlwy, 289; éxrt
Tais éxx\nolas, 3093 éxt rémrov mei,
236 f.
ércOumetv, 117
émisthO.os, 6, xxiii, clxxv fi.
éemiotpépew, 14 f.
émiriBévat, 312
émTadogos, 220
épauvav, 45
épyaferOar tiv OdNaccay, 237
épyov (antith. to xé7os), 188
épxduevos, 6, 5,733 Epxov, 85 ff., 310f.;
Epxouat, 312 f.
éreNésOnv, 129, 193
éroudvew, 122
evayyéNov, 181 f.; evayyedlfew, 130
evppalver Ga, 139, 238
ebxapiorely, edxapioria, 73, 142
"Edéora ypdupara, xci, 23
Exew Te xard Twos, 26; Exew vodv, 174
€ws méTe, go
ueNdov, 128
Tulwpor, exxii, 107
7m”, 6, 53 7Y, Kal ovx gor, 218
332
new, 46
facere diem, 165
‘False Prophet, the,’ xci, 206 f., 257 f.
‘ fellow-servants,’ 249
final punishments, 270, 274
fire from heaven, 269 f.; ‘ fire, the lake
of,’ 274, 282 f.
‘first, the, and the last,’ 19, 30 f.
‘first resurrection, the,’ 263
five, the number, cxxxvi, 117, 220f.
Flavian Emperors, the, lxxxiy f.
Flavius Clemens, lxxxv
flood from the Dragon’s mouth, 159 f.
food of Palestine and Asia Minor, 88,
III
forehead, name on, 217
formulae, 23, 173
forty and two months, 133 f.
‘four sore judgements,’ 89 ; four winds,
96; foursquare, 289; the number
four, Cxxxvi
Fourth Gospel, the, affinity of, to the
Apocalypse, exxvi, clxxxii
Franciscans, the, ccxii f.
frogs, 207
fruits, 299 f.
Gaius, the Emperor, Ixxxvii; the pres-
byter, cxiii ff.
Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, Ixxxiv, 220
garments sprinkled with blood, 252
gates of the New Jerusalem, 285
Gelasius, decree of, cxviii
gematria, 174
genitive of time, 32; of object, 1, 35,
186; partitive, 39; epexegetical, 33
gilding the person, 216; not gilt, but
golden, 290
girding, high, 16, 198
gladiators, 241
glass, sea of, 195
Gnostic apocalypses, xxxi
Gop: of heaven, 141, 205 ; the Word of,
252f.; doctrine of, clix f.; ‘my God,’
50; ‘G. of the spirits,’ 302 f.
Gog and Magog, 267 f.
gold, pure, 290
gospel, an eternal, 181 f.; Fourth Gospel,
author of, clxxxii f.
grammar, cxxiii ff., 6, 135, 258
Grotius, xlix, cev, ccxiv
guilds and guildfeasts, lxiii f., lxxv f.,
Fata dit ge a nS
Gunkel, xxix, li, exxxiii, 164
Gwynn, cxiii, cxciv
yapos, yduor, 246
yéyover, 2103; yéyovay, cxxii, 279;
ylerOar é&v mvetpati, 13; yiv. with
participle or adjective, 32 f., 49
yéuew, 72, 216
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
yévos, 309
youn, 222 f., 226
youos, 232 i
ypayov, 187
yenyopetv, 49
yupves, 61
Haimo, xxxvi, cciy
Hallelujah psalms, 242 f.
Hammond, xlix, cev, ccxiy
Har Magedon, 2009 f.
harrowing of hell, 273
harvest of the earth, 189
hatred, a divine, 28
heads, the seven, 161, 220
heaven, ascension to, 140, 1513 city in,
276f.; Gop of, 141, 205; out of, 277;
signs in, 193; silence in, 106 f.; voices \
in, 141; war in, 152 f.; a new, 274f.;
opened, 250; shut, 136
Heraclitus, 5
Hermas, cx, 25 f.
Hierapolis, hot springs of, lxv, 6of.
high priest, breastplate of the, 291
hills, the seven, of Rome, 220
Hippolytus, cxivy, excvili, ccviii, 11,
passim
Holtzmann, xliv ff., cevi
horns, the ten, 221 f.; Little Horn, 165
horsemen, vision of the four, 85 ff.
Hort, Dr, ciii, ev f.
hour, the, 107 s
hundred, one, and forty-four, 97 f., 177
hymn, a primitive (?), 82
hypallage, 13
‘hypotheses,’ cexvii
hysteron proteron, 76
‘idiotisms,’ exxiv
idol-worship, 125
Ignatius, lxxiii, evii f.
imagery, cxxxi ff.
images of the Emperor, 17of.
imago, 171
imports of Rome, 233 ff.
incense, use of by the Church, 80
infinitive, 149, 153
interpreters of the Apocalypse, cxevii fi. 5
history and methods of interpretation,
ccvii ff.; principles of interpretation
followed in this commentary, ccexvi ff. —
Irenaeus, cvi, cvili f., cx ff., clxxy,
exevili, ecvii f.
iteration, 243
ius talionis, 144
iaomis, 68, 285, 291
iepets, 8 f.
*Iepovoadiu, CxXvVii, 58,284
*Inoods, 309
ixavés, 76
iudria, 5
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 333
twa, 55, 86, 169, 187, 307 f.
Tpis, 68
James, xxvi ff., ccxviii
Jerusalem trodden under foot, 133; the
new, 276 f.
Jesus, witness of, 3, 160, 249; ‘I, Jesus,’
30
Jonx, attitude of, toward the Church,
Ixxxiil, xoiif., 31 f., 55 f.
Jezebel of Thyatira, cxxxii, 42 f.
Joachim, eciv, ccxii
John, the name, clxxv ; John the Apostle
and John the Elder, clxxv ff.; Pseudo-
John, xxxii, clxxiv; Johannine voca-
bulary ete., exxvi ff.
— of Asia, Ixxi, clxxvii f.
— the Apostle, date of death of, clxxix f.
— the author of the Apocalypse,
elxxx f., 2, 303 f.
Jubilees, the Book of, xxvi
judgement, the last, clxxi f., 270 ff.
Junilius, exvi
Justin, eviii, cxeviii
Katakekaumene, the, 52 f.
key of Hades, 20 f.; of David, 53 f.
King of kings, 223
kings of the earth, the, 94, 213, 256;
from the East, 205 f.; vassal kings of
Rome, 213; the seven kings, 220;
the ten, 221 f.
Kadymevoe emt ris vis, ol, 182
kal, 55, 129, 184 f., 302
kawés, 41, 274
Kaxol, 25
Ka\amos, 132
KahoUmevos, 250
KaraBodjs Kédouou, awd, mpd, 167
kKard@eua, CXxli, 300
KaTexanv, 110
Karnywp, Kariyopos, exxii, 155
Karoixeiy, 35; ol xaroixoivres eri rijs yijs,
56, 114, 139
KQ@TOUKnTIpiovy, 227
kKatua, Kavowy, 105; Kaunarifew, 204
Keto Oat, 67
Kévrpov, 19
Képacua, 185
Kepadaia, Xxxiii ff.
xiBdpa, 80, 178, 195
Kwely, 27
Kuvduwmoy, 234
KAeis (ace.), 215 Krew, 2509 f.
KANém7T7s, 50
KAnpovouety, 280 f.
KAWTOs, 223 f.
Kren, 44
Kola, 130 f.
Kowds, 297 5
‘ Ths "Aolas,
]xxxix
TO Kowdr
KOKKOS, KOKKWoS, 215
Ko\NGcbat, 229
Ko\Aovprov, 62
Komos, Komiav, 25, 187 f.; Kexowlaxes,
Cxxii, 26
Kpareiv, 24, 96
Kpiua, 238, 261 f.
Kptoraddos, 70; KpuoradAlfew, 285
xrlows, xricua, 83
KuBepyirns, 236
kuk\evew, CXXxVii, 269
Kuptaxn Nuépa, 7, 13
Kupcos, 6 KUptos, 2453 KUpios Nur, 0, 142;
k. 6 Oeds, 11; x. Inaods, 35; x. Katcap,
35, 171
lake of fire, the, 270
Lamb, the, 78, 176; wrath of, gs ; blood
of, 103, 156; song of Moses and of,
195
Rakes Ixiv f., 58 f., 248; Laodicean
list, cxvi, exviii
Latin, Old, versions, exciii
lawgiving, the, 69
Lee, xliv, ccevi
leopard, the, 162
life, tree of, 29 f., 299 f.; crown of, 33;
book of, 52, 272; water of, 2098 f.
lifting of the hand in adjuration, 128 f.
lighting of the streets of Rome, 240
Lion, the, 77; lions in Palestine, 162
living creatures, the four, 70 ff.
Lord of lords, the, 22 3
loyalty of the Church to the Empire,
Ixxxi f., 163
luxury of Rome, 230, 236 ff.
Aareiy pera, 14 f.
AauBdvew, 40, 50, 311
Aaumrds, 70
Aapurpds, 235, 298
Aarpevev, 103 f., 300
éyew, 170
Aevaaiverr, 103
Anvdés, 191
ANBavos, ASavwrds, 108
Aluyn, 258
Aiyov, 198
Aurapés, 235
Adyos, 6, Tod Geod, cxXvii, 3, 12, 252 f.
Nowrrol, el, 45
Avew, 7 £.5 Avew, Novew, 8
AUxvos, AuXWla, 15, 22, 7O, 135
Maccabean age, prophecy unknown in
the, xvii
Magedon, 209 f.
magic, xcif., 170 ff., 207f., 241, 257 f.,
282
man of sin, the, Ixxix f., cevii
man-child, the, 150 f.
manna, the, 39
334
Marcion, exi
Marduk, lxxix, exxxviii
Mark, St, clxxv f.
marriage, a Divine, 246
‘martyr,’ AGS martyrs’ song, the, 195 f
causes of martyrdom, go, 155 ff.
measuring the sanctuary, 132 f.; measur-
ing the holy city, 287 ff.
Mede, cexiy
Megiddo, 209 f.
Melito, ixxxvi, cix, exevii
merchants, 240 f.
messages to the Churches, summary of
the, 65 f.; local knowledge shewn in,
xciv f.
Methodius, ccviii f.
‘metropolis,’ lvii
Michael, 153
millennium, the, 264 ff.
ministry, the Christian, clxvii,
miracles, false, 170
Moffatt, xliv f.
Mommsen’s canon, exviii
Montanist and antimontanist literature,
cix
Morning star, the, 47, 310
Moses, 134 ff., 195
Mother of Christ, the, 151, 160
‘mother of harlots,’ 217
Moulton, Dr J. H., ora
‘moving mountains,’ 93
MSS., elxxxvi ff.
Muratorian fragment, cx
‘mystery of God,’ the, 129f.
238
udvva, 39
bapyapirns, 294
pdprus, waptupelv, -pla, 2f., 36
Macacbat, 204
pacrés, 16
baxatpa, 87
peyaro., ol, 245
peyloTav, 94
pédrew, 21, 49
pecoupavety, -pdvnua, 113f., 256
pera TodTo (radra),
peravoew €K, 44
pnrpomons, vii
kualvery, 51
puyriew ێv, TIO
puxpol, ol, 144, 245
pynuovevew with acc.,
forxevew, 44
odtvew, 51
fovotkol, -Kd, 239
buKaoPat, 127
pidos, 240
pupiddes pupidiaw, 82
HvoTHpov, 21, 217 f.
229
name, ‘my,’ 35; the new, 4of., 58;
scribed on conquerors, 57 f., ee
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
ae
unknown except to the bearer, 251 f. ;
on the thigh, 255
nations, the, and the Church, 296
nature, 72 f.
neocorate, the, Ixxxix
Nero, death of, 163; Nero redivivus,
Ixxxiii f., Ixxxviii, ci f., 163 f., 171,
221; persecution of the Church begun
by, Ixxxi f.; his attitude towards
the Caesar-cult, lxxxviii; Apocalypse
assigned to his time, ¢
Nerva, xevli
Nestle, 237 i.
new heaven and earth, 274 f.
New Jerusalem, the, elxix f.,
270if, Bots
new song, the, 80f., 178
New Testament, use of, elvi ff.
Newton, Sir I., cexiv
Nicephorus, exvii
Nicolaitans, Ixxiv ff., 28, 37 f.
Nicolas of Lyra, ecxiii
night offices, the, 104; night abolished,
296 f. P
nominative for vocative, 202 \
number of the angels, 82; of the beast,
exxxii, 175 f.; of the redeemed, 177 f.;
numbers, symbolical, cxxxy ff.
57 f.,
vai, 10, 312 f.
vads, 104, 132
vaukAnpos, 236
vexpos, 48 f.
veppol, 44 f.
vewkdpos, Ixi
viKQ, 29, 77, 194
Nixodatrys, exxil, 28
voov éxwv, 0, 174
Oecumenius, exeviii, ccxi
Old Testament, use of, ex! ff.
Oliva, P. J., eciv, cexiii f
open door, the, Ixiv, 54, 66, 296 f.; open ©
roll, the, 126 f.
opisthograph, 75
Origen, cxiv; cxcyili, ccviii
orthography, cxxii
Ostia, 236
oxymoron, 185
Odmyetv, 105
oikoupévn, d\n 7H, 208
dduvGos, 93
duvvew, 129
8uoros With ace., 15
opolwua, 117 f.
dvoua, 51, 141
Orrov...€kel, 152
Oriow, dmicbev, 13
ém@pa, 235
opyn Ovuod, 185
épyitecba, 160
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
Spunua, 239 f.
écvos, 196
bors, g f., 116, 158
oval, 114, 120
ovdé, ‘not even,’ 124
ow resumptive, 50
ovpavol, 156
otrws, 51 f.
bdeXov, 60
oyis, 19
ade, 66, 140
av, 0, 5
wpa, 107
wpver@at, 127
paganism, relation of Asian Churches
to, lxxif., Ixxvi f., lxxxviii ff.
palm branches, roo f.
Papias, cviii ff., clxxvi
‘Parousia,’ the, 56, 94 f., 142, 188 ff.,
208, 301 f.; ‘parousia’ of the Beast,
Ixxxiv, 21
Parthians, the, 86, 123, 206 f.
Patmos, elxxvii f., 12, 94, 160 f.
patristic evidence for the text, cxev f.
Paul, St, in Asia, Ixvii ff., 23 f.; why
eclipsed by St John, Ixxii f.; his
apocalypse in 2 Thess., lxxxi; whether
counted by St John among the Twelve,
287; use of his Epistles, clvii f. ;
Pseudo-Paul, apocalypse of, xxxi, clxxiy
Paulinism and the Nicolaitans, 38
pearls, 294
perfect, aoristic use of the, 79
Pergamum, Ixii, Ixxxix, 34 f.
Perpetua, Acts of, cx f.
persecution, xcii ff., xcvii, gr f.
Peshitta, canon of the, cxvi, exciv
Peter, St, in Asia, Ixx f.; Pseudo-Peter,
apocalypse of, xxx1, Cx, 274
Philadelphia, lxiv, 52 ff.
pillars in the temple, 57
plagues of Egypt, the, 110, 200; of
Babylon, 231 f.; the last seven plagues,
200 ff.
pluperfect part., 122
Polyearp, xxi, xcii
poverty, 31, 61
precious stones, 67 f., 290 ff.
preface, the liturgical, 178
priesthood of the Church, 8 f., 81f.,
103 f., 264 f.
Primasius, xxxvi, excv, ccii, cex f.
prophecy, revival of, at the Christian
era, xvii; early history of Christian
prophecy, xix ff.
‘prophesy again, thou must,’ 131 f.
prophets in the Apocalypse, xx f., clxvii,
202 f., 238, 303; in the Didache, xxi;
decline of the order, xxi
Psalms of Solomon, xxvi
335
Pseudo-Christ,
the, 168 ff.
punctuation, 66 f., 72, 299
purple, 215
169; pseudo-prophet,
madevew, 63
male, 117
twalon, wéoyn, 105
jWavTokpaTwp, 11, 208
mapadecos, 29 f.
mapeuBor7, 209
mapOévos, 179
Tew, 203
merexlfew, 262
weuTEW, 309
TéNTWKES, CXXil
wémwkav, CXXli
mepiBaddeg bat, 52
mérec@ar, 158
midtew, 2
winTEew, 27
morés, 32 f., 223 f.
mwdarTela, 204
mrew éml rémov, 236 f.
wANYH, 124
mAnv, 46
mnpodv, wAnpodaba, 49f., gt f.
mAovatds elut, wewAoUTnKa, O61
mvevpa, 29, 172, 310; mv. Swis, 139;
TVEULATA, 303
mvevpaTikas, 137 f.
modnpns, 15 f.
molay wpav, sof.
mov, 165, 169 f.
Tromaivew, 47, 105
modemev peta, 38 f.
movnpos, 201
mépvos, 282; wépyn, 243; moprela, 184
ToTtanopépynros, 159
Tov, 35
mpos with dative, 16
mpocevxal, ai, 80, 108 f.
mpopnreia, 3, 136
mpara THs Actas, lvii f.
mpwrdroKkos, 0, 7
mT@ua, 137 fi.
mrwxds, OF
mud\wy, 285
mupwos, 123
mupotoba, 17 f., 62; mvpwors, 2316 f.
muppos, 86, 123, 149
57
@apuaxla, -xés, xci, 125 f., 282
POeipew, 243
Piady, So, 199
pire, 63
PoSovmevor, oi, 1431f., 244 f.
dotnet, roo f.
govets, 281 f.
puAaKh, 227
gworjp, 284 f.
330
evdys, 282
Wevdorpopyrns, 207 f.
Widos, 39 f.
Wuxpos, 60
quaternion of angels, g5 f.
‘quick,’ the, 272
Quinisextine Co., exviii
quotations, absence of formal, cxl
Ramsay, H. L., ecii f.; W. M., lix, lxiv,
ccxv
rapture, 151
readings, 6, 7, 17f., 26, 32, 35, 50, 80,
85, or i., 108, 113, 131, 160 £., 173,
175, 180, 184, 198, 215, 227f., 252,
279, 301, 307; 313
reaping, 188 ff.
reconstruction in Church life, 49
reign of God, 142; reign of the Saints for
a thousand years, 261 ff.; for ever,
or
aeacicotion: the first, 262 ff.; the general,
272 ff.
reticence commanded, 128
rewards, divine, 143 f., 306
Ribeira, ecxiii
Richard of St Victor, cciv
rivers, 159 f., 298 f.
‘rod of iron,’ 47
Rome, moral condition of, 183 f.; wheat
supply of, 234; lighting of streets,
240; bloodshed caused by, 241; fall
of, 224 f.
root of David, 77, 309 f.
route of the Apocalyptic messenger,
lviii f., 14
Rupert of Deutz, cciv
pedn, 234
pepappevos, 252
piga, 77, 309 f.
pougata, 18
Sabatier, 1
saints, the, 203
salvation, ascribed to God and Christ,
elxvii f., 101
sanctuary, opened in heaven, 14,4 f.,
199f.; none in the New Jerusalem,
295; material sanctuaries, 295
Sanctus, the deacon of Vienne, 280
sand of the sea, the, 268
Sardis, lxiv, 48f.
Satan, 154; his throne, 34f.; his im-
prisonment, release, and final defeat,
260, 270
sayings, faithful and true, 279
scorpions, 116 f.
Scott, C. Anderson, cevi, ccxvi, 234
scribes and prophets promised to the
Church, xx
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
sea, the, 70, 127, 161, 201, 268, 272 f.,
275 1.; sea of glass, 70, 195
sealing, 96 f., 261; the sealed, 97 ff.; pro-
phecy not to be sealed, 304 f.
Septuagint, use of the, cly
serpens antiquus, 154
servire regnare est, 301
seven cities, the, lvii tf., 14, 23 ff.; the
number seven, cxxxv ff., 4, $4, 101,
127, 149
Shekinah, the, 104, 278
Sibylline Oracles, xxvi f.
signs, 170 f.
‘silence in heaven,’ 106 f.
silk, 233
Simcox, cevi
Simon Magus, 171
six hundred and sixty-six, the number,
CXXxvili
slaves, 234 f.
smoke as a symbol, 199
Smyrna, lIxif., 30
Sodom, 138
solecisms, cxvi, exxiii ff.
solitariness of the Christian life, 151 f.
Son of God, the, elxii, 41; son of man,
like a, elx, 15
song, the new, 178; of Moses and the
Lamb, 195
soteriology, clxvii f.
Speculum, the, exciii
Spirit, the, 28 f.; of prophecy, 249; in
the spirit, 13 ; doctrine of the Spirit,
clxiv f.; procession of the Spirit,
celxvi, 298; Spirit and the Bride, 310
spirits, the seven, clxivf., 5 f., 79; ,
spirits of the prophets, 302 f.; the three ~
unclean spirits, 207
Spiritus septiformis, clxv, 6
stades, 1600, 192; 12,000, 289
stars, crown of, 147 f.; third part of
the, 149 f.
stichometry, exvii ’
style of the Apocalypse, exxv ff.
subscription, 314 4
summary of cc. ii—iii, 65 f.; of cc. iv—
xl, 145 ie ;
sword, emblem of Roman power, 87
sword of the word, 18, 254, 258f. —
symbolism, cxxxi ff.; its purpose, cxxxix,
161 ff. a
synopsis scripturae sacrae, exvii f. ;
synoptic apocalypse, the, xxx; synoptic —
echoes in the Apocalypse, clvif., 28 f.,
52, 179 f. a
Syriac versions, ¢, CXVill, CxCiVv;
commentaries, cc
cdkkos Tplxivos, 92 f.
caitlow, 110; cadmioTHs, 239
cam@pepos, 291
capdiov, 68, 292
INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
capddvue, 292
oapKes, 225
caravas, 6, 154
DeBaoreia, |xxxix, 171
cgepldadts, 234
onueiov, 147, 207
oipixdy, 233
oxavdador, 37
oxnvy, 277 f.
oxnvoov, 104, 157, 165 f., 278
oKorotcGa, 115
sudpaydos, 68, 292
gogia, 174
oragpuAy, 191
orépavos, 74
ornpivar, ornpioov, ornpryuds, 49
oTparevpa, 122, 253, 256 f.
OTpivos, oTpnyay, 228
orvnos, 57
cuuBouvrevew, 61 f.
owaywyty 32
ctvdounos, 92, 249
ouviyyopos, 155
cuvcowwveiv, 11 £.
og¢afvecba, 78 fi., 83, 163
opbdpa, 212
coppayls, 96 f.
odpata, 234
cwrjp, cwrnpla, 7, clxvii f., 101
Tabernacle, the, 197, 278
talent, weight of the, 212
Te Deum, 54, 73, 242
Temple, the, 131 f.
ten, the number, cxxxvi, 32
Tent of witness, the, 197
Ter Sanctus, 73, 178
Tertullian, cix, ccix
Testament of the XII Patriarchs, xxvi
Testamentum Domini, xxxii
text, authorities for the, clxxxvi ff.;
text of the present edition, cxcvi
Themison, xxi
Theodoret, exvii
Theodotion, ex! ff., clv f.
Theophilus of Antioch, exi
Thera, 111
therapeutic work of Christ, 300
Thessalonians 2, Ixxix f.
thigh, name on the, 255
thousand years, the, 260, 264 ff.
three parts, the city divided into, 211;
the number three, cxxxvi; 34, exxxviif.
Throne, before the, 100; the great white
throne, 270 f.; the throne of Satan,
34 f.; of the Beast, 204
thunders, the seven, 127 f.
Thyatira, Ixiii f., 41
Tidmat, Ixxix, 149
time-limits, 133 f., 136 ff., 152, 158
Timothy, Epp. to, lxx
title, xxii, 1
eS. R.
337
Titus, the Emperor, lxxxiv, 220
trade, in N.T., 228; of Rome, 232 ff.
traditio instrumentorum, 1098 f.
Trajan, xcvii, c, clxxix
Transfiguration, the, 19
transient nature of the cosmos, 271
tribes of Israel, order of the, 98 f.
tribulation, the great, 102
trumpet-blasts, 13, 110 ff.; use of the
trumpet at Rome, 239
truth, 248; truthfulness a characteristic
of Christians, 180
twelve hundred and sixty, 152
twelve, the number, exxxv f. ; multiples
of, 289
twenty-four, 69
Tyconius, cxcy, ccif., ccix f., 184
TaXayrTiaios, 212
TéX0s, 280
téscapes, acc., 69
TEXVITNS, 240
TiMLOTNS, 237
Tnpeiv, 46, 209, 303 f., 307
Toma tiov, 292
Tpuyav, 191
Gavaros, 44, 88 f.
BavuaterOa, 164
Ged ‘Pun, Ixii
Gawdns, 123
Gé\ew, 136
GeuéX\wos, 286 f.
Geo\dyos, 6, 1; @eodéyou, 1x
Gecuwsol, xcli
OrYis, 12
Opovos, 34 f., 64 f., 67, 261
Ovivoy, 233
Ouuduara, 8o
Gipa, 66
Owpat, 118
Uncial MSS., elxxxvi
versions, ancient, excii ff.
Vespasian, Ixxxiv, 220
Vesuvius, eruption of, in a.p. 79, 111
vices, lists of, 125 f., 281 f.
Victorinus, cxvili, ce f., ccix
Vienne and Lyons, Churches of, xcvii,
cx, 305 f.
vindictiveness in early Christians, go f.
vintage of the earth, 190 ff.
Virgin-birth, the, 148
virginity, 179 f.
Vischer, 1
Visio Pauli, xxxii
vocabulary, exv, cxx ff.
Vogel, xlix
voice of many waters, 18
voleanic eruptions, 111
Volter, 1 f.
22
338
bdxwos, vaxivOwos, 123, 293
tanros, vdduvos, 7O, 290, 294
durwool, xcli
brouov”y, 12, 26, 56, 186
wall of the holy city, 285
war in heayen, 152 f.
warrior, Christ as, 38 f., 250 ff.
Weiss, J., li, liv
Weizsiacker, xlix ff.
Weyland, 1
Whiston, cexiv
white, symbolism of, 51 f., 85 f., g1,
too ff. ; the white stone, 39 £3 white
cloud, 188 ; white horse, 86, 250
wilderness, the, 151 f., 158, 214
Williams, I., cev, ccexvi
winefat on the Mt of Olives, 192
‘witness of Jesus,’ 249
Witnesses, the two, ceviii, ccxi, 134 ff.
Woman with child, 147 ff.; the seed of
the woman, 160
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INDEX TO INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. ‘
Word of God, the, 252 f.
works, the final test of c
elxviiif, 46; “works of their han
1248:
world-empire, a divine, 1423 the wor d-
week, 264 ;
Wycliffite version, cxcy
Enpaivery, 189
EvNov, 29 f., 299
Zahn, xliv f.
zeugma, 216
Zion, Mt, 177
zithern, 80, 178, 195
gerrés, 60
gmrevev, 63
Zuvpva, 30
guy6s, 87
fea, 71 ff., 178, 244
fOr, 6, 73 f.
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who are interested in theological speculation in English-speaking countries,
for the men who have contributed chapters to it are specially qualified to
judge of the direction in which religious thought is moving”
4
ESSAYS ON SOME BIBLICAL QUESTIONS OFlias=
DAY. By Members of the University of Cambridge. 8vo. 125. net.
Atheneum.—‘‘It reflects the highest credit on the University’s school of
theology, and places that school in the foremost rank of the theologians of
the day.”
LONDON: MACMILLAN AND CO,, LTD,
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